Two destinations on the brink of change

CUBA

Cuba 12/2012 #2 – Images by Art Wolfe

If you are considering some international travel in 2013 allow me to share with you two of my favorite destinations that will not be the same for very much longer.

During the final weeks of 2012 I traveled to Cuba with a good friend to explore the streets and culture one last time before the inevitable wave of change crashes over this isolated island culture.

Cuba has been largely cut off from the rest of the world due to a US imposed embargo enacted in October 1960 (el bloqueo) in response to the nationalization of some US citizen and corporate held properties in the country. It has been further reinforced over the years even into the 2000s citing humanitarian reasons for maintaining the embargo. Many of Cuba’s wealthiest families left the country at the time of the original embargo and settled in Florida, this is a powerful state when it comes to US presidential elections and their influence has been cited as being largely responsible for maintaining the embargo.

So essentially you have a culture and a country that has been largely frozen in time. If you owned an American made car in Cuba, you purchased it in the 1950s. If you are still driving a car today it’s because you have managed to keep that old Chevy running over 50 years later. You don’t see advertising and billboards when you walk down the streets. You won’t find the ever present Starbucks coffee shop on every street corner (2 per corner if you’re from Seattle). The people are beautiful and welcoming and on the precipice of major change.

The headlines are already running; “Time to End the Cuban Embargo”, “Waiting for a new Dawn in Cuba”, “Obama acts to Ease Embargo on Cuba”…. and many others. My previous trip to Cuba cost me an extra 1500 dollars when I returned to the US via Canada but today US citizens can travel to the country with the blessing of the US Government under the “People to People” program. Yes there are a few hoops to jump through and yes it is worth the effort. By going now, before the country is fully opened to US tourism you will have an opportunity to see the “old Cuba”, before the inevitable changes that are to come.

MYANMAR

Myanmar – Images by Art Wolfe

Likewise my second recommendation for your consideration is Myanmar also known as Burma. It is another example of a land with wonderful, beautiful people, rich in culture and history who have been under the thumb of a horrible oppressive government who through horrific human rights violations and oppression have isolated the country from the outside, and again, all that is about to change.

Over the last several years Hillary Clinton has laid the ground work for opening up talks with Myanmar and President Obama has even made a trip to visit the country and like Cuba the headlines are stacking up citing improved relations with the country, greater amounts of trade, and an inevitable watering down of their culture as western influences flood the country.

I will mostly likely make my last trip to Myanmar in January 2013. I, along with Gavriel Jecan, will be leading a small tour to see the beauty and rich culture I have known for years. I would like to keep my memories of their ancient traditions intact. The smoke from the morning fires as people wake up and begin the days cooking their meals over an outdoor fire. I don’t know that I could bear seeing giant golden “M”s sprouting up in the major cities as McDonalds and fast food and internationally recognized symbols of American comfort and conveniences begin to take hold on the landscape.

I have photographs I created in the 1980s when I joined the US Everest expedition via Tibet, photographs you simply can not replicate today due to the sprawl of commercialism and buildings that where once there was an open plain leading to a monastery today you find crowded streets and a thick layer of pollution from the exhaust of motorcycles and cars between you and that same ancient building.

Many of you no doubt have seen the castles in Europe still standing today – surrounded right up to the very castle walls with apartments and shops and restaurants and the ubiquitous modern footprint. Now imagine seeing those edifices frozen in time, standing has they had for millennia, untarnished by “progress” and time.

You can still find the local people in Myanmar fishing on Inle lake as they have for generations balancing at the end of long wooden boats using their curious and traditional netted cones to surround the fish for harvest. The cone is carefully lowered over the schooling fish and then tapped with a stick to excite and tangle the fish in the fine net as they try to escape. Witnessing this first hand is like watching a ballet telling the story of life for these people across time. Photographing the scene will provide you with treasured memories and a glimpse into the past. Such are the scenes throughout Myanmar in the streets, the markets, among the temples and the beautiful people who call the country home.

A hot air balloon provides the idea vantage point to photograph the stupas in Bagan. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains and today the remains of roughly 2200 temples and pagodas still stand. Photographing early in the morning not only provides you with the best possible light but the added texture and drama of the smoke from the morning fires serve to enhance the scene.

Change is on the horizon as I have said, we have already seen the hotels we have booked for our tour double in price in just the last several months. While the government has a horrible history of crimes against humanity a change in their government in 2011 shows promise for the people of Myanmar and with that will come improved relations with western nations, increased tourism, trade, investment and a westernization just as I have seen many times before in other countries.

So if you have had an itch to see some foreign lands these are two I recommend seeing first if you wish to see them as they have been, unique in an isolated culture on the precipice of change. As it so happens I have one spot that just freed up on my Myanmar tour in February. Please inquire to info@artwolfe.com. See the details here:
>>ITINERARY (PDF)

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On Location: CUBA!

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Cuba 12/2012 – Images by Art Wolfe

Last trip of the year is…CUBA!

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On Location: Charleston, SC Workshop

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Charleston Workshop 12/2012 – Images by Art Wolfe

We had a great workshop in and around Charleston, South Carolina a couple weeks ago. Highlights were the iconic oak-lined lanes of Boone Hall Plantation & the skeletal trees of The Boneyard.

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On Location: Eastern Sierra’s Workshop

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BLOG: Eastern Sierra Workshop November 2012 – Images by Art Wolfe

We had a very successful workshop in and around the environs of Bishop, California. The weather was chilly and moody, but cooperated. The intermittent rain, snow and wind created the drama we needed. It is a fascinating region, full of photographic possibilities. One day we were set up amidst the ancient & twisted Bristlecone pines at 11,000 feet and the next we passed through the ghost town of Bodie on our way to the surreal tufa formations of Mono Lake.

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On Location: Great Smoky Mountains

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BLOG: Calm Before the Storm – Images by Art Wolfe

Last week I led a workshop in the Great Smoky Mountains. Fall color was spectacular as was the weather—and we all got out just in time before Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern Seaboard.

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On Location: Vive la France!

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BLOG: Vive la France! – Images by Art Wolfe

The weather in the French Alps was so bad that we decided to head south to France’s Rhone Delta. There we photographed the spirited Camargue horses, and along the French Riviera. Now heading off to Italy’s Dolomites, where I am hoping for good conditions!

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Art Wolfe – Europe: Ireland & Greece

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BLOG: Ireland 2 (2012) – Images by Art Wolfe
Here are some impressions from Ireland.

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BLOG: Greece: Mykonos and Santorini – Images by Art Wolfe
And then I moved on to Greece to the islands of Mykonos and Santorini.

These countries may be struggling economically, but they are rich in beauty, visual treats and friendly people.

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Phase One: In the field

I have been using a Phase One camera system for my Human Canvas images over the past couple of years. At 60 megapixels the detail and resolution is so sharp I can enlarge the final images to life size and beyond, critical for this body of work. I have always shot with it in a studio, where the camera was mounted 16 feet above the floor in a warehouse ceiling and tethered to a laptop where it was triggered with a key-stroke. That was a collaborative experience, so I wouldn’t say I really got to experience the Phase One one-to-one.
So, that begs the question…what about using it outside of the studio setting?

I recently set out into the Cascade Mountains to find out. Even though it is a medium format camera system, the Phase One still fits into my same old camera bag. I just needed to move one little Velcro divider around to accommodate it.
It was far from an ideal day for photography – there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the sun was at its peak overhead, it was hot, mosquitos were out and nothing was really calling out to me. With lunch in mind I saw a large patch of snow in the distance with a stream running out from under it. Since I’d hiked above the tree line, this was the only potential shade within reach. In anticipation of dipping a handkerchief in the cold water and eating some lunch, I set out for the snow bank. And that’s where I saw it…

The stream and winds had carved out a large tunnel under the snow, and even from the entrance I could begin to see shades of blue, deep in the cave. I’ve been a mountaineer almost my entire life, climbing the volcanoes in the Northwest, crevassed glaciers, even climbing to the lower level camps with an expedition on Mt. Everest, so I knew this situation had “extreme caution” written all over it. Looking over the snow, wall thickness, and arch of the top, I decided to proceed as one would on a snow bridge over a crevasse – very cautiously.
I stuck very close to the side walls; if the roof was to collapse this would have been the safest place to be. Moving into the cave was like entering a cathedral. A reverence for the beauty of the unexpected display was overwhelming.

Immediately I saw the potential in abstracting the icy blue glow of the ceiling fueled by the direct sun overhead. I used a 55mm lens (34mm equivalent), my attention fully focused on the otherworldly qualities of the ceiling. Looking through the viewfinder of the Phase One, the patterns and lines abstracted into soft human forms, suggestive of the Rubenesque feminine ideal form.

At other times I was drawn to the lines within the form, like the layers of geological time recorded in a rounded stone found alongside a river. The colors varying between blues and yellows only added to the final composition.

Shooting and shifting my point of view I worked the ceiling as a subject finding more and different compositions with each new angle. I could have stayed with this subject for hours. It was so unexpected – a real treat for what had promised to be a rather bland day.

The Phase One system is very intuitive with a huge LCD and touchscreen menus. I was able to easily navigate the functions to set up the camera for the way I like to work, even in the cave. When you are talking about a medium format system, it’s all about image quality – and this one delivers. The system combination of superb Schneider Kreuznach leaf shutter lenses, 645 DF Camera body and IQ 160 digital back produce the sharpest and most detailed images I have ever shot.
So what’s next? I’m currently on tour through Europe visiting familiar landscapes as well as some new ones. I have the Phase One with me and I can hardly wait to see the results when I get home and begin enlarging these images to prints. This camera system is able to capture the grand scenic landscapes in unprecedented detail and clarity. If only I could have had my hands on one since 1978.
When it comes to the big picture, Phase One wins out.
~Art Wolfe

Join me on the Phase One Digital Artist Series (PODAS) Workshop in Kimberley, Australia in June, 2013. >>MORE INFO

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On Location: Ireland

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BLOG: On Location in Ireland – Images by Art Wolfe

 

A few Images around Dingle Town, a small sea coast town on the SW Corner of Ireland. The seascapes are indicative of this rugged wind washed landscape. In a small town in Ireland one does not have to walk far before encountering  an Irish Pub.

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Art Wolfe – Europe: London Calling!

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BLOG: Art on the streets of London 2012 – Images by Art Wolfe

I came to London to give my seminar on The Art of Composition to a sold out crowd at the RGS (Royal Geographical Society) on September 8.
Yesterday, I strolled around London and took a few shots with my iPhone. This city is still very much alive even after the Olympics were just here.
I took about 15 iPhone photos walking through London, among the images you will see are the Old Globe theatre, interior of the Modern Tate Museum, Kings Cross train station, Soho and a few additional photos around the city.

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