Every year I sit down both personally and with my staff to reflect on the year’s projects as well as the photographs from locations new and revisited. I can’t believe how much we were able to fit into 2017, and although I’m starting off 2018 recovering – very swiftly and beyond expectation, I might add – from foot surgery, I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in 2018!
Here are many of the highlights from the past year:
• We added new content to the website to give you more reasons to check back in with us! Where’s Art? was a segment we created as part of our new Multimedia page. It’s great to give you slide shows from my travels, but adding a voice to each unique trip brings something new to the table. Stay tuned for new editions from Mexico and Hawaii!
•I’ve begun doing portfolio reviews, with a few different packages to choose from. If you purchased one over the holidays and have submitted your photos, they are my focus for the current and coming weeks!
• We also added a new gear page where you can check out much of the equipment I use in the field, and we also focused on bringing you tips and tricks every Technique Tuesday on the blog.
• We had several terrific workshops here in my stomping grounds of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska: Columbia River Gorge, Abstract Astoria, Glacier Bay and Katmai National Parks, and over on the Olympic Peninsula at Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks, as well as Lake Quinault.
• I brought Photography As Art to the following cities: Austin, Atlanta, Portland, Scottsdale, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Dallas, and Seattle. Check out 2018’s current slate of cities with more likely to be added!
• An outdoor exhibit of Vanishing Act took place in Hamburg – what a great way to see your work displayed!
• Three new books were contracted with my publisher, Earth Aware Editions. A new edition ofEarth Is My Witnesswas released in the US and UK, and new French and Italian editions of Witness and the New Art of Photographing Nature were also published.
• Amazon added the first season of Travels to the Edge to their offerings on Prime streaming video!
• Photos and more photos! You can find my 2017 slide show here; from clicks and comments, it seems like your favorites were a bit different, with an emphasis on the Lofoten Islands. Hmm, perhaps I should schedule another workshop there. . .
• I’m in the process of planning my schedule for the next three years; keep an eye on my events page as well as the blog to stay up to date!
Myself and the staff wish you a healthy and prosperous 2018!
Sponsored by Angama Mara, The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year will win a cash prize of $10,000 USD, as well as an unforgettable all-expenses-paid 5-night safari in the Maasai Mara, with accommodation for two at lovely Angama Mara, a private vehicle at their disposal and return flights from Nairobi.
Your entry fees will go to support these important conservation organizations:
“Abstract Astoria” is one of my most popular workshops, and it’s time to take it across the country! I’ve been honing my abstract workshops in conjunction with Photography As Artseminars for years, and I think Atlanta is the perfect location to take it to the next level!
New locations await those who have joined me on previous workshops in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll also explore using 6-stop neutral density filters in the field to capture the old growth forest, wildlife, and waterfalls.
A recurring classic returns! This workshop is always a sell out, and for good reason – it’s a beautiful location, a great place to visit with great food and friendly establishments, and of course a plethora of opportunities to create stunning art. This intimate retreat always sells out early in the year, so sign up sooner than later and check out this location’s episode of Where’s Art?.
No traveler’s list of locations is complete until they’ve been to Glacier Bay. The definitive picturesque location needs to be experienced to really understand the vast beauty of this Alaskan centerpiece. Take a look at my last trip here on Where’s Art?
These workshops are sold out already, as they always do – photographers world-wide can’t get enough of the bears in this scenic landscape. Get yourself on the wait list for the first or second trip today, just in case there are any cancellations – and check out Where’s Art? while you wait!
New locations await those who have joined me on previous workshops in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll also explore using 6-stop neutral density filters in the field to capture the old growth forest, wildlife, and waterfalls.
My last trip to Namibia was this passed September, and though the location is gaining in popularity, traveling here with someone whom has made frequent visits and knows the ins and outs of capturing the most graphic images of this striking landscape and it’s wildlife is the reason it’s already sold out! Get on the list just in case someone cancels, and check out the episode of Where’s Art? from this location!
We try to offer something unique when it comes to our trip to the big island, starting with a volcano expert and photographer friend who knows the place like the back of his hand. We’ll shoot at dawn and dusk and all hours in between to capture the shots that are anything but generic travel photos!
iDesigned for photographers by photographers, this expedition to the Falklands and South Georgia Island will be led by myself, Frans Lanting and Tom Mangelsen. We will take you to the places we love and will allow us to make the most of the southern ocean’s greatest wildlife spectacle, based on our collective experience.
Happy holidays everyone, and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
Capturing brown bears in Katmai, Alaska! Though specific to this location in the video, this is a lesson and focus I employ regardless of my subject – to capture that subject within the context of the environment rather than going for the same ol’ shots. Certainly as you travel and visit recognizable locations and subjects, you should capture the shots we are accustomed to seeing – but moving a step beyond and ensuring your photos are telling the story of that subject’s place in it’s environment makes for a much more informative and lasting image. Taking the time to explore a bit and focus on wide shots where the bears are present but not necessarily the focus, or finding details of the bear’s impact on the environment without showing them directly will not only immerse your audience in the location, it will inform and inspire other shots you choose to take.
Gavriel Jecan has traveled to this location with me many times, and he’ll be leading a trip here in July – sign up today! I’m leading a couple trips here as well, but they are sold out. If you’re interested, feel free to join the wait list in case we have any cancellations.
Great news on my evergreen TV show! The first thirteen episodes of Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge are now available to stream in the US & UK on Amazon. If you haven’t seen them before, it’s now even easier!
Check them out at an affordable price, or stream them free if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber:
Revel in the beauty of awe-inspiring landscapes and the unique animals and people that inhabit them through an artist’s lens. During these journeys, I share my knowledge, curiosity, and enthusiasm about the world around us. You will also learn professional photographic techniques in such an intimate manner that you feel as if you’re right there with me getting a personal photography lesson.
Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge was produced by Edge of the Earth Productions, LLC in association with Blue Moon Productions, Inc., presented by Oregon Public Broadcasting, and distributed by American Public Television (APT). Funding for Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge was generously provided by Canon U.S.A., Inc. and the Microsoft Corporation. Additional funding was provided by Conservation International.
Though my Africa trip seems like a ages ago, I still have much to share in the form of another episode or two of “Where’s Art?”! This leg of the journey was to Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. I had two book projects in mind when I planned to come to this location, and it did not disappoint! For a book on elephants, coming to Mana Pools was a must due to the unique flora that can be found here providing a backdrop that you just won’t see anywhere else. I also had my sights set on capturing some nighttime exposures of baobab trees silhouetted against the starry evening sky for a book that will focus on images captured in between dusk and dawn.
Though the elephants here are generally accustomed to visitors to this area, they are still wild animals – and that was proven when a mother decided to charge our group. Fortunately we were prepared and able to use the surrounding trees to our advantage and no one was hurt, but it was just one more reminder about the importance of staying alert and respecting that this is their home. Rounding out the trip were African wild dogs which were entertaining, to say the least!
Greetings! I’m headed off to Hawaii today to lead a photography retreat of EPIC proportions – but before I go I wanted to share some photos from my recent trip to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia – part of the world’s largest archipelago – where we found, after a couple of days of searching, a social group of macaque monkeys.
As you can tell from these photos these animals are friendly, outgoing and most of all, grabby! Many of you know of the controversy surrounding the macaques of Sulawesi and photographer David Slater. I post these photos so we can all appreciate the often joyful personalities of these outgoing creatures. These are curious animals whom have no fear of the camera, mug for it, and often reach for it out of curiosity – hence the appearance of ‘selfie’ type shots. Rest assured, I was not about to trust them with my expensive equipment!
Though this trip started out with such wonderful subjects (pygmy tarsier’s included!), it was unfortunately cut short due to medical concerns. You see, back in the spring I took a trip to Chad and came away great photos of elephants and some not so great sand fly bites. If you are unfortunate enough to experience such a thing, get them treated immediately! To make a long (and not particularly pretty) story short, CDC was eventually involved despite my best efforts to treat them as recommended by my doctors back in Seattle. Given that the remainder of the trip was structured around diving opportunities, we felt it best not to tempt fate with the damp and irritation of repeatedly changing in and out of a wet suit. I’m on the mend – but I can’t stress enough how important it is to address such things immediately!
The last stop on my Africa adventure took me to Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia. From Sossuvlei to Dead Vlei and the Skeleton Coast, Namibia provides an abundance of photographic opportunities that illustrate a cross-section of my work. The flowing dunes and the angular shapes of the gemsbok traversing them, along with the graphic silhouettes of acacia husks provide endless opportunities to experiment with composition.
I go into more detail of what makes this such a fascinating location in an upcoming edition of Where’s Art?. Episode 9 from Botswana is available as of Tuesday, and the edition covering Zimbabwe will be up next week!
I’ll be leading a photo journey here next year which is already sold out. If you’re interested in visiting this location with me, please fill out the wait list form in case a spot opens up.
Over the years trees have saved me a couple times from angry animals, and an acacia came to the rescue this time. On this, the second leg of our southern Africa trip, in Mana Pools National Park, an elephant cow got annoyed with me and we all had to take refuge. Satisfied that she proved her dominance, she wandered off after giving us the hairy eyeball for a few tense moments. No one ever says traveling with me is boring!
Aside from photographing these elephants in such an incredible environment, the wild dogs in the area were prevalent and playful. Considering a number of book projects coming up that relate to trees and night time photography, I worked with the iconic baobab trees to capture several worthy images.
To see more images from this trip and others, check out the stock site! As always virtually any image you can find here is available as a print. Just contact us with anything you find that you like.
I’ve had the fortune of spending these past few weeks traveling to several locations in Africa with great company, and I’m excited to bring you new photos from the first leg of my journey. Our first location was the Makgadikgadi pan in Botswana. Curious meerkats came to mug for the camera and the locals gathered in traditional cultural garb led by their shaman. We took to the sky for aerials of the salt pan, and photographed the ancient Baobab trees. I couldn’t have been happier with the variety to be found here, and it was a great first stop on this adventure.
Travel tip! I experienced technical difficulties with my laptop to begin this trip, and had to pick up another one on the fly. It was an inconvenience to be sure. My advice to anyone undertaking such an involved trip that keeps you in remote areas for extended periods of time is to consider bringing along a smaller less expensive backup laptop so you’re not simply out of luck when it comes to editing and organizing your photos. It would be a shame to invest the finances and time into such a trip and have a simple piece of hardware impact your productivity. Thanks only to my wonderful connections here was I able to continue to work without a hitch.
Stay tuned for upcoming photos from Namibia and Zimbabwe, as well as episodes of Where’s Art? from these locations!
