Today we celebrate one of the more iconic and often symbolic creatures of the animal kingdom; the elephant.
Long revered for their size (African elephants weigh as much as 22,000 pounds) and intelligence, elephants are one of the few species to use tools and employ cohesive teamwork. They are also one of the more expressive and emotional members of the animal kingdom, emoting feelings of empathy and grief for fallen companions.
On this day where we honor these amazing creatures and reaffirm our efforts to conserve and expand their numbers, it couldn’t be a better time to discuss a book project and launch event that I am honored and elated to be a part of. Remembering Elephants is a collaborative effort encompassing the work of 65 of the world’s top wildlife photographers documenting the life of an elephant. 100% of the proceeds from each book sold will benefit conservation efforts.
The book will be published in September. Field Biologist Ian Redmond and myself will be speaking at the launch event in London on September 22nd. If you’re able to make it, I would love to see you there to share our respects for these wonderful animals!
An exhibit representing the book will show from the launch to October 1st at La Galleria, Pall Mall in London.
The Summer Olympics open this evening in Rio, and as a world traveler fortunate enough to have been to so many incredible places all over the globe, it’s always incredible to see nations set aside differences and come together to compete.
As the week comes to a close and the Games begin, I’m grateful to bring you some wonderful images captured on our recent workshop in Katmai National Park, Alaska. 2016 has been an incredible year for shooting, with locations I’ve visited in the past providing me with unprecedented opportunities to capture them. The denizens Katmai must have felt the competitive vibe in the air, as the wildlife in the area was at it’s best.
The bears in the park were active, expressive, and down-right ready for the spotlight as our group captured them going about their business – their every day tasks mundane to them, but a spectacle to us. Enjoy the photos as we celebrate the opening of the Olympic Games and 100 years of the National Parks Service!
Done in question-and-answer format Cats in Question offers authoritative and engaging answers to the thousands of questions about cats that Smithsonian scientists receive annually. All of the world’s cats are here, from fearsome predators such as lions and tigers, to mysterious hunters such as leopards and jaguars, to cuddly pets such as domestic cats.
More than 100 breathtaking photographs by acclaimed photographer Art Wolfe illustrate the questions on cat facts, cat evolution and diversity, and cats and humans. Readers will find the answers to such questions as “What are cats?” “How do cats hunt?” “Do wild cats like catnip?” and “Do cats dream?”.
Subjects dealt with include physical features and senses, diet and predation, social behavior, evolution, decline and recovery, diversity, distribution and abundance, and the cats’ roles in various cultures. Did you know that a male and female lion mate repeatedly, as often as every 20 minutes for several days? Or that lions may sleep or rest up to 19 hours a day? The text is augmented by 120 color photographs and a list of scientific and common names and a glossary.
A conservation biologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, author Dr. John Seidensticker and cat specialst Dr. Susan Lumpkin have edited Great Cats and wrote The Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas, Cats and Wild Cats, and several children’s books. They live in Washington, DC.
I started doing workshops in Glacier Bay back in the 1980s and this remains one of my favorite trips of the year. The small boat experience in the midst of a wilderness wonderland cannot be beaten. We saw more orcas than I have in a long time and I even added a new species to my list, the endangered marbled murrelet.
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Take a virtual journey and check out a selection my new imagery taken between April 1st and June 30th. Locations include Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park & the Atacama Desert, Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park, the Bolivian Altiplano, the Galapagos, birding in Texas, Washington’s temperate rainforest, and Tanzania. It’s been a busy schedule to keep, but these locations and workshops have provided wonderful opportunities to shoot along with the chance to get to know some new faces. I’m looking forward to what the rest of 2016 brings!
My recent trip to Tanzania included a visit to Lake Natron, where I hoped to capture the colonies of lesser and greater flamingos who rely on the area as one of its few consistent breeding grounds in East Africa. As you’ll see from the slide show, our subjects did not disappoint! The salt water lake is home to organisms that manage to thrive in the high salinity and ultimately give the water the rich and varied hues, providing a beautiful backdrop for our shoot.
Pelicans and other birds also made an appearance, and zebras kicked up dust as they traveled through the same region. As mentioned in my previous post – this trip was short but satisfyingly productive and well worth the aggressive travel schedule. I feel this is my strongest work yet in this region, and I hope you enjoy these images!
Inspired by the imaginative spatial designs of Dutch artist M.C. Escher, photographer Art Wolfe traveled the globe in search of similar patterns in nature. The result is a book of remarkable wildlife images that captures both the beauty and the poignancy of animals on the move.
Migrations: Wildlife in Motion draws the reader into the energy, motion, and enduring spirit of life on the planet. The stunning images capture the delicate balance of our ecosystem, conveying the primordial stirrings that prompt a flock of snow geese to head south, monarch butterflies to bejewel a forest, or a colony of Indiana bats to snuggle in tight hibernation.
Kenya, Japan, South George Island, the Canadian Arctic, and the Ozarks are among the locations that create the backdrop for Wolfe’s dramatic artistry as he showcases “classic migrators,” the beauty of their trek, the splendor of the patterns they create, and the cycles they are compelled to repeat.
Over the course of his forty-year career, award-winning photographer Art Wolfe has worked on every continent and in hundreds of locations. His photographs are recognized throughout the world for their mastery of color, composition, and perspective, and his
photographic mission is multifaceted—art, wildlife advocacy, and journalism all inform his work.
Migrations: Wildlife in Motion is available from fine booksellers and Amazon.
If you want a signed copy & don’t mind paying international shipping, order from our website! Make sure that you indicate you want a signed copy in the notes field upon checkout.
A pair of green jays fraternizing in Starr county, Texas
Save 20% on any Emerald Doublet print purchased this month. These Open Edition prints are printed on EPSON Premium Photo Luster paper using archival EPSON Ultrachrome inks. Art signs the print with a silver acid-free pen. Get more information about our Fine Art prints here.
I have just returned from a short, but very productive, trip to Tanzania. First up: photos from Ngorongoro Crater, which is the world’s largest inactive caldera covering an area of 100 square miles. The crater is a highly productive grassland, home to thousands of large animals, including wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, rhinos, lions, servals, and hyenas.
I will be in London in late September to help launch of the much-heralded Remembering Elephants book project benefiting the Born Free Foundation. There will be a special evening about elephant conservation and photography at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society in London (1 Kensington Gore, Kensington, London SW7 2AR, UK) on September 22nd at 7:30pm.
The event will be introduced by Born Free founder Virginia McKenna OBE and as well as a presentation of the images from the book, will include talks by elephant expert Ian Redmond OBE. I will be keynoting with my Earth Is My Witness presentation, with an emphasis on my experience photographing elephants. The evening will culminate in an auction of some of the images from the book. The books themselves will also be on sale on the night with some of the 64 participating photographers available to sign them.
ALL profits from the evening will go to elephant conservation in Africa.
