You may recognize this photo as the cover of the bestseller by Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, now a movie with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. For the first time I am offering this as a print.
Save 20% on any Curious Bear print purchased this month! They are printed on EPSON Premium Photo Luster paper using archival EPSON Ultrachrome inks, and I hand sign them with a silver acid-free pen.
In the book The Living Wild, Art wrote, “After all, an animal without habitat is simply a curiosity biding time to its extinction. But an animal with its habitat is a vibrant representation of natural selection.” It is within this book that Art highlights the environment and the wildlife in a symbiotic relationship and travels beyond the more common seen portrait of wildlife. There are many places throughout the world that highlight this type of diversity, but Americans need to travel no farther than the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. With the reintroduction of wolves in the 90s’, this 11 million acre reserve of land has become one of the most intact temperate ecosystems on the planet. If you count the bird, mammal, fish, insect, amphibian, plant and reptile species, you walk away with thousands of potential photography subjects. Due to the stunningly beautiful land surrounding the creatures, this place offers the opportunity to capture imagery very similar to the visions Art has created in The Living Wild. Moose, bear, antelope, elk and countless others can be composed with the backdrop of the Tetons at sunrise and sunset. If you are wondering how, now is your chance to learn.
Visit Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming the first weekend in October with Art Wolfe and Gavriel Jecan for a four-day workshop being held in the heart of one of America’s most scenic locations.
Can’t see the slideshow? Click Here.
I can agree with my fellow traveler Mark McInnis about our trip to the Katmai National Park area in Alaska “…this trip has been amazing. Just amazing.”
He continues on: “Jerry, Art, Becky and I were shooting aerials yesterday when I spotted a White Wolf. We landed on the beach and Art thought that he [the wolf] had probably left because of the noise. But we snuck around the corner and he was still there just napping on the beach! We started clicking photos, but he heard our cameras and promptly got up to leave. Haha, This next part still just cracks me up. Art started howling. Like a wolf. And the wolf stopped, turned sideways, and looked DIRECTLY at us. And of course his shot is twice what mine is, but it doesn’t matter. That memory will stick with me forever. My jaw might have hit the floor. It was amazing and one of the most memorable and comedic moments of my life. Art is such a legend. I love him to death and have only known him for 4 days. Talk about a gifted, talented and honest human. Really love the guy.”
Get on the notification list for the July 24-29, 2016 Katmai trip!
Can’t see the slideshow? Click Here.
Recently I spent the most remarkable two weeks with several fellow photographers in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. Ranging everywhere on land and in river were the huge coastal brown bears and all the waterways were chock full of spawning sockeye salmon. As a result of last year’s mild winter, there were many sows and cubs feasting on the protein-rich and oily fish.
I am scheduling another trip July 24-29, 2016. Get on the notification list now!
New to the Art Wolfe Store, these framed art cards are perfect as gifts! Framed and matted they are beautifully printed and embossed—a classic look that could effortlessly be used in a variety of ways and decors. They are especially useful in small spaces and as decorative montages.
Art card in a black wood frame with matting.
Frame size: 10.75 x 10.75
Image size: 5.5 x 5.5
See the complete selection here. Use the introductory coupon code blog072015 to save $25!
You may have heard me and several other photographers say that using a good tripod is one of the easiest ways to take your photography to the next level. While true- there are some situations where it is more practical to get the shots you want without one. Shot on location in Antarctica.
Learn many more tips from Art by taking a workshop!
Click play to hear the story behind this Vanishing Act photo!
VANISHING ACTPhotographs by Art Wolfe, text by Barbara Sleeper
In this revised edition, legendary wildlife photographer Art Wolfe turns to one of nature’s most fundamental survival techniques: the vanishing act. His portraits show animals and insects disappearing into their surroundings, using deceptions, disguises, lures, and decoys to confuse the eye of both predator and prey. Spotting each cryptic animal amid Wolfe’s clever compositions is both a fun and an informative challenge. At a time when many species are performing permanent vanishing acts due to habitat loss and human encroachment, this book showcases the beauty and evolutionary extremes of animal behavior and artfully illustrates the tenacious will to stay alive in an eat-or-be-eaten world.
Softcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Cameron + Company; Revised edition
Language: English
Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.5 inches
A study by Sam Wasser, who I’ve had a great working relationship with for several years, has been published in the journal Science that finds the poaching of Ivory in Africa comes from two main sources, including large elephant reserves in Tanzania and Mozambique. You can find out more from the story on NPR’s Morning Edition program or from The Seattle Times article.
Hello Australia! There are plenty of chances this week to catch the WILD episode of Tales by Light, featuring yours truly.
Find the schedule on Australia Nat Geo TV.
Everyone else- we still hope that this show gets wider distribution. Stay tuned!
Illegal poaching and wildlife trafficking is the fourth largest transnational crime behind weapon, drug, and human trafficking, and funds other types of violence and criminal organizations across the globe. Passing I-1401 will help reduce that violence. In addition, many of the animals protected by I-1401 are killed for medicinal use despite no real evidence of the efficacy of these expensive treatments.
While New York and New Jersey have passed laws to protect elephants and rhinos, I-1401 will prohibit and strengthen the penalties for the sale, purchase and distribution of products made from a list of 10 endangered animals: elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, marine turtles, pangolins, sharks and rays. Despite widespread public opposition to these practices, powerful special interest groups continue to lobby state legislatures and Congress to oppose common sense laws that would protect iconic species slipping toward extinction.
I-1401 would ban the sale or purchase of products made from endangered and exploited animals, including elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, pangolins, marine turtles, sharks and rays. It will be the first statewide ballot measure to help protect iconic species on the verge of being slaughtered into extinction. Passing it will set a national, and perhaps even international, precedent.
But first, at least 325,000 signatures must be collected by July to make the November ballot, in addition to building a robust, statewide campaign.
Join philanthropist Paul G. Allen, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, in getting this bill passed this November.
saveanimalsfacingextinction.org
Full text of the initiative here.
