Tom and I celebrate great images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For May we chose an image taken on our Badlands Workshop. The image was taken by Jim Seward while photographing bison in Badlands National Park. Jim is a travel and landscape photographer from the Chicago area.
Congratulations to May 2024 ‘s featured photographer – Jim Seward
The Story…
I do not have a lot of experience shooting wildlife. First I got some of the iconic shoots of bison but I wanted to get something different as well.
We were on the long road with a fence line. I didn’t like the fence line in the background. On the left side of the road there were a pair of bison standing up but they were not doing much. I saw a little head pop up in the yellow flowers. He was lying down with just his head up. I got down low and shot at eye level.
It was all the things I have learned from taking pictures over the years. I wanted my mid ground to be sharp with interesting bokeh in both the foreground and background. I shot through the flowers to get the effect.
If somebody puts me in the right spot and I have decent equipment, I can take a decent picture.
EXIF Data:
Camera: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Lens: Sigma 150-600 mm with 1.4 extender
Aperture: f6.3
Shutter: 1/400 second
ISO: 500
Mode: Manual
About Photographing in the Badlands
I was completely surprised at how much color variation there was. This was especially in the rocks. The yellows and the reds blew me away. Before the trip I had looked at several sites to see what we would be shooting. None of those images did justice to what we actually shot in the park.
It was like shooting sunsets in Patagonia. The colors are so good right out of the camera that you barely need to do anything in post. I just let the colors speak for themselves.
The timing for the green grass in Spring was important. The green grass, yellow rocks and blue sky were tremendous. It is the right time to go to the Badlands if you like color.
These is also a great variety of wildlife. I got a couple shots of the Burrowing Owls. I had never seen them before in my life. I was amazed by their habitat. Just to see it was terrific.
Goin to the abandoned town was as fun as anything in the park. I have used ND filters before in New Zealand, Utah and in North Dakota. The sky was perfect for Cottonwood. With an ND filter I like spending a little more time. It is a more relaxed pace.
With the silo I kept repeating the process over and over to get the right sky. I wanted the clouds moving over my head. I like it when the clouds are moving into the background.
Jim’s Tips for Landscape Photography
Tip 1
When you are in the field and you think you might be done, wait another five or ten minutes. You might be surprised with a piece of light that breaks through or a change of color. Things can change just when you think it is time to leave.
Tip 2
Don’t be afraid of unusual light situations. On the last morning we had fog roll in. We thought the fog would obliterate everything. However, as the fog moved through the scene it created some interesting photos.
On Jim’s Horizon:
Namibia
Greenland
Oregon Coast and Redwoods
Harris and Skye in the Hebrides
Interested in joining us in a national park this year? We have space on our Bosque and White Sands National Park Workshop from Dec 8-12, 2024 Learn more
Happy Summer!
Tom and Cree