The Book

The book was very helpful for making sure that I had a basic understanding of all the aspects of photography. It also gives not just photography information but helpful tips to as what to bring along to make the shoot more comfortable and successful. The most helpful tip from the book was dealing with how to dress. That was a key factor, because I got wet. I was around a creek all day and in and out of water. The book prepared me for this by listing what to bring when you are going to be out shooting. The only thing the book doesn't mention is to bring materials to keep you busy when you arent shooting such as a fishing pole(as I mentioned I am brining next time).

Conditions and Changes

The morning conditions were excellent. It was a cloudy morning free of rain, leaving me with great opportunities to move around and take some great shots. Towards the afternoon the wind really picked up, so I decided to travel some back roads towards Bridger. Though I did stop by the Red Lodge Nature Center first and take a look around. After I made it to Bridger thats when the weather really changed for the worst. The wind picked up and the rain started to come down. This pretty much ruined my evening shots. Overall, I feel it was a successful shoot.

Some things I would do differently next time is I plan on bringing my fly-fishing pole so that I have something to do while in the afternoons when the sun is high point. I would also try to find a place for good sunrise and sunset photos. The area I was in did not give me the colors I hoped for nor did the rain allow for photos as well.

Top Images Continued

Top Images

Before and After 3

This photo I was not sure how to edit it. I liked how it was first shot. Though I did want another black and white, so I decided to change this one and I like how it turned out. First I filtered it to black and white. I then adjusted the brightness to make it a lighter while darkenging the contrast to make the ripples really show bouncing off the rocks. You can also see the rocks under the water in a much clearer view.

Before and After 2

For this photo I wanted to to have a closer view of the goose with a warmer background. First I zoomed in on the goose and cropped it where I felt captured the scene the best. From here I played with the contrast and saturation until it gave the shot a warmer image. I then changed the tint to lighten the colors. The last edit I made was to sharpen the edges of the water with the land.

Before and After

This was the first photo I chose to edit and explain. The first edit I made was a filter to black and white. From here I adjusted the brightness to make it a lighter. Then adjusted the contrast to help it blend and give it a soft natural look. By doing this you can see the light really reflect off the water.

Initial Feelings-Red Lodge Shoot

While looking over the photos from yesterday I feel that I captured some great images. I felt like I achieved most of my goals besides for a couple. Also I noticed a few things I could have done differently for certain shots.It was a great day to go out. I did not expect to see snow still on the ground, however, it turned out great for capturing some scenes. One of the goals I felt that i did not really accomplish were those of sunrise and sunset photos. Where i was it just didn't give the image that i felt was necessary for a good photo. I did try to get some wildlife shots but could not get as close as I wanted to. Overall, the day went well and I had a great time. I believe I did a good job.

Tuesday, May 5th- Red Lodge

Tomorrow I plan on going to Red Lodge, Montana. The forecast for the day is a high of 60 degrees and low of 37 degrees with 14 mph west winds and a 40% chance of rain. Should be a great day for shooting with the clouds and hopefully no rain. Sunrise is around 5:57a.m and sunset is 8:27p.m.

The areas planned for shooting are just southwest of Red Lodge. I will be taking Ski Run Rd. and following it to West Fork Rd. It will be branching off into many areas that I will be taking for a variety of photos.

My goals for the shoot are first off that it does not rain. From there I hope to capture some wildlife in their natural state. I hope to get some good shots of Rock Creek or some random off streams. I also hope to get some great sunrise photographs. However, I will be in a canyon so my hopes of nice landscape photos are slim.

Below is a map a couple pictures displaying where I will be shooting tomorrow.