It\u2019s not the expected start to an interview with one of the world\u2019s most famous nature photographers. Art may have just passed his 70th birthday, but he\u2019s as energetic, unpredictable and candid as ever. Art has been photographing wildlife, landscapes and people for over 45 years and during a highly successful career has shot over two million images.<\/p>\n
He has maintained a packed travel schedule throughout his working life, barely arriving home from one far-flung trip before setting off on another. Before coronavirus arrived, he regularly travelled for more than nine months every year.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"Milky](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Easter_Island_200205_A5559.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tA dramatic shot of the Milky Way over a row of moai on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Even the Covid-19 situation hasn\u2019t stemmed the flow of restless energy that drives him. \u2018The pandemic has not slowed me down,\u2019 he says. \u2018All last year I created 27 lectures (each lecture 90-minutes long) on Pathways to Creativity that we put on Vimeo.<\/p>\n
As long as my life is busy and my brain is active, I\u2019m a happy camper whether I\u2019m in Africa or North America. I\u2019m still finding great things to do and great new subjects to shoot.\u2019<\/p>\n
Earlier this year Art went on safari to Kenya and for the past two months has taught back-to-back workshops in North America. He\u2019s just come back from snorkelling with whale sharks and giant manta rays off the coast of Mexico.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s currently trying to run tours to Africa, Mongolia and Madagascar, but keeps having to delay them because of the pandemic\u2019s travel restrictions, although he\u2019s fully vaccinated and requires the same from his participants.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"leopard](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/afr0509081603.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tThis shot of a leopard in an ancient thorn tree in Chobe National Park, Botswana, Africa is one of Art\u2019s favourites in Night on Earth. \u2018I love shots where the animal is just part of the overall landscape,\u2019 he says<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Art\u2019s keen to resume these tours. \u2018My entire life has been about managing risk,\u2019 he continues. \u2018I started off as a kid that was always rummaging around in the forest and jumping off trees and crossing rivers. I was formally trained in mountaineering, went on an Everest expedition, went up to K2 and went into Pakistan even after the first Gulf War.<\/p>\n
\u2018I always have been empowered to travel the world, to go into any city on Earth and walk the back streets and not feel like a victim or fearful of other humans. My parents always taught me to be self-reliant and confident, and that was the best thing they ever instilled in me.\u2019<\/p>\n
Over the years, Art has maintained a steady flow of books and has so far produced more than 120, including Migrations: Wildlife in Motion (1994), Vanishing Act (2006), which explored camouflage in nature, and his epic \u2018mid-career retrospective\u2019 Earth is My Witness (2014). He currently has seven more books at different stages of completion.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"northern](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/490033-001.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tThis northern saw-whet owl was photographed while preparing to leave its nesting cavity in a tree in Washington, USA<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Night on Earth<\/h3>\n
His latest book, Night on Earth, is a wide-ranging collection of travel images made in the hours between dusk and dawn. Taken in a variety of locations worldwide including Alaska, Namibia, Malaysia, India and the Galapagos Islands, it features landscapes, starscapes, wildlife, natural phenomena such as volcanoes and waterfalls, indigenous peoples, cities and more.<\/p>\n
So why has Art chosen to focus on night photography for this book? What is it that intrigues him about it and what special photographic opportunities does it offer? \u2018Whenever I shoot, first and foremost, I\u2019m trying to affect the emotions of the audience,\u2019 Art explains.<\/p>\n
\u2018In the past, when giving a talk, I could wow my audience with amazing shots of things like the Patagonian Massifs, but today people start to yawn because they\u2019ve already seen 10,000 of those images. It\u2019s getting harder to wow anybody with a more traditional landscape. So, part of the motivation was to include the element of darkness and to capture the landscape in a slightly different way.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"Art](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Kenya_Maasai_Mara_180906_I3925.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tShooting between dusk and dawn gives images a unique atmosphere. Here, an African lion is shown in the muted light of evening in Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Part of the attraction for Art was the sense of mystery that the night brings. \u2018If you can capture, for instance, a mountain lion at dusk, starting to stalk an animal, that already implies some people\u2019s worst fears,\u2019 he says. \u2018It\u2019s already affecting people\u2019s emotions. The subject has this inherent interest already ingrained.<\/p>\n
I love that sense of going into the dark and coming away with an image that isn\u2019t just silhouetted darkness. That, for me, was the challenge.\u2019 For most of his books, Art usually goes through the same process when compiling them. After initially coming up with the concept, he and his staff search through his vast archive to see if there are enough core images to draw from.<\/p>\n
All the travel that\u2019s involved in covering a wide range of subjects and locations means it\u2019s not financially viable to shoot all new images for books. \u2018Then, once a base is established, I work like hell for the next three or four years and usually end up replacing most of the images that we initially thought would be good,\u2019 he reveals.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"Milky](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/NorthCascades_200817_A2004-Edit.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tA spectacular shot of the Milky Way over Mount Baker in Mount Baker Wilderness, Washington, USA<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
\u2018I don\u2019t want a book to come out that looks like a lot of old photos. For the most part I\u2019m shooting new work and using the abilities of the latest cameras to take in what we could never have shot before.\u2019<\/p>\n
Although a small number of the images in the book were shot on film SLR cameras and have stood the test of time, many of them were taken on the latest digital kit including the Canon EOS R5, which is currently his main camera. \u2018I love it,\u2019 he enthuses. \u2018The whole technology of the mirrorless camera permits much smaller lenses.<\/p>\n
\u2018For instance, when I was in Kenya earlier this year, I was handholding an RF 100-500mm f\/4.5-7.1 lens and very easily capturing animals. Then I could add a 1.4x extender and suddenly I have a 700mm lens that\u2019s very easy to hold. I\u2019m not a gym queen, so handholding and shooting animals without a tripod really makes capturing the ephemeral moment so much easier.\u2019<\/p>\n
One way he has taken advantage of the greatly improved high ISO performance of today\u2019s cameras has been to shoot starscapes in a way that was not previously possible. \u2018Historically, if I\u2019d wanted to shoot a night-time shot that includes the stars, they would all be star trails,\u2019 confirms Art.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"Art](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/dolomiti_italy_121003_0858.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tDawn breaks over a landscape dotted with hay barns in the Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
\u2018With film, you could never take a fast enough shutter speed to show the stars were just pinpoints of light. Those star trail images can be spectacular but can get a little shallow in terms of the depth of the image. \u2018Today, with high ISOs, I have been able to shoot amazingly detailed images of the Milky Way as part of night-time landscapes.<\/p>\n
Higher-ISO cameras are enabling us to photograph landscapes and the heavens like never before. I think that\u2019s a great advancement and I only see it getting more and more that way.\u2019 Almost all Art\u2019s dusk-to-dawn images have been shot using only ambient light, including those of traditional ceremonies in countries including India, Botswana and Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
He prefers to increase his ISO and use traditional oil lamps, candle light and fire light to illuminate these scenes. \u2018The ones I\u2019m really proud of are the cultural shots lit with candle light or fire light. They\u2019re so much more intimate and romantic, and in keeping with nature and the landscape, than they would be if shot using flash. Most of the time in these situations flash is too harsh and invasive.\u2019<\/p>\n
Light pollution<\/h3>\n
Part of Night on Earth\u2019s purpose, as is made clear in the text, is to highlight the issue of light pollution and how it\u2019s affecting both wildlife and people as well as wasting resources.<\/p>\n
As Ruskin Hartley of the International Dark-Sky Association writes in the foreword, \u2018Light pollution is destroying natural darkness with severe consequences: It is linked to a global insect decline, the death of millions of migrating birds, increased carbon emissions and increased disease in humans.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"eruption](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/iceland_141212_7892.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tA lava flow glows vividly in this night-time shot of an eruption of B\u00e1r\u00f0arbunga, a subglacial stratovolcano in Vatnaj\u00f6kull National Park, Iceland<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
The last photographs Art made for the book show the spectacular, star-filled night sky at the Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah, USA, which, in 2007, became the first of the country\u2019s International Dark Sky Parks, which are specifically protected from light pollution.<\/p>\n
At a time of climate emergency, Art says he\u2019s often asked why his photographs focus on the beauty of nature and don\u2019t show degraded environments, decimated species, or evidence of pollution. \u2018The answer is I want to make a beautiful book to lure people in to where the organisations with which we align can tell their story,\u2019 he explains.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s my honour to produce books in a way that brings people in and then we deliver the message, as opposed to books that show nothing but carnage. Very few people really are going to buy books on something that\u2019s depressing, because we have enough issues that stress people out already.\u2019<\/p>\n
As for his future work, there\u2019s no chance that entering his eighth decade is going to slow Art down. \u2018My friends recently brought up the fact that I\u2019m turning 70,\u2019 he says. \u2018We\u2019re all within a year of each other. People say, \u201cOh my god, it\u2019s a big birthday, it really makes you think\u201d. But I live in denial and I\u2019m not going to give it a thought. Birthdays are almost irrelevant to me.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"fishermen](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/myanmar_161211_I0255.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tIn the warm evening light, fishermen cast their nets on the Irrawaddy River in Mandalay, Myanmar<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
\u2018My belief is, don\u2019t look in the mirror, just look outward, think about the next project. Life is moving fast for all of us, but I don\u2019t want to start thinking about how much time I have left and all that. People ask me when I\u2019m going to slow down and retire, but artists don\u2019t retire. I just want to drop wherever I am.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Art Wolfe\u2019s low-light tips<\/h3>\n
Based on his experience, Art shares the advice he would give others for shooting in low light<\/p>\n
1. Think out of the box<\/h3>\n
\u2018Most people, whether taking low-light shots or otherwise, are literally putting their tripods in the holes made by the previous person to shoot that place. Look for new ways and new angles to approach the subject.\u2019<\/p>\n
2. Invest in the latest equipment<\/h3>\n
\u2018If it\u2019s within your price range, the high ISO capability of the latest camera bodies, such as the Canon EOS R5, makes a big difference when shooting in low light, allowing you to capture subjects that were not previously possible.\u2019<\/p>\n
3. Understand animal behaviour<\/h3>\n
\u2018When photographing wildlife on the margins at dusk, it\u2019s essential that you familiarise yourself with the behaviour of the subject that you want to go after. For example, you locate some predators by listening to the calls of their prey.\u2019<\/p>\n
4. Don\u2019t be afraid to include motion blur<\/h3>\n
\u2018As long as there\u2019s an element in the frame that\u2019s sharp for the eye to depart from, shots that include motion blur can often be the most effective and creative.\u2019<\/p>\n
5. Noise isn\u2019t a big issue<\/h3>\n
\u2018For me, a little noise in low-light shots is not a bad thing, so long as you\u2019ve got the image. Noise can be akin to grain, which often creates something artistic.\u2019<\/p>\n
6. But for noise-free images\u2026<\/h3>\n
\u2018If I\u2019m trying to get the clearest, sharpest image without noise, I will use the latest cameras and typically will shoot starscapes, for example, somewhere around ISO 1600 with an aperture of f\/1.4 or sometimes f\/2.8 for around 10-20 seconds. Then I use Topaz noise-reduction software in post.\u2019<\/p>\n
Night on Earth: Photographs by Art Wolfe<\/strong> is published by Earth Aware Editions<\/a>, price \u00a335. See www.artwolfe.com<\/a>. Amateur Photographer readers can also enjoy a 25% discount off \u2018Pathways to Creativity\u2019<\/strong>. See events.artwolfe.com\/pathways<\/a> and use the code AP25<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong><\/p>\n Night landscape photography<\/a><\/p>\n Nature and nurture: Art Wolfe on his approach to photography<\/a><\/p>\n
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