He's been nearly eaten alive by the natural world he photographs, but Frans Lanting keeps going back for more, to capture glimpses of wildlife most people will never see face to face.

He's been nearly eaten alive by the natural world he photographs, but Frans Lanting keeps going back for more, to capture glimpses of wildlife most people will never see face to face.

He has watched insects consume his tent before his eyes. He has lived in environments so oppressively dank and humid that fungus would grow on his lenses. He's lost count of how many camera bodies have been consumed by the rain forests he's crossed. To capture elusive wildlife in its native state, he's done whatever it takes, be it hiding for hours in the mud behind wet foliage, or building a 100-foot steel platform in the forest. And did we mention the larvae that burst forth from underneath his own skin?...

Frans Lanting has received the 2005 Lennart Nilsson Award, which recognizes pioneers in medical and scientific photography. Lanting, who is based in Santa Cruz, Calif., was honored for his nature photography, examples of which have appeared in books, magazines and exhibitions around the world. He is a frequent contributor to National Geographic, where he served as photographer-in-residence, and has received numerous awards for his work as a photographer and conservationist.

New Gallery, School, Photo Contests Planned for 2006

Harnessing an impressive amount of inner energy, Wolfe has never been one to rest on his laurels, preferring instead to try something new, rethink the plan, explore another angle.

His newest books — "Vanishing Act" (named one of the best new science books of the year by Discover magazine, and winner of the German Fotobook Award in 2005) and hometown favorite "Seven Summits: The High Peaks of the Pacific Northwest" — are just two in a continuing line of art offerings filled with creative and masterful photographs. Even after his three decades as an award-winning and successful photographer, who has published more than 60...

Among the 142 winners of the annual Nature’s Best International Photography Awards were many members of the North American Nature Photography Association. NANPA photographers from the western United States who were recognized include: 

Robert Barber, Colorado, Highly Honored, Creative Digital;

Alice Cahill, California, Winner, Plant Life; ...

The October 2004 issue of National Geographic features Frans Lanting’s coverage of Hawaii’s volcanoes. Lanting also has included his image collection on his website, lanting.com. The images, which cover landscapes, wildlife, people and environmental issues from around the world, can be browsed and licensed online for editorial and commercial use.

Seattle’s Wildlands Press, a publishing arm of Art Wolfe, Inc., has been recognized for Wolfe’s most recent book, Edge of the Earth — Corner of the Sky. The book was honored with the Publishers Marketing Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award in the Arts category, and also garnered an IPPY Award in the Coffee Table Book category, presented by Independent Publisher magazine.

Edge of the Earth — Corner of the Sky contains images from seven continents. Robert Redford, a founding member and trustee of the National Resources Defense Council, contributed...

Seattle-based nature photographer Jon Cornforth won the grand prize in the 2004 Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival's Photography Competition for his image, "Bishop Petroglyph at Sunrise." Another of his entries, "Paradise Wild-flowers," placed second in the Mountain Landscape category.

Cornforth's petroglyph image also was selected for exhibition in PhotoMedia's "World in Focus" contest in 2003, under the Landscape category.

The nature photography community lost two of its most prominent role models earlier this year. In February, venerable nature photographer Erwin Bauer died of bone marrow cancer at his home in Sequim, Wash. Erwin's death was followed a month later by that of his wife and artistic partner, Peggy, who was killed in a car accident on March 23.

Following his graduation from the University of Cincinnati, Erwin served in World War II, for which he was awarded the...

Steven Fey, a Seattle-based photographer, has opened a gallery in the city's Belltown district. The opening show, "Coastal Beauty," features color and black-and-white images taken by Fey in the wilderness coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest and California.

At first glance, it's hard to tell what you're seeing in Adrienne Adam's images. Is it an aerial view of mountain lakes in a green field, or is it merely a leaf with holes in it? Is it a group of eroded sandstone boulders, or the leaves of a desert succulent plant?

Through Adam's experienced eye, the same recurring themes of the natural world seem to crop up in all subjects — be they mountain ranges or flower petals. "Today, I find that what really makes my heart sing...