I received an email from a friend who just read my top ten nature photographers blog.  He disagreed with me in the sense that some of the photographers I listed were retired or deceased.  My list was meant to be a top ten list of all time.  It was however meant to be somewhat fluid as active photographers will consistently move up or down.  Below is my list of current top ten photographers.  This is of course strictly my opinion.  I looked a lot at who meant the most right now to existing and “want to be” nature photographers.  I used an either/or look at current photographers as far as talent versus success was concerned.  You may be shocked when you get to the bottom of my top ten.  Below my listing you will see a very different top ten from my earlier post.

Just to be fair I decided not to include myself this time.   Oh come on now I am just kidding.  I can assure you my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek.  I had myself 11th the last time.

#1 Number one is a name that is not even debatable to me.  Art Wolfe is the biggest name in nature photography.  I know what some of you are saying.  He photographs cultures and other subjects too.  I do not know a true photographer who will not make pictures of other subjects than just nature.  That includes me.  Nature has been Art’s main focus for over 30 years.  There is no question that his Travel’s To The Edge television show has helped his fame, but he deserves it anyway.  His work is breathtaking whether it is of wildlife, landscapes or human cultures.  He is still getting better and his enthusiasm and dedication to this is beyond comparison even as he reaches 60.   He hikes, rides in jeeps and occasionally rides a mule or an elephant for mile totals that reach into the thousands.  He travels ten months a year.  When he is home he often goes out shooting at old familiar locations.  If you watch his tv show or are connected to Art on Facebook, you will realize that he has the strength to show the world his more ordinary photographs from time to time.  Every successful person has an ego but Art is not ruled by his. Art is easily number one. http://www.artwolfe.com/

#2  I don’t drink alcohol but I swear I must have been drunk when I wrote my first list.  Frans Lanting is a legend and belongs in the top ten of all-time.  He is just as vital and important today as he ever was.  He does it all and changed how we photograph Africa, and did the first serious work on Madagascar.  I have been told that (somewhere) Art and Frans will be appearing together in the near future and that should be money well spent. http://www.lanting.com/

#3 I would put Moose Peterson in the current top 20 if I were writing about great technical photographic skills.  He moves well up my list when you consider what he has brought and still brings to nature photography.  An adventurer who knows as much about the science of nature as he does the art.  One of the top photographers in the world. http://www.moosepeterson.com/

#4 For most of my photographic life John Shaw would have been number one.  You see and hear “just a little” less about John these days but he is as good as he ever was.  He is still in demand for workshops and seminars and is the total package as a nature photographer.  He produces the work of a great craftsman and his books have made nature photographers out of thousands of people over the years. http://www.johnshawphoto.com/

#5 Linde Waidhofer is the only woman (we have one team) on my list and that is too bad.  There are many incredible female talents out there but most do not pursue it for 365 days a year.  Her landscapes are sensitive and powerful at the same time.  She is in high demand as a teacher and I will admit, Linde is the one photographer who could get me to take a workshop after 40 years in photography. http://www.westerneye.com/

#6 I remember when Jack Dykinga’s work first began to appear on the national scene.  His Arizona landscapes soon became a common sight everywhere.  He is an artist and I believe he is currently the top landscape only photographer in the world. http://www.dykinga.com/Welcome.html

#7  My next is unusual as I have a wife/husband team.  John and Barb Gerlach have worked together both while out creating images and as a workshop team for a very long time.  Their work is very similar in style and they are a perfect team.  They share the fame and their egos have never been an issue.  They were once the most successful nature/stock photographers anywhere and are a very successful workshop/seminar team.   They photograph everything in nature. http://gerlachnaturephoto.com/

#8 Scott Linstead.  Who?  Yes now we get to some of the best of the new generation of photographers.  Scott should move up this list if he continues to produce wildlife photography at the level he has.  He makes those heart stopping shots that we would all love to produce on a regular basic.  Watch for Scott! http://www.scottyphotography.com/

#9 Joseph Rossbach and #10 Ian Plant are good friends and are partners in the business of workshops.  The new generation of landscape shooters is well taken care of with these two artists.  Their styles vary slightly but both love to work at the very edge of light.  Joseph finds new ways of looking at old subjects.   The point of view he shows you through his lens is unique.  In better days (for me) I would have enjoyed shooting with Joseph Rossbach.  Ian Plant’s work is ethereal in nature (no pun) and I can pick his art out of a crowd.  Keep watching these two as they are still on their way up.  http://www.josephrossbach.com/  http://www.ianplant.com/

My former top ten of all-time.

#1 Galen Rowell

#2 John Shaw

#3 Ansel Adams

#4 William Henry Jackson (1800s)

#5 David Muench

#6 Heather Angel

#8 Jim Brandeburg

#9 David Doubilet

#10 Leonard Rue