Traveling the world I have visited cultures from remote tropical jungles to arid African savannas where living a simple existence is dictated by the lack of natural resources. The people simply must pull a substance living out of the land to survive, a way of life that does not come by choice but by necessity. In between seminars in NY and Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to photograph the Amish of Lancaster County, an interesting contrast to see a culture living a simple existence surrounded by all manner of modern conveniences and technology while doing without all of these trappings not because they have to, but because they choose to.
Photographer and friend Tim Mateer acted as my guide over a couple days; a Mennonite himself, he was able to provide insight into this unique culture that dates back to 1693 when a group branched off from the church in Switzerland led by Jakob Ammann. Those following Jakob became known as Amish and in the 1720s several groups migrated to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where their decedents still live today. While many think of this as “where the Amish live” separate communities can be found in over half the states in the US and even in Canada. And they are anything but a leftover dying breed, having an average of 7 children they are among the fastest growing populations today with numbers now exceeding 250,000. As they only marry within their faith genetic disorders are high despite their own efforts to marry into different, unrelated communities.
While the Amish live and work on their own farms they share the same public roads and do not try and hide themselves. To the contrary I found them to be quite friendly; the majority greeting me with a wave and a smile as I photographed them passing by. While in general they may prefer to be left to themselves in this area of the country they have become accustomed to tourists and our curious nature.
The Amish prohibition against being photographed isn’t exactly cut and dry. Though you won’t likely find an Amish person photographing or even painting a portrait of themselves adherence to and interpretation of biblical tenants varies wildly from one community to the next. Some are more relaxed, while others, the “old order Amish” are the strictest with prohibition of all things “worldly”. I suspect those I was interacting with were of the former, more relaxed communities of Amish though refusing to accept assistance from the outside or plugging into the electrical grid seem to be universal tenants.
The motivation behind their simple way of life comes from a strict and literal interpretation of the bible where it says one is not to be “conformed to the world”. In general they operate their own schools and educate their children through the 8th grade, young unmarried women teaching the children, this was determined sufficient for success in their way of life. Most are farmers though they are also well known for fine hand crafted furniture and quilts as well.
While the dress code varies among communities, in general they wear very plain clothes of solid colors, long dresses for the women, trousers and wide brimmed hats for the men. Within the community they believe everyone is equal and one individual should not stand out or be elevated above the rest. Women will not cut their hair wearing it in a bun under a prayer cap and the men’s long beards (they won’t shave their beard once married) are a sign of adult hood and maturity though mustaches were historically associated with the military and are forbidden.
The Amish are well known for their horse drawn buggies and wagons. They have begrudgingly compromised with the modern world agreeing in some places to place electric lights and reflectors for safety though they must be provided to them by local municipalities. With careful study of the buggies you can tell one community (generally 20-40 families) from another as there will be little variation, all being equal after all.
I found the Amish children to be just delightful and I smiled to see them being allowed to be just that, children. Granted I was just getting a glimpse but I what I saw were happy kids playing, goofing around, going fishing on the creek banks all smiles and innocence. I had to wonder to myself how different children in my own neighborhood might be if they spent more time outdoors being entertained by nature and their own imaginations as opposed to the internet, video games and TV.
I don’t pretend to know the Amish from my brief encounter and have neither judgment nor intimate knowledge of their ways of life. That said, a little fresh air and sunshine and working with one’s hands would no doubt do us all a little good in our over saturated technology driven lives. Now excuse me as I return to my Mac and work on some more images in Lightroom, gotta get them ready for the next presentation on the big screen and transfer some files for the Las Vegas gallery.
There is still time and there are still a few spots left on this incredible adventure, as shown in my TV series Travels to the Edge.
The Pantanal offers a wetland environment like no other on the planet. At 54,000 square miles you could hide the whole of the Florida Everglades in the center and never find them. It’s no secret that I love photographing wildlife and the Pantanal offers some of the best avian photography anywhere. While the Amazon rain forest may be larger, the Pantanal has a concentration of wildlife that allows you to see (and photograph) 100 times more birds and animals than you ever would in the Amazon. I chose the Pantanal for my TV show for this very reason.
You will have the chance to photograph capybaras and caimans and many of the 400 species of birds that live in the Pantanal. Nearly a quarter of these birds weighing in at over a pound (1.6kg) – which is a pretty big bird when you stop to think about it. We may even get to see Giant Otters (big as a grown man) and Giant Anteaters. If you’ve seen the episode of “Travels to the Edge” from this region you have some idea of what you’ll be in store for. But don’t worry, when it comes to the caimans, we’ll keep a respectful distance (this time).
Through traveling to photograph wildlife, I have been blessed with getting to know some of the most interesting and diverse cultures around the world. For this tour, I have scheduled visits to two working Brazilian ranches so we can get a taste of what it is like to pull a living from this land and call it home. To visit a country without getting to know the people is an incomplete story for me. There is so much to be learned from others who share this earth with us but have different perspectives and unique viewpoints. Seeing the challenges they face can bring a new perspective to our own lives.
And if you’re not hooked yet… on my previous trips I have stumbled across a very remote corner of the Pantanal where there is an incredible opportunity to see Jaguars in the wild. This particular group has become habituated to seeing people much like some of the lion troops you would see on safari in Africa and they no longer instinctively retreat and hide in the dense forest. It may take a while to swallow your heart back down from the middle of your throat, but seeing a Jaguar in the wild is a experience you will never forget.
What to do with April Showers? – Get an umbrella, grab your camera and get outside.
I spent 2 days photographing in the Columbia Gorge and along the Southern Washington Coast, in the rain, and I couldn’t have been happier. The previous 2 days were beautiful. Blue skies, sunshine, unseasonably warm temperatures – and I wasn’t at all interested in getting outside with my camera.
While I’m always open to any subject, on this trip I had very soft, high key, moody images in mind that I could render in black and white. The coastal and inland waters of the Columbia Gorge in addition to having one spectacular waterfall after the next are littered with old pilings from a bygone era of wealth and prosperity from the timber barons of the late 1800 and early 1900s. I have photographed these subjects in the past and knew they needed the right atmospheric conditions, namely fog, to be successful. Here in the NW fog isn’t all that predictable or persistent, but when you don’t have fog, rain can be an excellent (and even better) substitute.
The overcast skies provided the perfect soft box to light the subject, the falling rain softens the image and disturbs the water such that the long exposures necessary with my smallest apertures render the image as a high key, mysterious and quiet, yet powerful image. I knew I would be rendering these in black and white and positioned myself to maximize the white background where the sky was indistinguishable from the sea. I could have stayed with these as a subject for the entire day working different angles, focal lengths and exposures. It was food for my soul and I felt like I was at an all you can eat buffet.
I wasn’t going to overlook the waterfalls as this was the perfect time of the year to photograph them through the fine lines of the trees. The leaves have only just begun to come out adding a touch of color while not obscuring the view of the falls. Most people would say I was “too early” to shoot the falls but you’ll find in about 2 weeks time the trees will have leafed out to where the shots I was able to create with patterns of lines and positive and negative space would be impossible to replicate.
Lastly I met up with friends early in the morning to photograph the Portland Japanese Gardens. With an annual pass you can visit the gardens 2 hours ahead of the general public and photograph largely unencumbered. Again the time of year allowed for some subtle color in the maple trees as they had only begun to leaf out while not obscuring the fine details and patterns of the intricate under-story of their branches. Yes it was a bit too early for bushels of blossoms but when you look at the patterns in nature, the energy contained in a balance of positive and negative space, you’ll find there is rarely ever a bad time to photograph areas like the Japanese Gardens. And when you realize the potential you may never look at a rainy day the same way again.
Art had a great time with his workshop participants in South Africa. The seaside community of Arniston on the Western Cape was a superb location and now enjoys national monument status.
Also, he was able to get his first shots of the endangered African penguin. These penguins are also called Jackass because of their braying call.
11 days/10 night Photography Expedition led by Art Wolfe
Change is coming quickly to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. New elections have brought the hope for democracy, Nobel peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in parliament, and now is the time to travel to this fascinating country!
Explore the ancient cities, Buddhist temples, and vibrant culture of this country just opening up to the outside world.
Begins at the birding paradise Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary, winds through a truly dazzling array of bazaars and ends at one of the oldest continously inhabited cities on Earth, sacred Varanasi on the Ganges.
What an incredible year it was! I got to meet so many very nice people all over the world. I also turned 60 and became an orphan this year.
Thank you all for participating with me in workshops, tours, classes and in the studio. We all learned so much from each other.
Thanks also to my incredible staff and fellow associate instructors for supporting me and helping me be prepared for the multitude of places and events I touched.
Before we launch into the next year with a full head of steam, enjoy a brief backward glance of some of the places I traveled to this year teaching workshops and classes. I find this is a great way to catch my breath before diving in again. Forgive me if I didn’t mention your spot, even though I was really there.
India
Japan
China
Olympic Peninsula
Canadian Rockies
Eastern Oregon
Seattle
San Francisco
Vancouver
Iceland
Alaska
Canadian Rockies
Palouse, WA
South Africa
Botswana
Ethiopia
Namibia
Montreal
New York City
Art Wolfe, photographe animalier mondialement reconnu, nous livre ici la quintessence de son travail photographique. Ses récits émaillent l’ouvrage divisé en sept chapitres : Amérique du Nord, Afrique, Antarctique, Europe, Océanie, Amérique du Sud et Asie. Chacune de ces parties est précédée par un texte dans lequel Art Wolfe lui-même se confie sur son expérience unique.
À travers de nombreuses anecdotes, il nous livre les situations insolites auxquelles il a été confronté lors de ses nombreux voyages aux quatre coins du globe. Il nous raconte, par exemple, ses longues promenades en compagnie de manchots royaux, sa rencontre extraordinaire avec un gigantesque lion, ou encore la fois où, alors qu’il cherchait le bon angle pour une photo, il s’est retrouvé coincé sous un bébé éléphant de mer. Le récit de ces moments rares est illustré par des photographies exceptionnelles, dont seul Art Wolfe a le secret, et qui reflètent l’immense talent de ce photographe animalier hors du commun.
224 Pages, 160 Photographes, 280 mm (largeur) x 300 mm (hauteur), broché
