July wrapped up with a trip to northern Canada; more specifically the Nunavik region of Quebec. We went in search of tundra wolves, however the changes in the environment and local wildlife meant there were none to be found.
Fortunately this is such a unique part of the world that other opportunities presented themselves. A family of foxes made themselves available for our group, and I was pleased we were able to spend a couple days photographing the musk ox that roam the landscape. They were on my list already as a subject I intended to capture for an upcoming book project, so it was a great opportunity to save myself a future trip. Lemons to lemonade!
I just returned home to Seattle from a quick trip north to the 55th parallel – Nunavik, Canada to be a little more exact! While we found lots of wolf sign in the area, actual sightings were not to be, unfortunately. We opted for muskox, red fox . . . and mosquitoes. This land is mostly flat and covered in large, flat rounded rocks from the glaciers that covered the area. The glaciers also carved out a land of many small lakes, which in turn adds to the insect population in the area.
Fortunately using bug spray and head nets, we had all the proper protection from the insects. It always pays to be prepared and to do your research on a location. In this case our preparation made the situation more than manageable.
Today I am headed back north to Katmai National Park for a couple weeks. Not a bad life! I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I’d love to hear about the kinds of things my readers are up to, so please feel free to leave a comment below. I’m busy and on the go so while I can’t respond to everyone, I do make an effort to keep my finger on the pulse of what everyone is up to!
On the very first day of the second leg of my Glacier Bay journey, we were able to capture some terrific shots of humpback whales. They bubblenetted and surfaced, spraying water and herring – then they all disappeared. Luckily there were very busy orca in the vicinity, rafts of sea otters, and a cacophony of sea lions. What a spectacular part of the world!
This is a trip I do every year without fail. I have been coming here since the late 1970s and have never been disappointed. Join me in 2018 on the Alaska Story yacht! Space is extremely limited, so consider reserving your spot now.
What a great week in Alaska’s Glacier Bay. I’ve been coming here for four decades now, and it seems every visit provides an abundance of new opportunities to capture. The humpback whales were lively, and the bald eagles couldn’t have put on a better display for us to photograph.
If you’re interested in joining me on my next adventure, check out my workshops happening in the near future. In just over a week I’ll be off to northern Canada seeking the legendary tundra wolf, and this fall I’ll be hosting an intimate photography retreat on the Olympic Peninsula where we will photograph the Quinault Rainforest. Space is limited, so sign up before we are sold out!
I hope everyone is having a great summer so far, and enjoy the photos!
Episode 3 of Where’s Art is now up for your viewing pleasure! In case you missed them, you can check out all of the episodes of this segment so far on the Where’s Art section of my multimedia page. We have some exciting new ideas in store for this segment in the future!
This time around, I was on location in California visiting the Point Reyes National Seashore. I like to make this trip whenever I’m in the San Francisco area. There is such an array of wildlife – from bobcats to a variety of birds – it’s hard to come away unsatisfied. Special thanks to Daniel Dietrich for being my field guide during this trip!
After trips to present Photography As Art in Toronto and Chicago, I spent several days last week photographing just a very few of the over 1,500 species of plants and, in particular, animals of Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California.
This is an area that has been engaged in a back and forth battle between ranchers, developers, and environmentalists, with a fascinating history and political seesaw that resonates today. It is so important that we, and generations to come, have these wild places to retreat to. You can read about it here, or better yet, make a trip of it and support your public lands.
“It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.”
Enjoy the photos, and keep an eye on the blog in the coming days for another edition of my new and well received audio/video segment, “Where’s Art?”from this location!
Episode 1 was a huge success, thanks to everyone who watched, and left comments! This time around I was in Astoria, Oregon teaching my Abstract Astoria workshop. You’ll have to excuse the audio quality, as I recorded in a bunker – but for good reason! Check out the video to find out more!
Thanks again to Mitch Stringer for providing the interview questions. If you missed the first episode of Where’s Art?, you can find that by clicking here!
My staff and I are always striving to bring you new content whenever possible, and we are proud to present to you a new feature on our site, “Where’s Art?” hosted by Mitch Stringer. Each episode of “Where’s Art?” is brought to you on location, with insightful questions from Mitch along with images from wherever I might be at the time.
Our premier episode is from my recent trip to the Columbia River Gorge with a small group to photograph not only the iconic waterfalls of the area, but also the micro-environments and details that make this part of the world unique.
I hope you enjoy this new segment! Let me know in the comments how you like it!
Following my exhibition opening in Hamburg, I flew off to central Africa. For eight days we endured 110 degree heat; there was no way to escape it, and I was drinking nearly two gallons of water per day. Re-entry to chilly Seattle has been a shock to the system.
For months we planned the logistics of this trip – do we take drones or not? Hire planes or not? While in Hamburg we received word from the U.S. Ambassador to this central African nation that it was not advisable to take the drone, so we scrambled & FedExed the equipment home.
This turned out to be good advice since it was almost impossible to find the elephants from the ground, and we would have needed to locate them before we could send the drones into the air. The elephants are very nervous for a reason; herds in this region, as all over the continent, have been under attack by poachers. However, the African Parks personnel believe they may be calming down just a bit after a couple years of fairly successful anti-poaching enforcement.
We ended up hiring the plane that had dropped us off at the beginning of the trip and had the back cargo door taken off. We flew over the herd, which had divided into two. By the time we departed the park the herd had split into several smaller groups. It was good timing since capturing pictures of hundreds of elephants at once are highly unlikely in the future.
If you are interested in traveling to Africa with me, I am leading a photo journey in Namibia in September of 2018. Add your name to the pre-registration list now!
I have decided to jump in on the Olympic Peninsula workshop happening in in April with Gavriel Jecan, Yuri Choufour and Libby Pfeiffer. It is only one month away, so now is the time to pull the trigger if you’ve been contemplating joining us to capture the forests, coastline, and mountain peaks of this lush location. Join myself and trusted instructors in an area with a never ending variety of subjects to shoot!
