Art Wolfe in Australia

How lucky was I to meet Art Wolfe! This man is the best wildlife photographer in the world. I consider myself so privileged to hear him speak when he was at the Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour on Friday night. He was sponsored by Denis Glennon who does wildlife photography tours to Africa and elsewhere.

Art knocked my socks off with his presentation. Called "Between Heaven and Earth" the theme of his talk was the Himalayas, where he started as an Everest expedition photographer in the '70s. It ended with the Kumbh Mela festival where millions upon millions of people gather to bathe in the Ganges.

He grabbed my attention right from the beginning with a slideshow that transitioned from stills to video and back again. He seems to use his full frame Canon for the videos but they were so artfully intertwined with the stills that I was lost in the flow of heart-stopping images. How could anyone make clouds look so beautiful! The music, which seemed to be all original compositions, took you in even deeper.

His talk followed his career first as a climbing instructor, then as a painter, and eventually a photographer. I was thrilled to be taken behind the scenes on a tiger hunt. He explained how the mahout and his elephant find the tiger in the dappled jungle of Bengal, how he wasn't worried about the contrasting light, nor that the tiger stayed hidden behind bamboo. Seeing him work like that taught me a lot about patience and acceptance. 

Art is still doing wildlife photography but is also devoting himself to recording cultures. He says, "The cultural work has as an important value to me simply because cultures are changing as fast as wildlife is being decimated in certain areas and so there's an importance to record what might not exist into the future." 

What a prince of a conservation photographer! If you're in Melbourne or Perth you still have a chance to see him or do a workshop. Go to http://denisglennon.com/art-wolfe-in-australia-2012/

Let's Encourage Young Photographers

I'd like to acknowledge a budding young nature and wildlife photographer, Mikaela Clews. She won the Young Encourage-ment award at the recent Gosford Council photo competition. 

Mikaela Clews deserves a lot of credit for getting out into the bushlands around Gosford, New South Wales. The aim of the photo competition was to portray how nature is on the city's doorstep. Mikaela got hold of a young girl (probably her coerced little sister) and 'put' her into the picture. So many of my workshop students are hesitant to work with people; they're uncertain about how to pose them, or where to place them in the landscape. Very few of the adults who entered the competition dealt with this situation but young Mikaela made a noble effort.

With her photo of a Kookaburra she managed to get close enough to almost fill the frame. She also chose a fairly large aperture to throw the background out of focus enough to concentrate attention on the bird. There is a little bit of distraction in the background with the light on the tree trunks but I'm sure she'll notice that next time. I like the different perspective of looking down on the bird, with the gully below/behind it, don't you? 

Congratulations, Mikaela - I hope you continue your photographic efforts.

Watch Your Whales - They're Back!

June 1st announces the start of the whale watching season. Humpbacks and southern rights can now be sighted off the New South Wales Coast as they head north to breed in warmer waters.

I've been blown away by this annual event ever since that June in 1988 when I carried out an assignment for Good Weekend magazine. It was unique not only for being a wildlife assignment (something rarely given those days) but because it introduced the general public to whales. Before then, they were almost mythical creatures. Whales were so little known, seen or understood.

Twenty three years later they are now incorporated into holidays, businesses and educational programs. They are myths in a new way, in that they now represent the mystical in our lives. Many people call the experience of seeing them a spiritual one.

I had something like that. Years ago whales would regularly beach themselves - remember that? - even on our Australia shores. People from different organizations and lifestyles would attempt to help them back into the sea. I wondered, "Why do whales do this? Why do they beach themselves as a group?" The answer came to me, through a flash of insight: "Because they're teaching us humans to shed our boundaries, our attitudes of who has authority, who is in charge, and instead work together as a single team for a common purpose."

Regardless of whether or not you agree with these metaphysical musings, you can go out and experience the spirit of whales for yourself. See if you won't come back with a new sense of exhilaration, freedom or awe.

To photograph them, you really should be in a boat. (Tip: try to get as close to water level as possible.) And do a little research first with a whale-watching guide like this one (with one of my photos on the cover). Although it's a few years old, it's been reprinted and is still quite useful.

Kodak Fosters Nature Photography

Well, I've had a big adventure! I 'just' finished my seminar series with Kodak, "Great Recipes for Wildlife Photography". Although the tour ended three weeks ago, it has taken me this long to handle all the jobs that had piled up in my absence.

The talks were a great success with record crowds at each venue. In Melbourne and Sydney the overflow had to sit in the aisles! Thank you so much to all of you who showed up. I learned as much from the questions people asked at the end of the presentations as they would have learned from me about wildlife photography.

It was quite a task talking to different audiences - there were students from colleges, industry suppliers, pro photographers and heaps of amateur enthusiasts. I described the adventures and shared my struggles about making a profitable business in Australia in such a specialized niche. But I think people mostly enjoyed hearing the surprising secrets behind some of the most successful pictures.

The biggest thrill for me was seeing such large groups of people actually interested in this rarified genre of photography. I have spent my career believing I was a virtual lone soul in the field of wildlife and nature photography (at least in Australia) and it was a delightful surprise to look into such a large number of enthusiastic faces. Certainly the digital revolution has a lot to do with the revival of photography as a hobby. But I would like to believe that what might be more responsible is a growing sensitivity towards nature, a growing respect for our fellow creatures and a driving interest in seeing and capturing all their magnificent beauty.

Thank you Peter Cocklin and the rest of the Kodak team for taking the message to the people!

Kodak and I are touring all over Australia and New Zealand in September. If you or a friend is interested in wildlife and nature photography, here's an invitation to come along. Bookings are essential, so to attend this free seminar, you'll have to sign up. Just go to the front page of Kodak's website www.kodak.com.au and click on my name or on the bird picture and you'll see all the venues listed. It's going to be a fun seminar series. The seats are filling fast - amazing!