Lake Clark Bears August 2012 – Images by Art Wolfe
We just completed a tremendous photo tour in Alaska’s gorgeous Lake Clark National Park. Access to brown bears here is unequaled.
Next year the workshop will be led by Jay Goodrich & Gavriel Jecan. If you are interested in getting on their mailing list, please contact info@jaygoodrich.com.
ASIA:
MYANMAR
February 4-14, 2013
(11 days/10 night Photography Expedition)
Led by Art Wolfe
$9850
Change is coming quickly to Myanmar, formerly
known as Burma. New elections have brought the
hope for democracy. Nobel peace laureate
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in parliament, and now
is the time to travel to this fascinating country!
Explore the ancient cities, Buddhist temples, and
vibrant culture of this country just opening up
to the outside world.
JAPAN
February 19 – March 1, 2013
(11 days/10 night Photography Expedition)
Led by Art Wolfe
$9800
The image many of us have of Japan is
congested and kinetic. But, Japan has a wild
side. Beyond its crowded cities, the country
delivers quiet unexpected natural beauty.
Join this photographic pilgrimage to the iconic
red-crested cranes in the north, the macque
snow monkeys in the south, and the sacred
temples of Mt. Fuli and Kyosan.
SOUTHERN AFRICA:
THE VERY BEST OF NAMIBIA – THE LAND OF ENDLESS HORIZONS
4th September 2013 and finishes on 14th September 2013, starting and ending in Windhoek, Namibia.
>>MORE INFO
“BIG CATS AND ELEPHANTS UP CLOSE” WITH ART WOLFE
15th September 2013 and finishes on 27th September 2013, starting and ending in Johannesburg, South Africa
>>MORE INFO
EUROPE:
Art of Composition Seminar
London: September 8
Cologne: September 22
Rome: October 13
>>EUROPE FALL 2012
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BLOG: New Pantanal Wildlife – Images by Art Wolfe
Our guides promised jaguars & they delivered, along with macaws, toucans, and giant otters!
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As always, it is always great to spend several days in Olympic National Park with such enthusiastic photographers! This workshop continues to be the gold standard of my learning program. Be sure to check out the blogs & websites of the following photographers!
Alan Augustine: “I really enjoyed the workshop. Art and all of his assistants were very helpful with my attempts to progress from simply documenting a scene to creating a work of art.”
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Andrew Nixon “What a great introduction to the Olympic Peninsula. Can’t wait to come back.”
Blog: nixonphoto.wordpress.com Web: www.andrewnixonphoto.com
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Cory Kitzan: “I had a GREAT time at this workshop. I came home and told my wife that it was the best three days of my life! It was very mentally and physically challenging. It took me two days to recover! I loved every bit of it.
Art has so much energy and passion, and seemed to really care about the quality of the workshop experience for each member of the group. He was a lot of fun to be around. His lectures and candid comments during the critiquing session were invaluable. I learned so much!
I also learned humility when I viewed my results. I’ve been taking photographs as a hobby since I was a kid (35+ years). I understand the technical side, and can take good “vacation photos”, as Art described them. I have loved Art’s photography ever since the first time I saw “Travels to the Edge”, but I didn’t know what it was that appealed to me, or how to replicate it myself. At the workshop, those questions were answered.
I now have many fun years of practice ahead of me. What I learned in those three short days will impact my photography for the rest of my life. I would highly recommend Art’s workshops and lectures to anyone interested in photography.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cory Kitzan
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Dan Rosen: “I had a great time at the workshop!”
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Darrell Sano: “I’ve always admired Art Wolfe, ever since watching his “Travels to the Edge” PBS series. He is far more than a landscape photographer, and his fascination with people and culture attest to his multi-faceted interests and skills. Aside from looking at his work and hearing first-hand explanations behind his images, the class afforded me the opportunity to visit someplace I’ve never been. And sharing the experience with fellow attendees, especially those who I drove in our car pool, was utterly enjoyable.”
Web: www.dksfoto.com
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Ella Hudson: “Earlier in my life I have worked as a college photographer and a medical photographer. More attune to a PR and photo journalism style, I have never really explored nature as a photo subject. The grand landscape has always been too broad and vast; my photos never came close to Ansel Adams! But I enjoy others’ nature photography.
I have followed Art’s work since becoming aware of him through “Travels to the Edge.” His obvious love and passion for animals and nature’s beauty is what makes these episodes. My husband encouraged me to sign up for the Olympic Peninsula workshop as a gift to myself. This was the first real photo workshop I have ever attended. Even though I felt a little out of my comfort zone, I promised myself that I would be open to all the possibilities, no matter what. I really had no expectations; I planned to attend and see what happened.
Well, what happened was more than I could have ever expected. Photography, photography, photography morning to night with a lot of other people at times feeling out of their comfort zones, too! But that’s how you learn! Here was an opportunity to just soak it all up!
Web: www.stonecoastphotography.com
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Eric Schoch: “This was a terrific workshop in a great locale. Art and all the instructors were supportive and had excellent suggestions. I learned a lot and had a great time!”
Web: ericschochphotography.com
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Kashif Izhar: “What an exhilarating experience it was to be with Art Wolfe at the Olympic Peninsula Workshop. 3 days full of great advice and ample chances to implement it in the field with first hand feedback from Art and his team. The critique session was by far the best, where Art looks at each photo for a moment and then with live Lightroom implementation, transforms it to its true potential. Wish to join Art once again at a more exotic location for a longer trip.”
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Kathryn Mead: “Art is a great teacher in lecture, field and critique. His enthusiasm is boundless as is his knowledge, which he shares freely. This was my 3rd workshop with Art. He takes us to places that offer a variety of shots. Since he’s thought out where to go, all I have to do is think about shooting. I really enjoyed shooting with a group. I got to make new friends and learn even more about photography from talking to them and seeing their work. Art’s personality sets a relaxed atmosphere. I would recommend a workshop to anyone who would like to learn more about how to see an environment in a way that allows them to create more compelling images. For me, this class is not (mostly) about f-stops and ISOs. It’s about how to see a composition. My photography has improved tremendously as a result of learning from Art.”
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Lizz Bartlett
Web: www.lizzbartlett.com
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Nick Monkman: “Art Wolfe is a fantastic teacher and and enjoyable person just to be around. Not only did I improve my photography – I also had a fun vacation. Art’s rich background in painting and art history really help drive home his main teaching points about effect compositions. Lectures were well-organized without being oppressive and the image critique at the end of the workshop was especially rewarding. Well done…and when’s the next one?”
Blog: nickmonkman.zenfolio.com/blog/2012/6/okay-that-was-fun
Web: nickmonkman.zenfolio.com/
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Timothy Lindsay: “I learned a lot about composition and the technical aspects of photography on this workshop. Both during lectures from Art Wolfe and his helpers in the field. I recommend atttending one near your home first so you know what kind of equipment you need (and what you don’t need) when traveling with your photography equipment.”
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Todd Hatakeyama:
Blog: www.lightingleica.com
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BLOG: Pantanal Workshop July 2012 – Images by Art Wolfe
There is still time and there are still a few spots left on this incredible adventure, as shown in my TV series Travels to the Edge.
The Pantanal offers a wetland environment like no other on the planet. At 54,000 square miles you could hide the whole of the Florida Everglades in the center and never find them. It’s no secret that I love photographing wildlife and the Pantanal offers some of the best avian photography anywhere. While the Amazon rain forest may be larger, the Pantanal has a concentration of wildlife that allows you to see (and photograph) 100 times more birds and animals than you ever would in the Amazon. I chose the Pantanal for my TV show for this very reason.
You will have the chance to photograph capybaras and caimans and many of the 400 species of birds that live in the Pantanal. Nearly a quarter of these birds weighing in at over a pound (1.6kg) – which is a pretty big bird when you stop to think about it. We may even get to see Giant Otters (big as a grown man) and Giant Anteaters. If you’ve seen the episode of “Travels to the Edge” from this region you have some idea of what you’ll be in store for. But don’t worry, when it comes to the caimans, we’ll keep a respectful distance (this time).
Through traveling to photograph wildlife, I have been blessed with getting to know some of the most interesting and diverse cultures around the world. For this tour, I have scheduled visits to two working Brazilian ranches so we can get a taste of what it is like to pull a living from this land and call it home. To visit a country without getting to know the people is an incomplete story for me. There is so much to be learned from others who share this earth with us but have different perspectives and unique viewpoints. Seeing the challenges they face can bring a new perspective to our own lives.
And if you’re not hooked yet… on my previous trips I have stumbled across a very remote corner of the Pantanal where there is an incredible opportunity to see Jaguars in the wild. This particular group has become habituated to seeing people much like some of the lion troops you would see on safari in Africa and they no longer instinctively retreat and hide in the dense forest. It may take a while to swallow your heart back down from the middle of your throat, but seeing a Jaguar in the wild is a experience you will never forget.
I hope to see you there in July!
>>CLICK HERE for the trailer of TTE episode.
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BLOG: Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection – Images by Art Wolfe
I was out scouting a location for a future photo shoot when I found myself about to drive past the Weyerhaeuser corporate headquarters building here in Washington state. With some time to spare I pulled off and visited their beautiful bonsai gardens where they have 60 unique specimens from 6 different Pacific Rim nations, some were started as long ago as the 1950s.
When I’m out in the field I’m often drawn to compositions of graphic lines and form. You can find beauty in the patterns of nature just about anywhere you go, you just need to be open to seeing them. Bonsai is a collaboration between man and nature that celebrates this beauty. It is up to the individual artist’s imagination to shape the plants through very selective pruning, removing key limbs, creating a balance to the composition, even shaping the limbs directly either with copper wire or by suspending stones from the branches to weigh them down. Over time the plant will adopt this new shape even as the wire and stones are removed.
In this age that has so much slick art dominating the culture it’s nice to see imperfections. The bonsai is a living plant, it will never be absolutely perfect and it is forever growing and slowly changing. This is a very slow, methodical and thoughtful art form. I find peace and a feeling of zen when I have time to just sit back and admire these beautiful works of art. I was drawn in by all of them, whether the great redwood in miniature or the wabi sabi out of balance nature of the one that looked as if it was growing out of the discards from a giant egg. Serendipity played a hand in the timing of my visit as many of the deciduous varieties had yet to fully leaf out allowing the intricate design of their branches to be seen with just a hint of the color yet to come. It will come as no surprise that I have many bonsai trees in my own landscape.
What was intended as merely a scouting mission, I didn’t even have any formal camera gear with me, resulted in a wonderful opportunity to soak in some art and nature and fill my soul. A wonderful day for me is not always about the perfect light and equipment, the images shared here were simply shot on my iPhone. It was a great way to spend the morning, I highly recommend it.
For details on the Weyehaeuser bonsai gardens click here:
http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/Company/Bonsai
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May Tips: Shorebird Migration – Images by Art Wolfe
Early May is a great time to catch the migrating shorebirds as they fly up the coast from California, or the Pacific Flyway as it is called. Sanderlings, dunlins, and other assorted shorebirds pause for a couple of weeks at Bowerman Basin in Grays Harbor on the Olympic Peninsula. Boardwalks provide great access. When the tides are high, and there are no exposed mud flats, all the birds are densely packed together. It is quite the spectacle to see a million birds in a tight area. Also, if there happens to be a bird of prey near, they fly around in tight bundles turning in all directions with great precision. It looks like many bodies, but one brain operating them all. It is definitely worth a trip out to the coast if you are in the Pacific Northwest in those two weeks.
The Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival is May 4-6 this year:
BLOG: April Showers in Oregon – Images by Art Wolfe
What to do with April Showers? – Get an umbrella, grab your camera and get outside.
I spent 2 days photographing in the Columbia Gorge and along the Southern Washington Coast, in the rain, and I couldn’t have been happier. The previous 2 days were beautiful. Blue skies, sunshine, unseasonably warm temperatures – and I wasn’t at all interested in getting outside with my camera.
While I’m always open to any subject, on this trip I had very soft, high key, moody images in mind that I could render in black and white. The coastal and inland waters of the Columbia Gorge in addition to having one spectacular waterfall after the next are littered with old pilings from a bygone era of wealth and prosperity from the timber barons of the late 1800 and early 1900s. I have photographed these subjects in the past and knew they needed the right atmospheric conditions, namely fog, to be successful. Here in the NW fog isn’t all that predictable or persistent, but when you don’t have fog, rain can be an excellent (and even better) substitute.
The overcast skies provided the perfect soft box to light the subject, the falling rain softens the image and disturbs the water such that the long exposures necessary with my smallest apertures render the image as a high key, mysterious and quiet, yet powerful image. I knew I would be rendering these in black and white and positioned myself to maximize the white background where the sky was indistinguishable from the sea. I could have stayed with these as a subject for the entire day working different angles, focal lengths and exposures. It was food for my soul and I felt like I was at an all you can eat buffet.
I wasn’t going to overlook the waterfalls as this was the perfect time of the year to photograph them through the fine lines of the trees. The leaves have only just begun to come out adding a touch of color while not obscuring the view of the falls. Most people would say I was “too early” to shoot the falls but you’ll find in about 2 weeks time the trees will have leafed out to where the shots I was able to create with patterns of lines and positive and negative space would be impossible to replicate.
Lastly I met up with friends early in the morning to photograph the Portland Japanese Gardens. With an annual pass you can visit the gardens 2 hours ahead of the general public and photograph largely unencumbered. Again the time of year allowed for some subtle color in the maple trees as they had only begun to leaf out while not obscuring the fine details and patterns of the intricate under-story of their branches. Yes it was a bit too early for bushels of blossoms but when you look at the patterns in nature, the energy contained in a balance of positive and negative space, you’ll find there is rarely ever a bad time to photograph areas like the Japanese Gardens. And when you realize the potential you may never look at a rainy day the same way again.
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On Location – April Tips – Images by Art Wolfe
For the month of April, you should head back to the Skagit Valley to the tulip and daffodil fields. Many people don’t realize that they grow as many tulips in the Skagit Valley as they do in Holland. The rows and rows of brilliant color is a spectacular sight. Thousands of people from the Seattle area venture north to see this beautiful display of bright colors. One of the best ways to see this fields is from the air; the rows of flowers abstract into bands of color. In Washington, it is how we welcome the spring!
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival through the end of April: http://tulipfestival.org/
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Arniston II – Images by Art Wolfe
Art has just concluded another successful photographic tour in South Africa. Read what the participants have to say about their experience.
http://www.c4images-safaris.co.za/templates/testimonials.php
