Last weekend I had the opportunity to hike and camp on Olympic National Park’s glorious Shi Shi Beach. Although I visit the Olympic Peninsula several times a year, this was the first time in decades that I had been to this particular area. There were no longer any squatters there escaping the Vietnam draft, but there were quite a few intrepid campers like us, out to enjoy the end of the summer, do some hiking, and in our case, photography.
Check out the entire photo shoot at www.artwolfestock.com and stay tuned for the next installment of “Where’s Art?” in which I will discuss photographing in this part of the world!
Art is just returning from a quick trip to the Galapagos Islands. He was really looking forward to getting great images of the Marine iguanas- which it appears was a success! Also some images of the rich landscape as well as the enormous Galapagos tortoise.
With the news of the storms sweeping across the North Atlantic I was very concerned about our chances to see the northern lights. We were lucky to get a break in the weather this week. We really only had one viable opportunity for the Northern Lights, two nights ago the clouds unexpectedly cleared after rain and clouds all day. My best image is a fairly rare shot that shows the Milky Way with the red and green lights, shot at 1 am.
As an unexpected bonus we were guided by two mountaineers up onto a glacier for a 3 hour trek to an ice cave. Using ropes, crampons and ice axes, we followed a small river down under the edge of the glacier on hands and knees until we came to large opening that provided the only light. We were over 100 feet below the ice surface which was covered in ash and it was nearly pitch black. I was cold ,wet and struggling with helmet straps that prevented me from effectively using my glasses. All in the name of “art.”
All in all, an excellent trip; the weather held until we were done shooting and now it is snowing; it’s a good thing all those adorable Icelandic horses have grown their shaggy winter coats!
We are having a great trip in Iceland. I brought this group here for the northern lights, but since it has been cloudy we have been enjoying the spectacular landscape and, of course, the ubiquitous horses. It should be clearing up tomorrow and there has been great solar flare activity, which bodes well for seeing the aurora.
Mashatu has been an amazing and productive trip as I had hoped. We had some wonderful opportunities with elephants, lions, and especially leopards. Now off to MalaMala!
Namibia is the photographic gift that keeps on giving. While I have been to the Sossus dunes many times, the Serra Cafema and Ongava Reserve were new to me. The wildlife is tremendous and the dusty atmosphere is magical.
This three day workshop was filled with intensive field sessions. Art’s goal was to work closely with each participant to really transform and refine their skills. An image can have the power to stimulate the imagination and intellect while also telling a story that awakens the senses. He challenged them to explore the nature of creativity and discover ways to bring its power to each image.
Everyone that attended explored photography and the subjects that were presented more thoroughly than they ever had before. They all walked away with a new perspective on photography and a new found inspiration.
Photographs featured by:
Dianne Tomita
Kevin Coughlin
Kevin & Kyle Mullen
Peter Brisley
Steven Sholly
Sue O’Connell
“Kyle and I really enjoyed the workshop and Art helped me see and create some great images that I wouldn’t have considered before the workshop. I look forward to the next time I can travel with Art for some more great images.”
Ever since I first saw Freeman Patterson’s work (http://www.freemanpatterson.com/) in the mid 1990s, I have wanted to go shoot in Kolmanskop. It was well worth the drive to this out-of-the-way corner of the Namibian desert. Diamonds were discovered here in 1908 and the town soon became very rich, but the diamonds were soon exhausted, and Kolmanskop was deserted by the mid 1950s. Now, as the paint continues to peel and the sands shift, it is a tremendous place to work the light and shadows.
We then headed due east to photograph one of the few extant kokerboom “forests.” These aloe trees grow sparsely among the rugged boulder landscape. We stayed there well into the night to get long exposures of the Milky Way.
Wow! I hate being out of contact for so long! Connectivity has been a struggle and I was just able to upload a few photos from my recent shoot in the Duba Plains of the Okavango Delta. We were the only people to see a lion and buffalo take down in weeks, so I feel extremely fortunate. Over the course of ten days we also were able to photograph gorgeous leopards and magnificent herds of elephants. Perhaps, it isn’t so bad to be out of touch after all!
My bag arrived in time for one day’s shoot. We had just five days over the water and four of them were just too windy and the whales were very shy. There was one, though, who would stay on the ocean bottom where we barely could see him and then every 20 minutes he would come up for air. Our trick was to swim like hell to intersect him when he reached the surface without being clobbered. I got three chances, and during one, I guessed right and he came up just in front of me. I could have grabbed his tail and gone for a ride. Now I am off for the Duba Plains in Botswana; hopefully, my bags will make it with me! Stay tuned!
