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.

Preparing Images For Presentation

This section talks about the computer work that is necessary to prepare images. RAW mode, this is a state where everything is in it original setting and has no manipulation or focus done to it. There are three color spaces most useful to landscape photographers -ProphotoRGB, Adobe RGB, and Adobe sRGB IEC61966. When manipulating RAW images you first want to correct the brightness, then the level curves, color saturation, color balance, and adjust the contrast. Most landscape photographers try to get their contrast correct when they shoot the scene. The last characteristic to change is sharpness.

Digital Darkroom Equipment

The first topic that we discuss in this section is storage for your pictures. It is always a good thing to have a backup storage unit to put pictures on in case something drastic happens while you are out shooting. The author recommends using a one to two gigabyte memory card for landscape purposes. We then go into editing, this is where we learn to adjust color balance, saturation, brightness and contrast, dodge and burn, remove imperfections, straighten horizons and manipulate many other characteristics. The recommended standard program is Adobe Photoshop.

Week 2 Photos

Just getting used to the camera

Here are a few pictures that I took when I first bought my camera. I was not really going for anything specific but more just trying to get a feel for the camera.

Captivating Clouds

The last section in this part is capturing and using clouds. Clouds ensure your chances of producing images that are dramatic and distinctive, because the colors they allow are always different. Clouds are used as diffusers of light that allow some light to go through and gives features you are shooting different tones and detail about it. Thats why it is great to go out and shoot on cloudy days. You will have the best detail and colors.

Wide View Panorama

To get those wide view pictures that you cant capture with just one shot is pretty simple. First situate your tripod away from foreground features. Make sure it is level. Select a focal length that captures all the features you want in your shot. Put your exposure control to manual, and put shutter speed to provide the best exposure of the parts of the scene you really want to capture. You then do a framing sequence, overlapping the shots by 25%. Then its to the computer to do your stitching. This process can be different depending on the programs that you use but each one will have a walk through of how to stitch your pictures to get a wide view photograph.

Twilight Time

The twilight time section deals with shooting after sunset in the short time that you have. This is a time when mosquitoes and other pests like to feed so wear repellent and dress a appropriate such as layers again. Have the area you want to shoot already in mind and be there because the time you have to shoot is a short window. Make sure all your setting and focus's are set. Set your ISO to 200-400 and set your aperture to capture all of the features of the scene. Shoot and bracket with a tripod.

Floral Wilderness

Capturing the meadows in bloom!Trying to capture the broad landscape with your pulse racing is very difficult as the author claims. To do this you will want to find when the flowers will be blooming in the area you will want to shoot. Try to capture the flowers when they are at or just reaching their blooming peak, have a mixture of colors, have the land tilt toward your tripod, use early morning front light, have other elements in your scene as well. When talking about front light that means having the sun behind you. You will want to keep everything you can in focus. Try using a low angle to help capture flowers in front of you as well as landscape further back.

Oceans of Light

When shooting oceans and ocean's edge, you have a few things to remember. Get ready for wet conditions, waders, shorts, vest, zoom lenses, and filters. Timing the tides, look for shorelines with low elevation backdrops or south facing beaches with headlands. Back to timing the tides, you sometimes will want to capture the action. To do this you will want to try to get your timing correct. So take some shots and look to see how timing is and coordinate it. Also look towards the sky to help give your photo that living accent to really show off your picture.

Sunrise and Sunset

This section is pretty self explanatory being as we have discussed throughout the book that sunrise and sunset are the best times to shoot. It is when you have the calmest times, best colors, best tones. Also the sky creates its own scene for us that we do not have to touch and is natural and beautiful in itself.

Dramatic Dunes

When dealing with dessert areas such as sand dunes, we have a few points that we will want to remember. Before shooting make sure the site is free of footprints, keep your camera away from the sand and bring lots of water. Make sure you pack lightly, walking in sand is tougher than walking on normal ground. Timing is very important when shooting sandy images. You will want to shoot when the sun is low in the sky. Roughly 15 mins before sunset or after sunrise.