Sagebrush Steppe of Montana

"Anybody can love the mountains, but it takes a soul to love the prairie"

Lark Bunting

Red-wing blackbird

Storm moving south of the Snowies

Deer in wheat field north of Lavina, MT

Wheat field north of Ryegate, MT

Prairie Rattlesnake

This summer I worked as a vegetation technician for MT Fish,Wildlife and Parks. I was living outside of Roundup, MT and spent my summer exploring the beautiful Sagebrush steppe and prairie ecosystems of central Montana.

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Environmental Awareness Photography

https://www.joelsartore.com/about-joel/common-questions/how-can-photography-help-the-environment/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254250535_Conservation_photography_as_environmental_education_Focus_on_the_pedagogues https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/jan/03/photography-medium-environmental-awareness https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/on-location/featured-stories/how-to-be-a-conservation-photographer/ http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160629-environmental-photographer-of-the-year-winners-announced I've always thought that photographs of environmental issues were very moving. I believe it makes people more aware of the conditions of the natural world by providing a contrast to the usual "picturesque" photos we see. I've attatched some links to readings I find interesting, as well as my favorite photos in this genre.

Photographing Natural Patterns

Look for bunching of groups and repitition of space and shapes Counterpointing of spacing instead of consistency Use a telephoto lens and/or extension tubes to bring your focusing point closer Use a small aperture to keep things crisp Fill entire frame with the pattern Use a out of place element to add interest Use reflector to diffuse light towards subject instead of direct lighting

Final Photos

For this photo I used a low f-stop to blur the background and keep the two plants in focus. I bumped up the vibrancy of the red leaves to grab the attention in the photo, I also decrease the green tone in the grass to give it a more warm tone. For this photo I used a high ISO and wide apperature because it was getting dark out and i didnt want the clouds to blur behind the windmill. To edit I bumped up my exposure and contrast to define the clouds. I finished by eliminating the noise. For this photo I used a long exposure because the sun was already set behind the mountains in the distance. I wanted the majority of the photo to remain dark so I only allowed the exposure to capture colors in th sunset and lake reflection. I increased the vibrancy a bit to get the colors to where I wanted them. For this photo I used a wide apperature to catch the subject without any motion blur (high shutter speed), I also wanted to have a very shallow depth of fiel...

Gjerde Nature Photography

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