This has been an extraordinary trip capped off by several days spent in one of my favorite places on the planet: the Bolivian Altiplano. Salt lakes, many-hued mountains, and the surprise of flamingos living at 15,000 feet – it is an amazing place to be for a time, and I hope my travels lead me back here again.
One of the world’s most formidable landscapes, the Atacama in Chile is the oldest, driest desert on earth and has been for about three million years. This was my first experience there and it did not disappoint. I just love these craggy, austere landscapes, where the light plays such an important roll in getting great photographs.
Using San Pedro de Atacama as our base, we photographed in the Los Flamencos National Reserve with its impressive Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley. A highlight was photographing at the geyser basin of El Tatio at night as the Milky Way stretched across the sky. Purely primeval.
It’s autumn in the southern hemisphere. It’s always windy; between the latitudes of 40 & 50 degrees, the Roaring Forties, strong westerly winds, smack the Andes and create the most amazing cloud formations. Lenticular clouds scud across enhancing the most spectacular of landscapes in Los Glaciares National Park, which includes Mount Fitz Roy Massif and Cerro Torre.
Two spots remain available for an amazing opportunity to travel with Art to Katmai, Alaska!
Join Art as he leads this exclusive workshop to a private lodge in the Katmai region of Alaska. You will have opportunities to view and photograph bears safely at a close proximity and will be creating dynamic images that are different than anything you have seen before. This is a Katmai experience like no other due to the exclusivity of the location. You can be one of only 8 people to learn the nuances of nature photography taught in a truly wild atmosphere by a well-versed set of instructors
Click here for more details and to reserve one of the remaining spots before they are gone!
After the crush of the Kumbh in Haridwar, the nature and solitude of Ranthambore National Park was a welcome change. With an area of 400 sq. km encompassing rocky hill crests which descend to open valleys between the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges, dotted with water pools and fruit trees, this park gets its name from the thousand year old fortress, which looms above the forest. Well known for the diurnal activity of tigers, Ranthambore is a very special and unusual area where a natural present meets a historical past.
My attempt to explain the timing of the Ardh Kumbh Mela:
Haridwar is the place for the well-known Kumbh Mela. Kumbh Mela is a Hindu religious gathering which is celebrated for forty days and is the biggest religious ceremony in the world; “Kumbh Mela” translates to “Festival of Urn”. At any given place, the Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years. There is a difference of around 3 years between the Kumbh Melas at each of four locations. The exact date is determined according to a combination of zodiac positions of the Jupiter, the Sun and the Moon. The Purna Kumbh Mela, the biggest and the most auspicious fair, occurs every twelve years and is organized in rotation among four places where drops of the sacred nectar spilled over: Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. A mass pilgrimage for the Hindu community of India, the Kumbh Mela is rumored to be one of the largest congregation of sages, yogis, ascetics, mendicants, men, women and children on the planet. But every sixth year after a Purna Kumbh Mela, an Ardh Kumbh Mela takes place. In the Hindi language the word “Ardh” stands for “half” and “Mela” means “fair”. The “Ardh Kumbh Mela” is called so because it is held at the sixth year and marks the halfway stage between the celebration of the Purna Kumbh Melas every 12 years. The Ardh Mela takes place at Haridwar & Allahabad only. And then there is the mother of all Kumbhs, the Maha Kumbh Mela which happens once every 144 years.
OK, I think they are drinking way too much spilled sacred nectar…
In May Art is teaming up with Frans Lanting and Tom Mangelson on the Galapagos trip of a lifetime. These trips have been sold out for months, but now several berths have come available.
Galapagos I, May 6-14, 2016
Three berths available
Galapagos II, May 13-21, 2016
Six berths available
Phone: 1-202-558-9596 | Email: info@visionarywild.com
Do not delay in signing up as these last few spaces will fill quickly!
This trip was the furthest south I’ve ever gotten on a boat to the Antarctic mainland. It was tantalizing close, but we didn’t quite make it there. Hurricane force winds compacted the ice pack and nearly stranded our Ukrainian expedition ship. The captain was able to extricate the ship before it got stuck. This far south we were able to see the massive tabular icebergs and along the Antarctic Peninsula we encountered colonies of Adelie and Gentoo penguins. Enjoy the journey!
Some years are publishing years, some are traveling, 2015 was for reshaping the business—a necessity in the ever-changing photography industry. I closed my downtown Seattle gallery and launched this website, focusing my core business online and allowing me the ability to concentrate on other projects, of which there are many.
All the filming that I did in 2014 with Abraham Joffe and the Untitled Film Works crew—in East Africa, Papua New Guinea, Alaska, and here in Seattle—finally came to fruition. Tales by Light is a joint Canon Australia and National Geographic Channel production & I hope it comes to the US soon!
As for Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge, it continues to air in broadcast markets worldwide.
While travel slowed somewhat in 2015, I still managed trips to Tanzania (twice), Kenya, Yellowstone National Park (twice), Antarctica, India, Bali, Japan, Iceland, Washington State, Alaska, Svalbard, California, and Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. The final expedition of the year was to the Danakil Basin of Ethiopia.
I lectured at, among other places, Florida’s Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Fine Art, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Portland’s OMSI, and at #OPTIC2015 in New York. Human Canvas took over the Rotella Gallery in Soho for the month of November. DPreview.com published several well-received articles on my experiences photographing emperor penguins, humpback whales, and Iceland.
The Art of the Photograph in Spanish
Earth Is My Witness in French and German by National Geographic
Vanishing Act in USA, German & French
Earth Is My Witness garnered several publishing awards, including an IBPA Benjamin Franklin and an Independent Publisher. As for moi, I was named honorary chair of Washington Wild.
Why I Do What I Do
Pretty in Pink: Springtime in Japan
Yes on 1401: Save Animals Facing Extinction (YES- it passed in November!)
Technique: Creating Graphic Images
Revealing Africa’s Major Elephant Ivory Poaching Hotspots
Travels To The Edge Music in the Japan Episode
Fall in Wyoming
Technique: Creating Abstract Images
International Cheetah Day
Colors of the Year 2016
Nothing says I love you quite like an Art Wolfe gift certificate. Seriously, though, it is a thoughtful item for the art collectors, photography enthusiasts, and ambitious travelers in your circle of family and friends. We have multiple denominations to choose from.
Buy a gift certificate now through Cyber Monday and get a $5 store credit posted to your account on Tuesday. (Limit one credit per customer.) They can be redeemed for any retail item in the Art Wolfe Store including workshops.
