Early Morning Field Trip -1

Viki works to get a wildflower shot,
remembering that it's much better to get down to the level
of your subject to get the best angle of view.

Now and then it's important to drop everything and go take pictures.  It's also wonderful to share that experience with someone.

Decide what our subject is,
 then make sure it's obvious to your audience.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with a talented novice photographer, someone who wanted some pointers.  We had agreed to meet at a local park where we could photograph sunrise on the river, the wildlife in the area, and then a friend's garden.  There was a lot of opportunity to share skills and ideas and get down and dirty as we collected photographs in our own "back yard," so to speak.

The sun had technically risen, but had not reached it's beautiful fingers to the park.  As we talked a little about our experiences, and what we each liked to photograph the most, the color on the tree tops started to change, and then reached the river.  Beautiful.  No direct sun, but a lovely diffused light which got us in the mood to look for more early morning scenes to photograph.

There are numerous ducks in our area, so they were a logical subject.  I have been so often instructed to shoot "through the bars," so as to not get the fence in your wildlife photo.  However, I was actually missing some good shots I decided, as I watched Viki capture some nicely framed duck photos.  The fence separating the walkway from the river made a great framing tool! 

I didn't notice the ripples being put out by these ducks until
 I examined the photos later. 
What luck! 
I think it adds to the framing of the subject.

Make decisions on how you frame your subject based on what
 you like, and your audience will usually like it as well.

There are so many decisions to make, and since both Viki and I prefer getting the shot "right" in the camera, we were shooting with the conviction that we needed our best shot; we were not going to plan on using Photoshop or other editing software to try and fix our mistakes.  However, that does not mean we won't change our photo to Black and White, or Sepia.  Anything that could be done in a dark room is fair game for tweaking a photo to create a certain mood.  Ansel Adams did it - why couldn't we?

Are those leaves changing color already?! 
 I personally don't mind a hint that fall is on the way, but let's not rush it!

These ducks are definitely the subject, even though it's not a "portrait." 
 The scene around your subject is also important at times. 
Your choice.

We finished at the river and decided it was time for flower photography, and hopefully a few insects and other garden creatures.   More about this part of the adventure another day this week.

Enjoy this day, and every day.