Tales by Light 4-6

Tales by Light

My favorite photographer was Art Wolfe in both episodes 4 and 6. First off, he has a cool name, but mainly, his photography shows the less civilized parts of the world. Many people can’t really imagine what happens outside of our settled, civilized cities. Wildlife can be amazing and it can be grim. Not even just animals, but people that live in tribes live so differently than we do. He shows how animals interact with each other in the wild and the cultures of tribal people. It can be a dangerous line of work to photograph these things.

The coolest location they shot in episodes 4-6 was definitely Antarctica, the wide expanses of white snow gives an open, uninterrupted background to your subject. Also, the wildlife there is different than the rest of the planet, so it’s very unique. The aggressive nature of the polar bears and seals is very contrasting to the loving, clumsy nature of the penguins.

My favorite event that was captured was the grizzly bears hunting for salmon in the shallow stream. Their hunting methods are very primitive and goofy looking, but it is effective. This is a cool event to photograph because the bears all interact differently with each other. Also, the rushing water and rushing bears can give some cool effects when using a high shutter speed.

I did learn a few things from these photographers, after all they do have a lot more experience. I learned that if you don’t bother wildlife, then it won’t bother you. Same goes with the human world, if you don’t bother anyone around you while shooting, then they won’t really care. Also, I learned that when shooting wildlife, it is necessary to plan ahead and allow plenty of time. To get good pictures of these animals you must be very patient, they won’t pose for you like humans do. The most important part to landscape and wildlife photography is planning. You need to know what to wear, how much time you need, what you’ll need to get there, etc.

What surprised me the most is how little the bears seemed to pay attention to Wolfe, they were completely focused on the task at hand and didn’t even seem to see him.

The tribal people that Wolfe photographed are so different than how people in the modern world act. They have deep, rich cultures, but their very outdated lifestyles threaten to end all of that. They can’t survive very much longer as a community with how the world is changing. It can be dangerous to shoot stuff like this, because there are many dangerous groups of people around these areas. Nomadic tribes that kill people, cannibals, etc. You have to know what you’re shooting and how to get there safely.

But usually the coolest things in life are either dangerous or illegal, so this category in photography produces some of the most interesting images. Especially because not many people will ever get close up to a bear in person, so it’s up to photographers to do that for them.