By Justin Black   One of the first things people ask when they see that we are going to 17,585 feet elevation on our June 2018 trip to Ladakh in the Indian Himalaya is, “How do you deal with the elevation?” It raises a serious issue, but one with which we have successfully dealt on […]

by John Shaw How does one coordinate Lightroom used on a laptop when traveling, with a master Lightroom catalog back in the office?  I’ve written about this before, but the topic keeps coming up at workshops and on tours, so…. I have one main master Lightroom catalog for all my images, which resides on my desktop […]

By Justin Black For Outdoor Photographer, October 2014 One of my most important photographic mentors, Galen Rowell, grew accustomed to being told how lucky he was to capture the stunning natural events that he photographed. He would chuckle politely, and respond that he tried to be prepared to receive luck. In other words, he went […]

On our recent safari in east Africa’s Maasai Mara / Serengeti ecosystem, we encountered three very special lions – Sikio, Morani, and Scarface (as viewed left to right above). These powerful brothers are the leaders of the Marsh Pride, made famous in BBC’s Big Cat Diary documentaries. They had crossed the Mara River to follow the bounty […]

Moonset at sunrise over Moonlight Lake and Picture Peak, High Sierra, California, by Justin Black On occasion, we offer special photo expeditions outside of the “regularly scheduled programming” listed in the Workshops section of this website. High Sierra Mule Pack Trip This September 20-26, we are offering a photo trip into the beautiful alpine High Sierra […]

 There is nothing like exploring sublime landscapes with a group of friends who share a love for photography and wide open spaces. Immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday, Jack Dykinga, Jeff Foott, and I led a week-long overland photo expedition with nine other passionate photographers, visiting some stunning backcountry areas in northern Arizona. As the guest […]

Visionary Wild instructor, Polar explorer Chris Linder produced this stunning video featuring his photographs from his latest expedition to Iceland this past August with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute researchers. Chris and landscape photographer Justin Black will lead a photo expedition for nine passionate photographers August 12-19, 2012, which will visit Iceland’s puffin colonies, coastal landscapes, […]

Jack Dykinga on Mark Godfrey Selects Nature Conservancy Director of Photography Mark Godfrey recently interviewed Visionary Wild instructor Jack Dykinga for this multimedia slideshow featuring some of Jack’s best work.

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) at Laetrabjarg in the Westfjords Polar explorer and photographer Chris Linder traveled to Iceland In mid-August with a group of fellow Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute associates, in part to scout locations for next year’s Visionary Wild expedition, tentatively scheduled for August 19 – 26, 2012. In the following report from the […]

Bioluminescence For years I’ve heard unbelievable stories about people’s surreal night time experiences in the ocean with glowing plankton blooms, but until recently I’d never seen it myself. The tip off came from Ellen Cruz, a friend from Bodega Bay who sent a note about an experience she’d just had on the Sonoma County coast: […]

by Justin Black   The Dragon rippled as I slid the kayak out into the swamp’s caramel-brown water. The still quiet of pre-dawn was broken only by the song of a prothonotary warbler, a croaking bullfrog, the sudden splash of a jumping sunfish. Gliding along on the glassy surface past lush swamp plants – arrow […]

In January 2012, Jack Dykinga, Alfredo Medina, and I will lead a Visionary Wild expedition for a small group of six photographers that will focus on photography of the cenotes of the Yucatán peninsula. These water-filled caverns and sinkholes are tremendously beautiful and mysterious, and exploring them is a mind-blowing adventure. We will also visit […]