The people of the trips

One of the things about traveling with a group of photographers who are on a mission to capture great photos, is that it's easy to overlook the other photographers as possible subjects. We get all wrapped up in the scene that we stopped the van for. Some of which have been so amazingly stunning that it's nearly impossible not to get wrapped up in it. There are scenes that deserve a group of humans standing there with their mouths hanging open in awe and wonder.

We pile out of the van, some faster than others, we assess the photo possibilities, tweak the camera settings, and click. Sometimes many clicks happen. Sometimes people scurry back to the van for a different lens to support further clicking.

Sometimes not. After all, not every scene appeals to everybody. That's part of being in a group, and I'll be the first to admit I've been the one wrapped up in a scene, not wanting to leave. Once Neil was about unpack the drone to look for me. Other times I've been the one that's all, ho-hum nothing here for me.

But there's a couple points to be made here. One that I'm still struggling to internalize is that even in a setting that doesn't appeal to me (most birds, for example), there are almost certainly elements that would make an interesting photo, if only I could find them. Part of being a good photographer is seeing possibilities that other people don't see, and capturing them. I like watching other photographers working the scene, and sometimes it's more interesting than the scene itself. I've learned by watching other photographers.

Which leads to today's photos. One of the things on a group tour is that we try to stay out of each other's photos. If you're trying to capture the grand expanse of a stunning landscape, you probably don't want a person in the scene, or even the shadow of a person. Or maybe you do, sometimes that works.

These are some of the people on my trips this year as they're doing their thing. Only a few are posed. I've tried to catch nice photos of them. They all know who and where they are, and I hope the photo is a nice way to relive the moment.

1. This is the only person I'll be identifying. Our tour operator and guide extraordinaire, give it up for Neil Zeller! Here he is working the scene. This is only part of what we see on tour. The other part is the mechanics of helping people on tour, advising on photography issues, helping with baggage, driving, dealing with hotel clerks, solving problems, cleaning and stocking the van, and 101 other things that make a trip go smoothly. What we don't see is the hours on the computer and phone setting up the trip, exploring possibilities, and creating a plan B if something changes. If there's a photographer you love, you could do worse than buying them a Zeller tour. Here's the current list of choices. 

 

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9. Me. Posed. And yes, the other photographers might have photos of me. Probably not especially flattering unless they were really working hard. 

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23. The is one of the exceptions to the people in the scene photo. I sometimes like being behind the group, including them in whatever we're looking at.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

Of the Day

Driftwood

And people wondered why I wore running shoes on the beach.

Flower

One of our surprise Dahlias. We had experimented with overwintering some tubers in the film fridge, but the spring was so late we didn't think we'd see any blooms.

Peony

Lily

Landscape. Oddly enough, this looks better as a smaller JPEG, than it does in Lightroom. This is the first time I've ever noticed that.

Tombstone, but first a serendipity, loving the play of light on the wood.

Green Fools, a clown wedding

Moose

Lynx

Not a serendipity because it's been blogged, but this photo showed up with the lynx in what I'd normally call a serendipity, and I thought it appropriate. Curtis left us almost exactly 2 years ago, and I still miss him.

Film

One of the fun things about being a photographer is being able to go back and revisit old images. Sometimes it's a WTF was I thinking. Sometimes, how did I miss that, which could be in a good or bad way. One of my readers suggested there was too much road at the bottom of this image. Tweaking the sliders in Lightroom to decrease the importance of the road did not go well. I'm not sure if it's my lack of skill at masking, or that it comes from film, or that I know what colour that road really is, and playing with it hurt my brain. Sometimes cropping is the answer, so I tried a 9x16 crop to get rid of the road. Now I'm thinking the photo seems unbalanced.