BLOG: Japanese Cranes of Hokkaido – Images by Art Wolfe
Lake Kussharo, Lake Akan – Home to these beautiful cranes. Grace, beauty, dancing, humor. These birds are just amazing.
As we continued to photograph, we started getting some visitors that were curious about what was going on. First an eagle, then a buzzard, then a fox and some crows.
Finally a portrait of this really great group. We are having lots of fun!
BLOG: Fuji 2011 – Images by Art Wolfe
Here are some glimpses at what we are doing and seeing in Japan. Snow has been falling and contributing to the beauty of the landscape.
We concluded our visit to Yudanaka and the snow monkeys and began our trek to Kawaguchiko.
We arrived near Mt. Fuji with poor visibility, but awoke the next day with clear skies. This allowed beautiful blue skies by day and time-lapse shots showing star trails near evening.
Keep following.
Blog: Rajasthan, India – Images by Art Wolfe
Rajasthan > Jodhpur > Manvar > Kichan > Thar Desert
On the last several days of our trip, we visited the region of Rajasthan and a small village near Manvar. Here is a glimpse of village life. Beautiful children and colorful homes show us the rich lives these people lead in the Thar desert.
I love the details they adorn their homes with and the roofs made from local materials.
BLOG: Varanasi January 2011 II – Images by Art Wolfe
After a day of seriously photographing local color, which is hugely significant in Varanasi and India as a whole, we attended an aarti ceremony during which light is offered to deities.
BLOG: Varanasi January 2011 – Images by Art Wolfe
Art is leading a photo workshop in India for two weeks and he’s starting to send back photos! This first batch was taken on the ghats of Varanasi. It is the holiest city in Hinduism and has been a cultural and religious center for thousands of years. A ghat is a set of stairs leading to a holy body of water, in this case, the Ganges. Some are public, some private; some are used for ritual bathing or cremation, while others are used for quotidian uses such as laundry. Whatever the use, they are always a center of colorful display—even the reflections in the water are beautiful!
Before the New York Times picked them as their best places, we did for workshop locations for 2011:
April 22-24, 2011
BLOG: Olympic National Park – Images by Art Wolfe
July 4 to July 13, 2011
Story Set: Iceland – Images by Art Wolfe
2010 started off with successful workshops in Southeast Asia.
I had special photo shoots for Epson and local Seattle television, as well as a pledge for Oregon Public Broadcasting. I emceed a very profitable fundraising event for the Puget Soundkeepers Alliance, an organization that is working hard to keep the Puget Sound a viable and functioning ecosystem.
The International Conservation Photography Awards were kicked off with a special event at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall and then opened to great applause at the Burke Museum, which will host the event again in 2012.
I had gallery openings at the G2 in California and the Saxton Gallery in Ohio. In my own gallery I opened the show “Unbridled”, featuring beautiful oversized prints of horses.
Throughout the year education continued to be a focus, with the Art of Composition tour and a four day workshop in the Grand Tetons. I taught a session at the Welt der Wunder Festival in Germany as well.
Wherever I went, I shot: New York, California, at home in Washington State, including the Pride Parades in Seattle and Vancouver, BC.
Hinduism’s massive festival, the Kumbh Mela, was in Haridwar this year. It was a crush of millions of people, it was oppressively hot, and infinitely fascinating and life-affirming.
In 2010 my public television show Travels to the Edge won five Telly Awards for excellence, and in October the Photographic Society of America honored me with the Progress Medal Award. Outdoor Photographer magazine thrilled me by using my photo of the French Alps as the 25th anniversary cover. Outdoor Photography magazine in the UK lauded me and 39 of the best nature photographers in the world for our conservation work.
I finished the year in Michoacan, Mexico, photographing the Day of the Dead festival for the first time and then headed off to Antarctica for the umpteenth time in December.
I wish everyone a healthy & prosperous 2011!
For years I resisted going to India. When I was shooting for my book The Living Wild, I realized that tigers were a critical animal I needed to photograph. In March 1999 I went to Ranthambhore National Park and since then I have been back to India more times than I can count. It has become one of my favorite countries to photograph in—the colors, festivals, wildlife, and ancient traditions are astounding and enchanting.
To track tigers you venture out on elephant-back with a mahout. Photographing from an elephant is difficult at best but a necessary challenge. The forest is alive with birdsong and then suddenly you hear it: the spirited, scolding call of the hanuman langur, meaning a tiger or even a leopard is near. These ever-alert primates are the eyes and ears of guides and researchers alike.
I have never been so excited as to see a tiger in the wild. There is really nothing like it and the experience never grows old. Experience it for yourself and travel with me to India in January. There are three spots left for this marvelous trip.
BLOG: On Location with Tigers – Images by Art Wolfe
It is a busy day here at the headquarters of Art Wolfe Inc. There is a big meeting going to happen this evening. In that meeting there will be discussions. BIG discussions. YOUR OPINION will matter. Help us decide where to take you, the friends and fans of Art Wolfe, next year.
The votes are coming in fast on Facebook, Twitter, and here on the blog, it seems that everyone wants to travel to northern lands! Iceland, Canada & Alaska are the top three destinations so far…
Vote early, vote often! Your votes will help us decide. You can see where other people have suggested by visiting our post from yesterday.
I am planning my 2011 (and beyond) workshop schedule. If you could/would go on a workshop with me, where would you want to go?
