Frans Lanting

2024 SANTA CRUZ OPEN STUDIOS ART TOUR

Frans Lanting — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 23:27:41 +0000

OPEN STUDIOS ART TOUR
Frans Lanting Studio, 108 High Road, Santa Cruz
October 5 – 6 and October 19 – 20, 2024, 11 am to 5 pm

Our Studio will be open again to visitors as we participate in Santa Cruz County’s annual Open Studios Art Tour. This is a great opportunity to meet Frans and Chris in person and see a display of Frans Lanting’s iconic images from around the world and close to home. Limited edition fine art prints and signed copies of our books will be for sale.

Frans and Chris will speak about their work and the images on display each day at 1:00 PM.

Our Studio is located just three blocks off Highway One, on the Westside of Santa Cruz.

We look forward to seeing you.

FRANS LANTING: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF FRANK HURLEY

An exclusive preview from a new project-in-progress will be on display during Open Studios.

View work prints made with a 100-year-old camera—and see the camera itself.

Photographer Frank Hurley immortalized Ernest Shackleton’s epic Endurance expedition in Antarctica from 1914-1916 with a series of now-classic images that were made under extreme conditions.

Frans Lanting has been retracing Hurley’s footsteps since 1988. He has “crossed paths” with both Hurley and Shackleton in a number of remote locations, and once pitched a camp on sea ice in the Weddell Sea less than 50 miles from where the Endurance got trapped in pack ice and sank.

To get a better sense of what it was like to make photographs in Antarctica one hundred years ago, Frans adopted the same kind of camera Frank Hurley once used, and was even able to wear the same clothing during one of his expeditions. Frans was able to secure a century-old Kodak VPK camera that was still in working condition. The camera features only two shutter speeds, it has no light meter, the focus has to be set manually with a crude slider, and the viewfinder is only the size of a thumbnail. Images are exposed on modern 120 roll film, which can be used by applying spool adapters.

Working with the VPK camera has given Frans a deep appreciation for Frank Hurley’s photographs and he continues to apply this vintage camera to create new images that blend old technology with new ideas.

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Impressions from Patagonia, May 2024

Frans Lanting — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 23:55:15 +0000

Impressions from Patagonia, May 2024

Photographers hiking, Patagonia, Chile

Puma with Torres del Paine National Park in background, Patagonia, Chile

Puma, Patagonia, Chile

Puma male and female courting, Patagonia, Chile

Puma with Tores del Paine National Park in distance, Patagonia, Chile

Puma mother and cub, Patagonia, Chile

Guanaco and crested caracara Patagonia, Chile

Puma passing photographers, Patagonia, Chile

Photographers at work with pumas, Patagonia, Chile

There is only one place in the world where pumas, aka mountain lions, have become habituated to the point that it is possible to track them on foot. In May I took a small group of photographers to Patagonia where we spent six days tracking these elusive cats, with two expert guides and Torres del Paine National Park as our backdrop.

Here are some of my favorite images created by our participants. We hope you like the results too!

We are planning to return with another small group in 2025. Contact us for details and check out our events page for more information on upcoming travel, workshops and online courses. You may also sign up for our mailing list to receive event information by email.

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Impressions from Alaska, August 2024

Frans Lanting — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 23:54:47 +0000

Impressions from Alaska, August 2024

Brown bear pursuing salmon, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Photographers at work, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear walking, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear in fog, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear mother and cubs, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Tourists watching Brown bear, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear mother and cubs, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear fishing, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear, Katamai National Park, Alaska

Brown bears playing, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear paw, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bears, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Brown bear, Katmai National Park, Alaska

We took a small group to photograph brown bears in Alaska up close and personal. We made a similar journey last summer, and it was one of the most rewarding wildlife experiences we’ve had in many years.

Here are some of my favorite images created by our participants. We hope you like the results too.

We are planning to return with another small group in 2026. Contact us for details and check out our events page for more information on upcoming travel, workshops and online courses. You may also sign up for our mailing list to receive event information by email.

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Beyond the Lens Podcast Host, Richard Bernabe Interviews Frans Lanting

Frans Lanting — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 18:03:36 +0000

Beyond the Lens host, Richard Bernabe interviews Frans Lanting

Richard Bernabe the host of Beyond the Lens Podcast recently conducted an interview with Frans Lanting about his life’s work and his approach to making some of his most iconic images.

We hope you enjoy!

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Participant images from “Personal Visions” Workshop, March 2024

Frans Lanting — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 22:07:42 +0000

Participant images from “Personal Visions,” March 2024

Claire is working on a personal project about forgotten trees in an urban setting. Her images are
lovely, but they become more poignant when you have a chance to hear her stories.

Charles aka "Chuck" asked for our advice about an amphibian exhibit that he’s been working on to highlight
sensitive habitats. The exhibit is dense with information and we suggested ways to emphasize
the aesthetic component and the hero status of the soft skinned creatures he cares about.

Chris O’Halloran joined us for a voyage to Svalbard in the high Arctic. She is planning to do a
small booklet that celebrates her journey. We gave her ideas about how to structure this book.

Chris Pope came up with an interesting concept "camera candida” to add context to some of his favorite
images which reveal something beyond what the naked eye may see in the moment. We helped him
refine his concept and edit images that resonate with his ideas.

David has traveled around the world for many years and asked for our guidance about
how he could add context to a collection of his favorite images. We came up with the
idea of pairing images from like situations and here are two.

Ginger has been working on a portfolio of images with gorgeous selective focus that highlight the bokeh effect
created by specialty lenses. We helped her edit a selection that deserves to be seen as a gallery show.

Linda has documented the natural history of her family's properties in Louisiana and created an amazing body
of work that was in search of a unifying idea. We came up with the working title of "Our Place,” and she extended
that into a personal narrative that ties together moods, habitats, and flowers. We look forward to seeing the book
that she will be putting together.

We helped Peter identify a small selection of images that deserve to be printed and featured in his home as
a showcase for his photographic talent. Look twice at the image that shows a group of people standing next
to a shoreline and see if you can make sense of the perspective.

Ravi has been on a birding quest. He wants to put a book together and we gave him guidance on how he can
add pictures from his journey to a colossal collection of bird pictures.

Sanjeev is a world traveler. We helped him by creating a structure for the book that he wants to put together
for which we came up with the working title, "Journeys.”

Van loves to capture beauty with his phone's camera. We helped by showing Van new techniques and
accessories that will give him more versatility going forward. We also helped him edit some of his best
pictures that feature beauty in everyday settings.

I am delighted to share results from our recent Personal Visions workshop which was conducted virtually and enabled by Zoom. During the course of one weekend, we were able to give everyone’s portfolios a big boost towards public applications ranging from custom books to gallery shows. I am proud of each of you and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the near future.

And for those of you who could not join us this last weekend, consider joining us for a future session of Personal Visions. You’ll be amazed by what we can do for you.

Check out our Events page for more information on upcoming travel, workshops and online courses or sign up for our mailing list to receive event information by email.

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Frans Lanting Receives Special Lifetime Achievement Award from HIPA

Frans Lanting — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 22:30:04 +0000

Frans Lanting Receives Special Lifetime Achievement Award

Frans Lanting was honored recently by the Crown Prince of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with a special Photography Appreciation Award that recognizes Frans Lanting’s life’s work. During a ceremony held at the Dubai Opera House they were joined onstage by His Excellency Ali Khalifa bin Thalith, the Secretary General of HIPA.

HIPA was established 12 years ago as a foundation that celebrates the art and power of photography. It has become one of the most important photography institutions to elevate the profile of photographers throughout the Mid East and Asia. Its annual photo contest draws huge numbers of submissions from countries that have not been properly recognized for their photographic talent until recently.

Previous recipients of HIPA’s prestigious Appreciation Award award include renowned photographers Elliott Erwitt and Sebastião Salgado.

“Receiving HIPA’s Appreciation Award is an honor I accept with gratitude,” said Lanting. “I use my work to express wonder about the natural world and concern about the perils it faces. This award validates my belief that photography is a global language which can connect people everywhere.”

Go to https://www.hipa.ae/ to learn more about HIPA.

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Participant images from “Creative Photography Without Bounds” photo workshop, November 2023

Frans Lanting — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 19:25:04 +0000

Participant images from Creative Photography Without Bounds, November 2023

Nate applied multiple exposures of the same subject while twisting his camera to create a mandala like composition.

Penelope created this unusual impression of a Redwood forest making use of the forward motion of a train we had
boarded together, using a shutter speed of half a second.

Brian joined us for a second time in this Creativity workshop. Clearly he had a lot of fun and broke new ground
for himself with this image which is the result of a zooming effect. He retroactively adjusted the center of the zoom
by cropping the image.

Matthew came all the way from Canada and created this infrared rendering of a redwood forest using a specially
adapted camera. He layered two exposures on top of each other to make this composition.

Kathy made this composite image by layering multiple exposures of the same subject on top of each other while
twisting her camera in a slightly different manner than Nate did for his mandala image.

Candace used a long exposure to make this dreamy image of alder trees in a riparian zone.

Andrea impressed us all with this wonderful composite image of forest details reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting.

The shimmering light reflecting from the surface of a lagoon created a mesmerizing pattern of light and dark.
By using a fast shutter speed of 1/400th a second, Linda was able to render the surface reflections crisply.

This wonderful image by Elaine is suggestive rather than descriptive and that is exactly what I hoped participants
would do in the course of this class. The straight lines of a railroad track disappear into the distance and the
rest is up to the imagination of the viewer. A two second exposure blurs all specific details in this scene.

A tree with fall foliage was turned into an impression of pure color by Karen. A hint of blue sky behind
the tree was the perfect complimentary match.

At twilight, Molly layered several frames of the same subject for a
composite image that suggests more than it describes.

Linda created a radical composition by layering two frames from the same redwood forest on top of each other.
By twisting her camera for the second exposure, she created a criss-cross pattern that is truly remarkable.

The results from our recent Creativity workshop exceeded all expectations. It confirmed that we can bring together a group of photographers with varying backgrounds and inspire them to create images they never made before. I am proud to have played a role in fostering everyone’s creativity.

Here is a selection that is the result of applying different techniques.

This workshop was such a successful experience for everyone, that we plan to do this again in 2024. Please let us know if you are interested in signing up as details will be announced soon.

Check out our Events page for more information on upcoming travel, workshops and online courses or sign up for our mailing list to receive event information by email.

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Participant images from Utah Grand Staircase-Escalante photo workshop, October 2023

Frans Lanting — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 20:26:12 +0000

Participant images from Utah Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, October 2023

Bill Welke created this amazing composition inside a slot canyon. Notice how the diagonal lines all converge.
I love what Bill did here capturing the flow of water with the speckling of fall foliage attached
to a rock wall and the green of algae in between.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a wonderland and we spent time with some of the hoodoos.
Mark Rigler captured these hoodoos set against a late afternoon sky. To me, they almost look like sculptures
set on pedestals. Changing your vantage point to a low angle perspective can enhance the size of any subject.

Susie Gillatt is an artist and she brings a painterly eye to photography. I love the contrast between
the soft foliage and the hard edges of the rocks in this slot canyon. There is a great tonality in the
colors here that goes from light, warm yellow-green to deep purple.

Tony Arnerich captured the amazing variety in textures and colors of this scene at the base of Calf Creek Falls.
The way he captured the falls provides a visual highlight that helps to enhance the rest of this colorscape.

Eroding badlands inside the National Monument gave Mark Rigler an opportunity
to capture this scene as an expression of soft pastel colors that range from light blue to deep purple.
I like the way that one piece of vegetation adds a sense of scale and a touch of another color.

Susie brought her painterly eye to this composition using a long exposure of 1.3 seconds created a blur in the foliage
and softened the appearance of the waterfall in the background. Great color, great texture, great composition all in one.

Tony applied focus stacking to this scene of withering vegetation, backlit by the morning sun.
It enabled him to extend his depth of field from his tripod feet to infinity.

John Davenport is a sports photographer by experience. He joined this workshop to challenge himself to slow down.
I like what he did here by positioning the moon in the gap between two rock formations. He created a contrast
between near and far that suggests a depth that goes from the rocks of Utah to the surface of the moon.

Another great example by John Davenport of compressing near and far using the structure of a tree in the foreground
as a veil through which we appreciate the textured nature of a waterfall behind. The complimentary quality
of the foliage in the foreground and the leaves stuck to the rock wall in the background unite the composition.

Chris Pope sees things differently and he is able to act fast thanks to his background in photo journalism.
While everyone else in our group was working hard to capture nature by itself, Chris added this traffic sign to a scene
that gives it a totally different dimension. It is both whimsical and a profound reminder of the presence of
human infrastructure even in the middle of a national monument.

Chris turned reflections at the base of a waterfall into an impressionistic rendering.
Its an image of pure color and by closing his aperture to F/14 he ensured every detail was captured.

Jon Bertoni's images are recognizable for their subtleties. He captures texture and color in a personal way.
I like the complimentary qualities of the cottonwood tree set against the slick rock.

George Cameron captured the amazing patterning on a rock wall caused by geologic erosion overtime.
This pattern is known as desert varnish. Don’t ask me to explain the geological details, but I can tell you t
hat the complimentary vertical patterns and the long diagonal of the white streak is a nice contrast. Well seen.

Bill created this beautifully balanced image of elements sculpted over time where
shapes are emphasized by moss, minerals and falling water. Kudos!

This exquisite image by George Cameron has it all. Color, texture, and shapes come together
in a balanced composition that summarizes why Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
is such an amazing place to visit and photograph.

Linda Feldt stretched out on the rocks at the base of these hoodoos to make them look more
monumental and it also enabled her to get rid of distracting elements in the landscape. Side lighting
helped add texture to the scene and the contrast between blueish light in the shadows and
direct sunlight on the hoodoos, is another interesting element in this photo.

Wally Reichert contrasted the shape and texture of a living tree with the ancient rock of a canyon wall.
The contrasting colors are a vital part of this image

By using a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second Linda Feldt was able to freeze the motion of the falling water here.
Her telephoto lens compresses the scene and flattens the perspective.

Wally found this amazing piece of sandstone at an overlook less than fifteen feet from where he had parked his car.
Artistic images can be captured anywhere when you know how to see clearly. Well done Wally.

Jon turned three hoodoos into a sculpture garden. His black and white conversion focuses
us on the shapes and the texture of the rock without being distracted by the color.

Recently I joined with Justin Black from Visionary Wild to teach a workshop in Utah’s Red Rock country. We timed our session to coincide with fall color which created amazing photographic opportunities. We had a great time creating and sharing images.

Here are some of my favorite images created by our participants.

We hope you like the results too!

Check out our Events page for more information on upcoming travel, workshops and online courses or sign up for our mailing list to receive event information by email.

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Participant Images from Svalbard July 2023

Frans Lanting — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 19:00:10 +0000

Participant images from Svalbard, July 2023

Little auks are small sea birds and Arjun Kapur captured them in a clever way with negative space behind the birds.
I like how he kept them small in the frame even though his long lens would have enabled him to bring them much closer.

Arjun Kapur’s image shows the waining of snow on a hillside covered in lichen. A subtle reference to the bigger
patterns of snowmelt that are dominating Svalbard.

Bill Henderson brought his mighty Fuji GFX camera but ended up getting creative with his iPhone using the settings
on his Snapseed app. One image shows a nearly perfect separation between participants under a dramatic sunburst.

This image by Bill Henderson capitalizes on the colorful lichen on a hillside.

Chris O'halloran captured a perfect moment when a polar bear
was reaching out to the water’s surface at a snowy shoreline.

Chris O’Halloran framed two walruses in a wide setting that reveals the
expansive scenery with a retreating glacier in the background.

Chris Pope used the amazing abilities of his Sony A1 in a burst mode and an AFI detection mode to capture two
little auks flying straight at him at 30 miles an hour. Our cameras can do much better than we can when it comes
to capturing unpredictable animal action.

Chris Pope also captured this image of an arctic fox trotting along
a shoreline with a little fluff from his winter coat on its ears and tail.

Dan Warbrick did really well with this image of a floating ice sculpture. One of many which we encountered.

Dan Warbrick also captured this image of one of our guides at a high overlook above a glacier. Of course that red
jacket was the perfect counterpoint to the prevailing blue.

I was very happy with this image of a puffin captured under near perfect conditions. Sun behind me and glassy water.
I used a 500mm lens with a 1.4 extender.

Wildlife is easy to photograph even at the outskirts of Longyearbyen. These barnacle geese all nested within the
city limits and are gathered here at a lagoon.

Linda Feldt decided to give this polar bear space within her frame and that lead to an interesting image
that balances rock, snow, and water for a complex composition.

I was in a zodiac with Linda Feldt when we maneuvered our raft to a position where this ice sculpture was
backlit against a rock formation in shade which gave all of us an excellent chance for graphic images of melting ice.
Kudos to Linda for capturing this.

Linda Morris used her phone to frame this amazing iceberg colored by dirt. The bottom of her frame reveals
the porthole in her cabin which makes for an interesting near/far justaposition. Well done!

On a grander scale, Linda Feldt captured the edge of a melting
glacier with water gushing out using back lighting in an effective manner.

Maddy Pope also made effective use of her phone to capture this floating ice sculpture, a parallel to Dan
Warbrick's image. I imagine that both of these intricate ice formations have dissolved by now into the Arctic Ocean.

Thomas Vogelsang’s wide angle image of an iceberg was complemented
by an unusual optical effect known as an icebow.

Thomas Vogelsang captured a magic moment when a trio of walruses exhaled and snorted as they passed us
by which lead to a softening of their contours. Right moment, right settings.

Tom Gruber brought an Insta 360 camera on our voyage and produced an interesting video. You can see it here.
But here’s a single image that captures sun, ship, icebow, and melting ice all in one frame.
The Insta 360 is a new camera system that deserves to be checked out for it’s creative potential.

Tom Gruber captured the sinuous form of a bearded seal holed out on and ice flow.
This individual was remarkably tolerant of our ships approach thanks to our captain’s subtle maneuvering.

Dear Friends,

Our recent voyage to Svalbard yielded a treasure trove of images that capture its grandeur as well as impressions of the rapid changes that are occurring in the High Arctic.

Here are some impressions from me and I look forward to hearing your comments.

Check out our Events page for more information on upcoming travel, workshops and online courses or sign up for our mailing list to receive event information by email.

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Participant Images from “Between the Tides” May 2023

Frans Lanting — Thu, 25 May 2023 22:07:17 +0000

Workshop participant images from “Between the Tides” May 2023

Check out this selection of new images created during our recent “Between the Tides” workshop. All of them were captured within a 100-yard area that was full of life ranging from macro subjects like nudibranchs to great blue herons fishing for rockweed gunnel, and of course the never-ending dynamic relationship between sea and land.

I’m proud of what everyone did in the course of just two field trips and we’d like to invite you to join us for a future workshop session, between the tides. Stay tuned for details!

Check out our Events page for more information on upcoming travel, workshops and online courses or sign up for our mailing list to receive event information by email.

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Frans Lanting

2024 SANTA CRUZ OPEN STUDIOS ART TOUR

OPEN STUDIOS ART TOUR Frans Lanting Studio, 108 High Road, Santa Cruz October 5 – 6 and October 19 – 20, 2024, 11 am to 5 pm

FRANS LANTING: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF FRANK HURLEY

Impressions from Patagonia, May 2024

Impressions from Patagonia, May 2024

Impressions from Alaska, August 2024

Impressions from Alaska, August 2024

Beyond the Lens Podcast Host, Richard Bernabe Interviews Frans Lanting

Beyond the Lens host, Richard Bernabe interviews Frans Lanting

Participant images from “Personal Visions” Workshop, March 2024

Participant images from “Personal Visions,” March 2024

Frans Lanting Receives Special Lifetime Achievement Award from HIPA

Frans Lanting Receives Special Lifetime Achievement Award

Participant images from “Creative Photography Without Bounds” photo workshop, November 2023

Participant images from Creative Photography Without Bounds, November 2023

Participant images from Utah Grand Staircase-Escalante photo workshop, October 2023

Participant images from Utah Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, October 2023

Participant Images from Svalbard July 2023

Participant images from Svalbard, July 2023

Participant Images from “Between the Tides” May 2023

Workshop participant images from “Between the Tides” May 2023

OPEN STUDIOS ART TOUR
Frans Lanting Studio, 108 High Road, Santa Cruz
October 5 – 6 and October 19 – 20, 2024, 11 am to 5 pm