On the last leg of our east African sojourn earlier this year, we stayed at the idyllic Mnemba Island Lodge on tiny Mnemba Island adjacent to Zanzibar. Within twenty minutes of arriving we witnessed the last batch of green sea turtles leave their nest and enter the Indian Ocean. One in a thousand will return twenty five years later.
No trip to east Africa is complete without a visit to the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. It is the largest unfilled, inactive volcanic caldera in the world. Various hominids have lived here for 3 million years and currently about 25000 large mammals from rhinos to hippos to zebras make this area home.
Yellowstone National Park is spectacular in the winter. We stayed at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, one of the few lodges open in the winter. From there we explored the Norris Geyser Basin via snowcoach, passed all the while by snowmobilers, who now are restricted to roads and use significantly quieter engines. As always the wildlife is varied and accessible, but what I liked photographing were the landscapes, especially the pine forests that burned back in the late 1980s. Their regimented geometry was softened by the falling snow.
With the publication of Earth Is My Witness, 2014 was a highlight year in my career. So much energy and time was put toward this mega project that to see it finally in published form gives everyone at Art Wolfe, Inc. an enormous sense of accomplishment. Earth Is My Witness was launched at an event at the California Academy of Sciences.
While my travel schedule slowed down somewhat, I did find myself in India twice—particularly in Ladakh, searching for the elusive snow leopard. I saw several, but at great distances. Regardless, it was a tremendous experience in a rugged and elemental landscape. Next up were Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, Alaska’s Glacier Bay and Katmai National Parks, and Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago. After teaching a couple workshops in Oregon and Washington, I headed off to Kenya, Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea to make a series of specials for Australian TV. In November I joined Denis Glennon and Frans Lanting in South Georgia Island and Antarctica. Then Iceland’s Bárðarbunga volcano beckoned and I answered its call. It’s been erupting since August and shows no sign of slowing down. My final trip of the year to East Africa straddled 2014-2015.
My prints were featured in the “Pristine Russia” traveling exhibit and “Power of the Image” exhibit in Beijing. I had two gallery openings this year: The Konica Minolta Gallery featured my work in January. My work is also hanging in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as part of the Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition.
On the awards front, Human Canvas was selected for the Graphis Photography Annual. Earth Is My Witness was named a “Best Photo Book of the Year” by American Photo magazine. I was honored be included in the UK magazine Professional Photography as part of their 100 Photography Heroes special issue.
Travels to the Edge continued to air around the world, including a first-time run in France as Voyages Au Bout Du Monde Avec Art Wolfe.
If you find yourself in Seattle, please do not hesitate to drop by my gallery. As always, please keep an eye on artwolfe.com for the latest updates. Wishing you and yours a bountiful New Year!
-Art Wolfe
Explore. Create. Inspire.
Nothing is more exciting than flying for 8 hours above herds of wildebeest and other critters of the Serengeti, above Lake Natron’s spectacular mineral deposits and lesser flamingos, and finally around the summit of “Ol Doinyo Lengai” volcano the Maasais call the home of the gods. The surface of Natron is surreal, colorful, and geometric, seemingly made for me. In some of the flamingo images you will see both reflections and shadows from the same birds resulting in beautifully complex compositions.
See the First and Second videos in the series of East Africa Video Journals.
While the Serengeti always offers its share of fine wildlife sightings, I was quite excited by seeing the 120,000 year old Engaresero Footprints. These are among the oldest modern human tracks in the world.
I’m traveling in Africa with friends. We’ve been trekking at the base of the mighty Virunga Mountains looking for a troop of Mountain Gorillas and were not disappointed! Do note it’s up to the gorillas to get this close, we’ll approach the troop from a respectable distance but their curiosity can occasionally have them close the distance to check us out as well.
I hope to have more to share soon!
It already seems long ago, but last month I headed off to Ushuaia, the jumping off point for Antarctica and the remote islands of the southern Atlantic.
The Falklands are home to huge colonies of albatross and the rockhopper penguins.
South Georgia is my favorite place to shoot on the planet.
I guess I can’t get enough of Antarctica! I’ll be heading back there in late January-early February and there were a couple last-minute openings- more information HERE.
In spite of the weather we managed to get so much in such a short time in Iceland. The aurora borealis is always a stunner! Also, I can’t resist the adorable and affectionate Icelandic horse anytime I visit the country. In their full winter coats they were probably warmer than I was in my down jacket!
After only a day in Seattle from Antarctica, I flew off to Iceland to photograph the Bárðarbunga Volcano. We were so lucky in our timing! The only flyable four hours in the last seven days was when we were up. It has been unflyable since. According to our guide Iurie it was his best view since it started erupting in August. The weather has been so bad with 135 mph winds that they closed the road to the Jökulsárlón ice lagoon. We are hiding out in Reykjavik. No ice caves this trip, but it’s not bad spending time in the snow with hardy little Icelandic horses.
