Short but sweet today, as our group arrives at the lodge up here in Katmai, Alaska. I missed out on visiting last summer, so I’m excited to see how things have changed in the past couple of years. My visits to this region have been so frequent that I’ve grown to recognize individual bears over the years – hopefully they haven’t grown up or changed too much in that time! Here are some of my favorite shots from this location over the years. Each time I go to this location, I have a new goal in mind. It’s interesting to look back and see how my shots and focus has changed from year to year. This time I definitely want to get some artistic shots of the beautiful vibrant salmon to illustrate many of the things I talk about when I speak of “changing the way you see”. I mean it! Stay tuned for new photos when I return!
This will be the first of two sold-out tours happening back to back – check out my events page to get your name on the list early for next year’s tours so you don’t miss out!
Happy Friday! Currently packing for a couple tours in Katmai, and I can’t wait to get out there with our group. I missed this last year, so it’ll be great to get back to it – and good to see our associates on the ground here as well that help our workshops run smoothly!
In the immediate future, there are limited spots left for both the Abstract Port Townsend and Iceland tours happening in August. Two very different experiences! Iceland has been filling up incredibly fast for being a new addition, so if it’s a trip you’ve been thinking about – now is the time!
it’s also a good time to be looking ahead to next year. I’ll be back here in Alaska – so if you missed it this year before they sold out, you’ve got another chance with lots of time to prepare, but don’t hesitate to grab your spot as these always sell out. I’ll also be heading to Japan, Africa, and Mongolia next year as well. Lets go shoot!
I’m in the midst of going through all my photos from several recent workshops – all back to back, so my editing time has been limited! I did pull a few of my favorite shots from Oregon’s Lost Lake, looking out to Mt. Hood – the tallest mountain in the state, and also a dormant stratovolcano.
I often talk about the many ways to shoot a subject, and even from essentially the same vantage point you can find ways to make even a giant mountain feel different, and tell a different story.
For starters, the environmental portrait! This is a great way to open when sharing your photos, giving context to the scene. Here the calm lake is prominent, framed by the iconic evergreens of the pacific northwest. We get a good sense of place for the looming mountain.
Here we have the same elements – the lake is still present as well as the trees, but the mountain has become front and center. The lower sun is casting warmer hues on the mountain, separating it from the background. We still get a sense of place, but the mountain has become the star!
Here, the mountain is definitely the star feature. The lakes and trees still inform a bit of the environment, but the great mountain is free of the framing branches that kept it from feeling quite as prominent.
And finally – a vertical that takes us back to the sense of place – standing under the shady limbs of the evergreens. From all these shots, you can see from the forms and patterns on it’s surface that my angle on the mountain hasn’t changed – just taken a few steps one direction or another, gotten down lower to the ground, or tried a different focal length. Small differences can completely change the results of your shot!
While I’m always adding new workshop location destinations to my list, it’s inevitable that I end up photographing in many of the same locations time and time again. Part of the draw of an Art Wolfe workshop – especially here in the Pacific Northwest – is the expertise we have on these locations. So how do you find new ways to challenge yourself while coming away with new images from a location that you’re already familiar with?
Aside from the obvious, try to find new conditions and lighting. A night shoot can completely change a composition as the light sky darkens and the scene becomes a study of star and moonlight. Go outside your comfort zone and toss a lens on your camera that you hadn’t really considered, like a wide angle or fish-eye trying different points of view and perspectives.
Most importantly – move! Depending on the lens you are using, moving a few feed can make a huge difference. Move around, turn your body – get low to the ground. Abstract your subject into studies of color, shape, and form. The ideas are endless! Just a small example – I spend so much of my time at home working in my garden, yet it’s always surprising even to myself when the inspiration takes me. I can grab my camera and spend hours seeing it from a new perspective.
How do you keep it fresh? leave a comment below with your ideas! And if you want to join me and explore them in person and see how I get the most out of a familiar subject, I’ve got a Mt. Rainier Fall Color workshop on the calendar!
I’ll avoid the clichés that we’ve heard all year long – eyes focused on moving forward to the next great challenge! We have overcome a lot, so everyone here at the AWI office is happy that families are able to begin to gather safely once again.
If you’re still struggling to find dad that perfect gift, give my events page a look as we have several workshops on the horizon, both here in the Pacific Northwest and abroad! If dad happens to be a photography enthusiast and is tired of being cooped up, what could be better than learning and enjoying a Tequila at dinner with his new pal Art!?
There is also early bird pricing on a special event this October I’ve titled simply “Creative Sessions” that will take place in my home town of Seattle. This event will begin with a Friday evening gathering at my home in West Seattle with food, beverages, and a special presentation followed by a day of lecture before being released to independently shoot. We will reconvene on the following day for another lecture and critique.
Recently vaccinated and ready to get out? We are coming up on the final stretch of West Coast workshops, with limited space left to join me at several haunts up and down the shores of the Pacific. Today begins our Carmel-By-The-Sea workshop – probably too late for this one!
One spot HAS in fact opened up for the ever-popular Abstract Astoria workshop happening next week. It WILL be claimed so act fast if you want it.
On June 17th we head to the Columbia River Gorge that serves as a natural border between Washington and Oregon, home to breathtaking landscapes, several waterfalls and a wide variety of opportunities to photograph both nature and abstract images.
Finally, a little further out at the end of July we will be returning to Port Townsend for another Abstract workshop – this new location serves as an excellent companion to Abstract Astoria, and it’s fast becoming a favorite of our clients. Limited to just five participants, this is an excellent opportunity to get some one on one instruction.
I’m thrilled to be back in the field but I also can’t wait until I’m back home and can reconnect with everyone on another live stream – stay tuned for info on when that will be happening again. Visit the events page for information on all upcoming international & US workshops, and have a fantastic weekend!
In the good old days of film ISO 100 was considered fast and on the margins of the day with every increasing exposure times you had no choice but to pan with your subjects as they moved. Today we’re getting spoiled with digital cameras that yield acceptable images at exceptionally high ISOs.
So this is a reminder to dial back to good old ISO 100, even put on a polarizer to lose another stop or more and put some emotion and action back in your shots. It takes practice – try this technique with the wind blowing a field of flowers, a crowded market, street scenes… it’s not just for animals.
When using a tripod the contrast of tack sharp architecture and blurred people can be very effective. Share your results if you have some as well!
Limited to just six participants, this retreat is designed to combine the best aspects of a relaxing vacation, inspiring seminar, and hands-on workshop all into one inspiring trip.
California’s Central Coast is a location brimming with variety: stunning ocean vistas, abstract photo opportunities, and wildlife, not to mention the fine dining in the company of other enthusiasts. Do you like sea otters? Imagine kayaking amongst them! We are going to a fantastic location where you can comfortably photograph sea otters from kayaks.
With Art Wolfe as guide and guru, you will learn how to clear your mind and photograph in the moment, free of preconceived notions; you will explore how to spot the non-obvious and uncover new ways to expand your visual imagination in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Just two spaces remain before this highly exclusive workshop fills up! If you plan on joining, sign up today – it will sell out!
As you likely know by now I love to create abstract, painterly images. I often find some of my favorite captures in locations that most people might not even notice. This video was filmed on location in Eastern Idaho, however if you’ve attended any of my abstract workshops – you know what I’m looking for! A background in Fine Art and Art History serves me well in these instances, where I can draw on abstract expressionists to see the shapes and colors and contours as something more than a rusty old truck – metaphors and imaginary landscapes abound.
While some abstract captures such as this have gone on to be prints, parts of calendars and more – it’s really the activity of training your eye to see and capture them that is the real value here. Training one’s eye to see the metaphors, colors, and potential of a given shot will only expand your visual vocabulary, and serve as valuable tools in any photo work you do.
The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always.
— John Steinbeck
Space is still available to join me on our Majestic Redwoods Photography Retreat, taking place at the end of this month! Come along and make some new friends who share your love of photography in one of the most iconic forests in all the world, where these trees – some a millennia old – tower over the beautiful California coast.
Of course this is an ART WOLFE workshop, so while we will line up and grab the token travel shots that exclaim, “I was here!” along with all the other tourists – we will go much much deeper in exploring this land – the same land that has drawn explorers and naturalists throughout history to it’s unique and massive canopy over the centuries. From the forest to the coast, we will mine this location for opportunities to set our photography apart from the pack, enhancing your creative eye with lessons that will serve you no matter the subject.
Space is limited and these workshops tend to fill up quickly the closer we get – don’t wait too long to sign up and miss out! Of course, all of my workshops are Covid compliant, and your health, safety, and enjoyment of our time together is top of mind.
Here we have the same elements – the lake is still present as well as the trees, but the mountain has become front and center. The lower sun is casting warmer hues on the mountain, separating it from the background. We still get a sense of place, but the mountain has become the star!
Here, the mountain is definitely the star feature. The lakes and trees still inform a bit of the environment, but the great mountain is free of the framing branches that kept it from feeling quite as prominent.
