New Zealand and I go way back: in 1980 I hiked the Routeburn Track in Fiordland National Park and I shot on Kodachrome with an old Canon AE-1. Nearly thirty years later I filmed an episode of Travels to the Edge on the South Island, and last month I taught back to back workshops with a significant upgrade in gear. If you follow me on Insta or Facebook you’ve probably seen Reels of me describing how and what we were photographing, but not showing the payoff pics. Some of you were clearly not pleased about that (I do have to teach a workshop after all). Well, here’s your chance to see them now!
The unseasonably wet weather was challenging and we very nearly got snowed in on the last day, but we were able to photograph the country’s spectacular landscapes and birdlife between the squalls.
If you want to see all my faves head on over to https://www.artwolfestock.com/.
This weekend kicks off a worthwhile campaign: 100 For the Ocean! 100 photographers and artists, myself included, have donated images help raise $1M to support the conservation of our oceans.
You can download the catalog here to check out all the images. Sales will begin at 12:01am EST/9:01pm PST/8am UK. These prints encompass amazing ocean-related images and begin at just $100. This is an incredible opportunity to own a conversation piece and support a worthwhile cause that benefits everyone on our planet.
For more information visit their website. If you’re just not in the market for new decor, spread the word on social media for a great cause!
Last night, the project to restore the creek at Schmitz Park here in West Seattle kicked off with the first meeting of the Schmitz Park Creek Restore group at my home. We presented our ideas for daylighting the creek and restoring the salmon run to this preserved natural area. Our goal is to reconnect the creek to Alki Beach, continue to protect 53 acres of old growth forest, and re-establish the natural cove at the mouth of the creek.
Though I travel often, West Seattle will always be home. It’s an exciting project, and I’m glad to be a part of it! Read more about the project on the West Seattle blog!
Sunday is World Wildlife Day! With Wild Lives releasing this past fall, 2023 was full of trips focusing on the last few shots I needed to get for the book – from the elusive snow leopard in India, to millions of bats taking to the sky in Thailand. It was a mad dash to the finish line, trying to make sure this was the greatest wildlife book of my career.
A large focus of this book is how animal species are navigating how they share the planet with rapidly expanding human presence. In some cases, the news is better than you might expect and I think it’s important to focus on the positives at a time when it’s very easy to get lost in the bad news that makes the most impactful headlines. I discussed this and more with Jack Graham and John Pederson on the We Talk Photo podcast. If you caught the first part and were eagerly awaiting part 2, it’s up now!
Have a fantastic weekend, and consider a donation to your favorite wildlife charity!
This coming Tuesday is International Polar Bear Day! Raising awareness for these great, white bears is important, as their population is vulnerable due to continued climate change that affects their habitat like no other on the planet. In my time visiting the Arctic over decades, I’ve witnessed first-hand the shrinking swaths of ice that these bears use as home and hunting ground.
One of my favorite places to photograph these bears is Churchill, Manitoba in Canada. This location on the western shore of Hudson Bay is known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World, and trips here never disappoint!
Wild Lives has arrived! December has been a whirlwind of events and activity with the release of my latest book, a compendium highlighting a lifetime photographing creatures around the world. Wild Lives shares the stories of survival and growth of animal species that have adapted to the impact of humans around the world.
Wild Lives is now available in the U.K., so if you live across the pond you can avoid those shipping fees – unless of course you’d like me to sign a copy, or inscribe it with a personal message. You’ll have to do that through my website, but we will ensure your book is well-packaged and ready for travel.
This past week has been Polar Bear Week – observed during the fall polar bear migration to Churchill, Manitoba. Here the bears await the winter season and the cold that will freeze-over Hudson Bay, granting the bears access to hunt seals. One of the symptoms of a changing climate has been a shortened ice season. This provides an opportunity to photograph the bears with their stark white fur against darker backgrounds than the ice and snow we are used to seeing.
This was a great trip as several of the bears turned out to be real characters, mugging for the camera and putting on a show for us. Visiting Churchill is always unique experience. This is a town that exist on the fringe where the frozen north pole meets the rest of the earth, that has learned to co-exist with a local bear population that at times rivals the number of people living in the area.
I arrived home from my most recent trip this past Sunday and received an incredible birthday gift from friend and colleague Frans Lanting – the beautifully packaged and presented Collector’s Edition of Bay of Life, Frans & Chris Eckstrom’s epic book chronicling the rejuvenation of California’s Monterey Bay.
An area ravaged by rampant utilization by man during the gold rush which stripped the area of life and resources, Bay of Life documents the resilience of nature and the ways in which like-minded people can come together to help restore an ecosystem to not only a state of recovery, but one in which it thrives.
This message of hope and rejuvenation speaks directly to me. If you’ve caught any of my recent talks regarding my own projects, you’ll know the emphasis I put on describing how wildlife populations in many areas are beginning to recover after an initial decrease due to the influence and reach of man.
Though our climate situation remains dire, nature’s ability to rejuvenate when coupled with human awareness, consideration, and conservation efforts is remarkable. This book project not only documents this significant symbiosis between nature and man – it also helps educate and fund future endeavors to protect this beautiful habitat via the Bay of Life Project.
In a win for wildlife and indigenous communities, the last remaining oil and gas leases on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have been cancelled. The US is on track to produce more oil and natural gas than ever before and tapping this vital ecological sanctuary was always a bad idea.
Called “the place where life begins” by the Yup’ik and Gwich’in, the refuge is home to 250 animal species including vast herds of caribou that migrate from wintering Canada every year to calve on the coastal plain, grizzlies, wolves, and millions of migratory birds from as far as Antarctica. As long as I have been photographing, which is a long time indeed, it has been the focus of heated debate over resource extraction. One thing we should know is that this ban is not permanent, and more advocacy must be done to make sure this biologically rich area remains wild and untouched forever—a gift to future generations.
After eight years away (even though it’s only a 5 hour drive), I led a small group of avid photographers through the rolling hills of grain in the Palouse. This is an area of graceful landscapes shaped first by nature then by man, subtle shadows cast by passing clouds, and opportunities for challenging abstracts. We were unaffected by the recent fires in the area, much of the smoke had dissipated, but it was constantly in the backs of our minds. Many families have lost their homes in Spokane County wildfires this summer, if you would like to help please donate to Red Cross Disaster Relief.
I arrived home from my most recent trip this past Sunday and received an incredible birthday gift from friend and colleague Frans Lanting – the beautifully packaged and presented Collector’s Edition of Bay of Life, Frans & Chris Eckstrom’s epic book chronicling the rejuvenation of California’s Monterey Bay.
