Second Share 2 and Critique

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For my second share 2 and critique, the first photo is a sunrise by my house and the second picture is at Riverfront Park. All edits were done in Lightroom.

Photo Critique

Photo By Julia Denning

I have yet to do a blog post on a critique of someone else's photo. This photo, called "Standing Watch," was one of the submissions of the 2015 National Geographic photo competitions. When I first looked at this photo, I immediately noticed the tree in the middle of the photograph. At first, I mistook this tree to be the subject of the photo. However, reading the caption for the photo made me realize the subject was intended to be the person standing near the tree, whom I failed to identify when first looking at the picture. I think this photo would be more powerful if the person happened to be wearing brighter clothing that stood out to enable him to be the first thing that is noticed. Besides that, I think this is a very good photo. I like how the sun is in the upper left third and just appears as a orange dot. Also, I think that the brief clearing of smoke in the middle adds an artistic touch to the photo. I also think that the shadowy foreground brings my attention up to the tree and person. Finally, I like that nothing is obviously split in half in the frame such as a tree or a bush. 

Website: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/contest-2015/gallery/week-11-all/7

Some tips on wildlife photography

Lately, I have become really interested in wildlife photography. Animals draw my attention more than landscapes. While reading an article by Melissa Groo, I learned several tips to improve my pictures of wildlife:

• Wear quiet clothing
• Wear camo gloves
• Don't wear any reflective jewelry
• Don't wear perfume or use scented detergent on your clothes
• Remain in the shade as opposed to in the sun
• Approach the animal from downwind
• Move slowly
• When the animal notices you, allow it to get used to you being there
• When the animal drops its head, move towards it
• When the animal raises its head, stop moving
• Avoid eye contact
• Approach the animal at an angle
• Don't block the animal's escape route

This is just a brief summary of the tips that Melissa suggests, and I look forward to implementing them in the field.

Article found here: http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/pro-perspectives/melissa-groo/approaching-wildlife/

Animals Can Be Silly Too

Image By: Mary Swaby

Apparently, comedy wildlife photography is a thing. There is even a contest called Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards where people submit photos of animals being silly. The rules are the following: if the animal makes a funny face or is just being funny, submit the picture for the contest. The contest also has a noble cause of encouraging people to make donations to the Born Free Foundation, which is a UK conservation group dedicated to saving wildlife around the world. Pictures on this article include a balancing puffin, laughing cheetah, a face-planting elephant, and much more. 

Website: https://weather.com/science/nature/news/comedy-wildlife-photography-awards

First Share 2 and Critique

Photos By Dan Kuske

The first picture is of ducks preening at the Shiloh conservation area. The second is a landscape photo taken at Riverfront Park near sunset. 

The Northern Lights

Image: Frank Olsen

In Jamie Carter's "How to Photograph the Northern Lights," he gives 8 steps to enable anyone to take a good picture of the Northern Lights.

1. Invest in a DSLR camera with a wide angle lens, take the shot with an aperature of f2.8 or less, and use a tripod. 
2. If you are unsure whether the faint glow is a cloud or a borealis, taking a picture on your camera will help you to determine for sure. 
3. Compose the photo of the Northern Lights with a good foreground. 
4. Due to the surplus of Northern Lights photos, be creative when taking the picture. 
5. Turn white balance to automatic, turn focus to infinity, use ISO 800-1600, and use a shutter speed of 4-25 seconds. 
6. Shoot in RAW and don't up the saturation that much.
7. Be prepared to be patient. Observing the Northern Lights is not a common occurrence.
8. Instead of making the Northern Lights the goal of the trip, focus on the overall destination of where you go instead. 

Website: http://www.travelandleisure.com/photography/photographing-northern-lights

Dominance Photos

Photos: Dan Kuske

For the first picture, I kept in mind the dominance rule that sharpness is more attractive than blur. Since the rabbit was running, I knew I had to have a fast shutter speed (1/200) to ensure that the picture wasn't blurry. For the second picture, I followed the dominance rule that states red is more attractive than yellow.