It was quite the whirlwind: swapping stories at a private luncheon with UW President Ana Mari Cauce, then a magnificent awards ceremony in Meany Hall where so many talented people were honored for achievements in their various fields, and finally a delicious dinner for all the awardees at the Conibear Shellhouse with Husky Clipper shell of the 1936 Olympic Champions hanging above us. It was extraordinary! Thank you to the UW Alumni Association, everyone who gave their support and attended the ceremony, and to my dates Helen Cherullo and Gregory Green.
Wolfe follows in the footsteps UW grads Dale Chihuly, Imogen Cunningham, and Chuck Close
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA, MAY 30, 2024 — Art Wolfe is a long-time leader in the conservation photography movement and a prolific, restlessly creative nature and fine art photographer. In 1975 Wolfe graduated from University of Washington (UW) with degrees in Fine Arts and Arts Education.
Seattle born and based, Art Wolfe grew up in a family of commercial artists who encouraged his creativity and a connection to nature. For nearly fifty years he has stunned and thrilled readers with the dazzling beauty of the planet’s wildlife, landscapes, and diverse cultures. His goal is to win support for conservation issues by “focusing on what is beautiful on the Earth.”
Wolfe has published over 100 books in eight languages. Though Wolfe, 72, has often been described as a wildlife photographer—his most recent book being the astonishing Wild Lives—he tackles themes that take him beyond the subject of nature. In his book Human Canvas, he placed painted human figures against elaborate painted backdrops to transform bodies into abstract landscapes and he is working on a book of world faiths. He has hosted several television series, including the award-winning Art’s Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge which was syndicated worldwide, has had traveling exhibitions, and regularly donates his photos to environmental organizations.
The Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a UW graduate and is presented annually by the UW and UW Alumni Association. It recognizes a legacy of achievement and service built over a lifetime.
The UW Awards of Excellence ceremony honoring Art Wolfe and other outstanding alumni, faculty, staff, students, and retirees will be held on campus at the Meany Center for the Performing Arts at 3:30 pm on Thursday, June 6th, 2024.
“It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.”
We are just over a week away from my WILD LIVES presentation in Raleigh, North Carolina! Books will be available for purchase, and I’ll be signing copies. More importantly, I’ll be taking a deep-dive into the stories and strategies behind a lifetime of wild life photography and international travel.
As someone who’s spent their life photographing wildlife around the globe, I feel I’m well-suited to comment on the changes I’ve seen in the flora and fauna of places I’ve revisited several times over the years; a list that continues to grow with each new trip. While I strongly advocate continuing to find ways to lessen mankind’s impact on the natural world, WILD LIVES seeks to present animal success stories.
As we continue our struggle to evaluate mankind’s impact on our environment, populations for many species are on the rise as they reconcile their co-existence with humans. It was my goal with WILD LIVES to celebrate these successes. The news isn’t all bad! Perhaps there are lessons we can take away from these animals that have weathered the storm of sharing our planet with a species that is capable of inhabiting nearly every environment on the planet.
We’ll have a limited supply of books on hand that I’ll be signing. I hope to see you in Raleigh on June 2nd!
Join legendary photographer Art Wolfe for a special presentation of his latest published masterpiece, WILD LIVES next Friday, April 26th from 6 – 9 pm. WILD LIVES is a celebration of the diverse creatures that inhabit the planet and features photos from virtually every continent. While conservation efforts remain critical to the survival of many species, WILD LIVES highlights the success stories of animals that have learned to coexist with encroaching human influence.
Author Greg Green will be on hand to discuss the shared premise of the project, and Art will present photos along with stories and insights from his observations in the field. With a deep fine art background, he will also highlight the creative decisions he made along the way to truly capture the lives of his furry, scaled, and feathered subjects.
Thanks to the College of the Environment and The Foundation for WWU & Alumni, this event is Free! Books will be available for purchase, with opportunities for signing before and after the presentation. We hope to see you there!
Witness the Real Bears of Katmai featured in my videos and latest book Wild Lives! There is just as much drama happening out in the Alaskan wilderness as there is in any Real Housewives show!
A few spots available in both of my upcoming Katmai Bear tours – they’ll fill up as we get closer to summer, and people begin to make their travel plans – don’t miss out, sign up today and ensure your spot! This is the location where I captured the cover of my least book, Wild Lives. Join me and capture your own iconic photographs!
10 REASONS TO JOIN ART WOLFE IN KATMAI, ALASKA THIS SUMMER!
1. Coastal Brown Bears are beautiful and powerful, and to be in the presence of an animal in it’s lush and beautiful natural habitat is humbling.
2. Experienced leadership! I’ve been coming here for years and our operation is a well-oiled machine at this point. We have a great relationship with our contacts on the ground that will allow for participants to focus on what matters most – taking memorable photographs, and having a great time!
3. Speaking of our contacts, we have two dedicated pilots and four planes at our disposal. Not only is this convenient, but it means we have the utmost flexibility to change our plans depending on weather conditions. If the group cannot fly, we can always take the group up to Lake Clark to see the bears digging for clams, or numerous other opportunities.
4. The remote Katmai Coast is the largest intact stretch of uninhabited coastline left in North America, and provides a rich and contextual backdrop for the bears.
5. The lodge has a top-notch cook, so the group can enjoy delicious meals while reminiscing about the day’s adventures on the tour.
6. Late July and early August is the peak of the salmon run, and is why we reserve these times with our local experts and accommodations well in advance. The rivers are running with beautiful red salmon, which is an excellent secondary element for fantastic photographs.
7. I’ve been such a frequent visitor of this location that I can recognize individual bears by sight and in many cases can predict their behavior and identify their strengths, giving us a distinct leg up in capturing them at their best. If an individual is known to be an expert fisher, rest assured I can point them out to ensure we capture the best possible action on the river!
8. We work with the local lodge owner whom scouts the area before our group arrives to ensure we have a good idea of where the bears are going to be. This cuts down the amount of hiking the group needs to do so we can get right into photographing.
9. We always find several mothers with young cubs and they are generally not intimidated by humans, so our groups can sit and photograph the cubs as they run and play for hours if we like.
10. As mentioned, this is where I captured the cover of Wild Lives as well as numerous other iconic shots – and every year I seem to come away with new ones. The opportunities here are unlimited. Come and create your own epic shots!
Check out the events page for more information. These workshops always sell out, so reserve your spot today to ensure you don’t miss out!
This April, my workshops come home with a special two-day Seattle event focused on helping you find YOUR creative vision! This was such a success last time that we are doing it again and I can’t wait to share what the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
We will kick things off with a meet and greet at my home with Hors d’oeuvres and beverages. I’ll also be sharing photos and stories from my latest book Wild Lives. The following day we’ll be off and running, with lectures, field sessions and critiques – all with the purpose of helping you find and/or hone the personal creative point of view that will allow your photos to stand out.
As we get closer to the event, spots will fill quickly – reserve yours today!
*Art will also be featured on Seattle’s Evening Magazine program tonight at 7:30 local time on King 5*
Wild Lives is published, books have been signed and are on their way out for the holidays! In an era where everything is going digital, there’s nothing quite like the process of working to create a book and seeing the images collected on the tangible printed page. This is always the case when creating a book, but never so apparent as this experience with Wild Lives.
I’ll be giving a presentation on Wild Lives in Seattle tomorrow, December 7th at 7 PM at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Very few spaces remain to come and hear many of the stories behind the photos. Books will be available for signatures!
If you’re closer to Portland, I’ll be headed there on Tuesday the 12th to give this presentation and signing books as well at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). There’s a little more space available in this one, but it’s still limited so grab your tickets now If you’d like to go – or you can’t make the Seattle presentation!
The link below will take you to the Wild Lives events page to purchase tickets. See you there!
Wild Wednesday continues with a recent trip to Glacier Bay. We try to run this one every other year or so, and we’ve been fortunate to work with great people on the ground and on the water in Alaska. This time around we were treated to epic breaching whales, sometimes two at a time. Great company, seafood as fresh as it gets, plentiful wildlife, and beautiful Alaskan vistas – it’s the complete package!
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be giving not one. . not two. . but THREE talks at this year’s B&H BILD Expo this September in New York. I’ve been working with the folks at B&H for years now and I always look forward to participating in the incredible events they put together. The event is free – just get yourself registered at BILDEXPO.COM!
Here’s when and where you’ll be able to find me on stage:
Wednesday, September 6, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Wild Lives – A Celebration of Beauty, Ferocity & Revival of Earth’s Endangered Wildlife
Bild Main Stage, 4th Floor
Thursday, September 7, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Pathways to Creativity: Composition
OPTIC Stage, 4th Floor
Thursday, September 7, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Lessons from the Field with Art Wolfe & Frans Lanting
OPTIC Stage, 4th Floor
Five more reasons to attend this incredible 50th Anniversary event:
Discover and engage with 130+ top-tier brands. Come see Canon, Sony, Nikon, Red, Arri, DJI, Rode, Profoto, Apple and many others – they’re all under one roof at Bild.
Summer is here! It’s been relatively cool in the Pacific Northwest recently, but I’m not complaining as it also hasn’t been overly rainy, making for good conditions to spend some time working in my garden recharging the batteries after what has been a busy 2023.
The year started off on the road in Bangladesh and Thailand, with the later providing shots of clouds of bats emerging from their tunnel colony that will be in my upcoming book Wild Lives, releasing this fall. From there it was off to Japan, and then a later engagement in the northern mountains of India in search of the elusive snow leopard for that same project.
Of course, it wouldn’t be spring without workshops here at home in our beautiful United States. Perennial favorite Abstract Astoria was once again on the agenda and if a more creative and/or abstract workshop is on your to-do list, there are plenty of upcoming events and workshops coming up on both U.S. coasts to check out.
We went coast to coast, with workshops in Joshua Tree, Moab, and the Great Smoky Mountains.
Finally, a specially mention for everyone who joined me at my home in Seattle and then for our Creative Sessions weekend. We had a great time, and I look forward to doing it again in the future. Enjoy the photos and have a fantastic summer!
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA, MAY 30, 2024 — Art Wolfe is a long-time leader in the conservation photography movement and a prolific, restlessly creative nature and fine art photographer. In 1975 Wolfe graduated from University of Washington (UW) with degrees in Fine Arts and Arts Education.
