Photography Workshop follow-on Part 2

[TravelingChick]

Day two started with the drive to (not) capture the comet at dawn. Afterwards we returned to the hotel classroom to do introductions and get started in lectures and faculty presentations. There were 30 students and a 10 faculty. This morning was Michel Forsberg talking about essentials in photography. He is known for his work with cranes (sand hill and whooping) and has a new book coming out in the next week or so. A lot of this talk was not new, but one of things that he mentioned that came up several times was 'build the image from the background forward.' In my mind, that is great reminder to be mindful of ALL of the image, not just the subject. The background and edges can make or break a photo.

After a quick break for lunch, we prepared for afternoon/evening shoots. The small group I was in went to a place where elk are known to cross the river as they bed down for the night. We weren't that lucky, but we saw some mergansers, a bald eagle, a couple of elk in the distance, and a spectacular sunset. The faculty made sure to check with each student and circulate among us to offer suggestions or help.

Here's a sample of Day 2.

Photographers waiting for the elk:



Mergansers:




Bald eagle.



Elk in the willow. I like the softness, but the critique had to do with the big bush in the middle that is distracting.



Photographers watching the sunset (iPhone pic):

[wanderer]

The first one explains why you didn't see the Elk.
Bright red and orange? And standing right out in the open?
I don't think so.
The one with the elk I would have reduced to a quarter.
Much more tight and no distractions.

[TravelingChick]

The first one was taken just as we arrived. We all moved off as dusk approached. When the elk cross here, they cross in the hundreds. Fun fact: elk are colorblind, blaze orange just appears as gray.

For my elk picture I was trying to show the elk in its environment - hence the wider shot. Just a poor composition on my part.