From dusk till dawn

‘I’m battling raccoons right now,’ says Art Wolfe over a Zoom call from his home in Seattle, USA. ‘I’ve got koi carp in a pond in my garden and the raccoons come up out of the ravine below my house to get them. I was up until about 1am last night, chasing raccoons away. They’re a pain in the ass. They’re cute, but they love to eat fish. I’m at war with nature,’ he laughs.

It’s not the expected start to an interview with one of the world’s most famous nature photographers. Art may have just passed his 70th birthday, but he’s 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. 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