Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Article Reviews


1. The Safari guide will be a very important element of the trip since they can provide local knowledge of the area and leadership. Their experience will save the group valuable time and energy.

2. Since most photos in African Safaris are taken from vehicles, a protective case for your camera would come in handy as you could use the stopped vehicle as a camera rest. The case would also help keep the camera free of dust.
3. In conjunction with the case, a cushion would decrease the amount of shock a camera would absorb if you were taking shots from a moving vehicle and hit a bump in the road.
4. If you bring a large camera or are looking for extra stability, but a tripod over a bi or monopod. This will make using taking pictures smoother.
5. From the articles, I gathered that bringing extra cameras and lenses is a good idea. That being said, multiple pieces of equipment aren’t always an option due to financial and space limit.


1. From the Nature and Photography article, I gathered that we as photographers need to take photos in a manner that engages the public. We need to get a message of across instead of taking photographs for the sole purpose of making money. It’s all about getting the public to see their connection to nature, not being in the profession/hobby just for profit in other words.

2. Eco-friendly tourism encourages an in depth connection to nature. When tourists consider how their actions will affect elements of nature, they will be less likely to cause harm to natural elements. They will consider working with nature rather than against it. Once photographers learn to work with their subjects, there quality of their work should improve as their awareness increases.
3. Photographers should take extra care to avoid disturbing animals during the breeding season. A disturbance could cause animals to vacated traditional mating grounds, leading to decreased offspring production.  Interaction with young animals or frightening a mother with young animals can also lead to offspring mortality as the adult animals sometimes abandon or lose track of their offspring in high stress situations.
4. As tourists and photographers, we should resist the urge to feed animals as well. If wild animals are fed, they can grow dependence for handouts and slowly lose their natural abilities to gather food.  If handouts stop being given after an animal has built a dependence on them, the animal make die of starvation before it can readjust.
5. You may want to keep the location of certain photographs a secret if they are fragile or pristine. The reason for this is that the general public may damage them in the case of cultural resources by vandalism or introduction of invasive species. In the case of animals, they may disturb the species at a crucial time of year leading to many negative side effects.

























From the Mountains to the River

Camera Stats: Panasonic Model # DMC-FZ40
14 Mega Pixels
24x Optical Zoom
32x Landscape Format Zoom
Lens: Power O.I.S./25mm wide.
Filter on all photos: 52mm Vivitar UV


In the vast majority of these photos, I boosted the clarity. Due to heavy smoke from forest fires, many of the colors were also increased in saturation to meet the natural levels they would look like without the smoke.

 ISO:200
mm:4.5
f/ 2.8
1/60 sec

Black and white with green saturation.

 ISO:80
mm:11
f/5.0
1/250 sec

 Color boosts and clarity were added to counter the heavy smoke in the air. 






 ISO:400
mm:108
f/5.2
1/15 sec

Clarity and colors tweaked to to adjust for the fading light.






 ISO:80
mm:108
f/5.2
1/125 sec

Clarity and blue saturation boosted.
 ISO:80
mm:108
f/5.6
1/250 sec

 Blue saturation and clarity increased.

ISO:320
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/500 sec

Clarity added as well as the 3 geese in the middle region.

ISO:200
mm:7.4
f/ 3/2
1/60 sec


ISO:250
mm:29.5
f/ 3.7
1/500 sec

ISO:200
mm:4.8
f/ 2.8
1/60 sec


ISO:80
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/200 sec

          


ISO:80
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/125 sec

ISO:100
mm:7.9
f/ 3.2
1/60 sec


ISO:200
mm:7.3
f/ 3.1
1/60 sec


ISO:200
mm:108
f/ 5/2
1/ 125 sec

ISO:320
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/125 sec

ISO:80
mm:10.5
f/3.2
1/100 sec


ISO:250
mm:33.9
f/ 3.8
1/1000 sec

 
 ISO:400
mm:11.6
f/3.3
1/80 sec
Color boosts and clarity were added to accent the fall colors.





ISO:400
mm:19.3
f/ 3.5
1/40 sec

ISO:800
mm:14.1
f/ 3.3
1/40 sec

ISO:400
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/13 sec



 ISO:400
mm:78.9
f/4.3
1/40 sec
Orange, green, and clarity boosted.

ISO:125
mm:10
f/ 3.2
1/60 sec

ISO:80
mm:20.1
f/ 3.5
1/80 sec


ISO:400
mm:4.5
f/ 2.8
1/400 sec

ISO:80
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/200 sec

 


ISO:125
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/125 sec



ISO:400
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/200 sec


ISO:400
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/15 sec


ISO:800
mm:108
f/ 5.2
1/15 sec

This photo was taken about 15-30 minutes after sunset. I tried to increase the level of exposure, but any more of an increase decreased the quality of the photo.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Green

 I've always found these squirrels interesting, and I like how the photographer captured the squirrel in the act of gathering food. The mossy pine tree is also quite interesting because moss like that doesn't grow on pine trees up North. In this second photo by Adrian Petrisor, I like the concept she implemented by taking a reflection picture in the water and turning it upside down. She even managed to make it look like she captured the opposing shoreline.

Coon and Friend

 Both of these pictures are great examples of what you are supposed to do when focusing on an animal's face. Both show the eyes  and facial details in clear focus. I like how the raccoon is framed in the log and the fox kind of fades into the background.

Old Bull, Fall Bulls

 The mist rising in both of these pictures by Alex Saberi is very interesting. In the second shot, the fall colors really make the shot. In the first shot, I love how this old bull is pictured in faded colors.

The Scuffle


I love the detail of the snow flying around as the 2 foxes play in this photo by Stephen Oachs. The detail and color of their fur is also quiet interesting. I think it's crazy that the photographer captured the blue-green color of the right fox's eyes.

Brains before Beauty

 This photograph was taken by Alex Saberi.I really like the mature bulls, especially the oldest, because they are more impressive and their ears are at attention vs. cocked to the side. The older ones are also in better lighting.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Soaring Over

I like how the photographer\, Jenaya Launstein, captured the entire owl in focus from wingtip to wingtip. I think she could have cropped the image better to have the owl centered while still maintaining the images details. I.E. an owl flying over grass. A little more cropping wouldn't take that detail away.

Hanging Out


I like that this photograph, taken by Max Waugh, captures the Osprey as it rises from the water and looks toward the photographer. What I don't like about it is that the editor cropped the rest of the bird's winds out of the shot and what you can see of them is blurry on the left. He even put his logo over the blurry portion which looks like he's trying to cover the wing up partially. 


Monday, November 5, 2012

When you give a Moose a Muffin...


This picture was taken by my cousin, Shannon Ireland, in the Snowy Mountains of Wyoming. I like that this picture is full of fall colors in the foreground, some snow, and then it blends into the forest in the background. I like how the yellows and reds are separated into different bands which create more interest.
I also like this photo because bull moose are rarely seen together in groups like this, especially large groups , since the re-introduction of wolf populations.

Monday, October 29, 2012

The Desert Lily

In this shot of an ordinary cactus blossom near Pompey's Pillar, I really enjoy how the flower stands out from the cheat-grass surrounding it. One of the details that degrades this shot is the 2 blades  of grass that over lay the blossom, making for a distracting element.

Pictured in this shot is a lily pad blossom from a lake in the Beartooth Mountains near Dean, Montana. I really like how the detail of the flower shines through and makes for a crisp shot. I think that if I zoomed out a bit more and let in some of the surrounding landscape create a background for the shot, versus having only the flower in the shot, it would make a better piece of photography.


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Moss on the Flipside

These were both taken on a patch of public land by Lockwood. The first shot really captures what I was going for, which was the textures and follows the rule of thirds. The second shot even though it caught the detail of the moos, I don't like how it breaks the rule of thirds The tiny strip of leaves on the right draws attention away from the tree. I feel like this would have been a better shot if i shifted the camera to the left to get more of the log in view.


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Earth and Sky

ISO 80    108mm     f/5.2     1/200 sec   No Flash


ISO 200    98.1mm    f/4.8     1/125 sec    No Flash


ISO 250    26.3mm    f/3.7    1/80 sec    No Flash

ISO 80    10.8mm      f/5.6      1/500 sec   No Flash

ISO 80   108mm    f/5.2    1/160 sec   No Flash

ISO 80  33.9mm    f/5.6    1/500 sec    No Flash

ISO 80    30.7mm     f/5.6     1/640 sec     No Flash

ISO 80      4.5mm     f/5.6    1/800sec     No Flash

ISO100    107.9mm     f/5.2   1/125sec    No Flash

ISO 125    9mm   f/5.6    1/320 sec    No Flash

ISO 125   128mm    f/5.2    1/500 sec    No Flash

ISO 80   7mm   f/5.0   1/500 sec    No Flash

ISO 125   76.4mm  f/4.3   1/125 sec    No Flash

ISO80   108mm  f/5.2   1/160 sec    No Flash

ISO 80   75.2 mm   f/5.6   1/500 sec     No Flash

ISO 80   105.1mm   f/5.6   1/640 sec    No Flash