Travelling across the world, exploring wildlife, relaying its beauty through photography, Art Wolfe is the legend in the field of wildlife photography. After spending about 5 decades pursuing his passion for photography, he has become one of the most successful photographers in the world. Wolfe's approach to photography is a multi-faceted one. Combining both artistic and journalistic aspects to his photos, Art Wolfe always seems to deliver "a superb evocation of some of the most breathtaking spectacles in the world", according to Sir David Attenborough. His works have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in the field of photography, including The Royal Photographic Society in 2005.
Having both commercial artists as his parents, Wolfe experienced their influences since he was a little kid. He was fascinated by the artistic style of his mother works, which later influence his photography style, making it extraordinary. Wolfe's photography philosophy has always been the educational values that it brings, the messages he can convey through his artistic view on nature. He always looks for “metaphors, things that remind people of something else” in his pictures. From early in his career, he has desired to practice "conservation photography even before the genre was created. He loves the thrill and excitement of traveling around the world, exploring Earth’s wonders and looking at it from an artistic viewpoint. Intrinsically motivated, Wolfe always tries to experiment new techniques in his photos, constant changing to adapt to the wildlife. By constantly traveling explore the worlds, doing what he loves, he successfully elevates his jobs to a new artistic level.
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https://www.naturettl.com/art-wolfe-interview/
https://artwolfe.com/about/
https://artwolfe.com/2017/06/07/wheres-art-episode-2/
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Really interesting post! You mention that Wolfe is intrinsically motivated and a participant in "conservation photography", to me this illustrates the unique intersection of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation that can exist in activism. Most people who create work with a purpose are intrinsically motivated insofar as they are doing work they feel is important to them, however I think there is also some inherent extrinsic motivation as those people are creating their work with the explicit goal of changing others minds.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about Wolfe's process. I found it interesting that, although he is a photographer, taking the picture is not his initial reaction to something that inspires him. His first motivation is to understand the environment. This is a very unique perspective. Thank you for sharing!
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