{"id":24099,"date":"2014-12-27T14:31:46","date_gmt":"2014-12-27T20:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/?p=24099"},"modified":"2014-12-27T14:31:46","modified_gmt":"2014-12-27T20:31:46","slug":"from-field-guide-image-to-fine-art-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/2014\/12\/27\/from-field-guide-image-to-fine-art-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"From Field-Guide Image to Fine Art Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s post is by guest blogger Frank Comisar<\/a>. \u00a0Frank Comisar is the founder of Scenic Aperture and an award winning professional landscape, wildlife, and nature photographer. Frank has been photographing our natural world for over 20 years. Based in Durango, Colorado, Frank travels throughout North America making beautiful images for his gallery and leading photography workshops during which he shares his passion and knowledge of the natural world and digital photography.<\/p>\n

\"DFL<\/a><\/p>\n

Influenced by a previous career in Architecture, Frank is a creative and inspiring teacher of photography. As an artist and creative professional, Frank educates by working side-by-side with his students in the field and in the digital dark room. Frank learned early in his architecture career that \u201c. . . the creative process is not a destination but a journey. It is a journey that includes research, planning, timing, technical skills, creative judgment, and a bit of good luck.\u201d Frank\u2019s success as a photographer is founded on these principles.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit http:\/\/scenicaperture.com<\/a> or contact Frank at fcomisar@scenicaperture.com or 970-403-5853.<\/p>\n

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There is more to fine art wildlife photography than a super telephoto lens and a frame full of critter. A properly focused and exposed full-frame image of a stationary wild animal can be a challenging and worthwhile pursuit. I call this type of shot the \u201cfield-guide\u201d shot. That is, it is a perfect image to include in a field guide from which to ID a particular species. In other words, a field-guide image is one that is perfectly exposed, tack-sharp, and fills the frame to show minute details not easily seen by the casual observer. Obviously, making a field-guide image is no simple matter. However with that said, a field-guide image can feel static and somewhat sterile.<\/p>\n

\"Field<\/a>
Field Guide Image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Anyone who has attempted wildlife photography knows that making a field-guide image is much easier said than done. However, despite the difficulty of making a field-guide shot, I believe there is much more to great wildlife photography including equal parts of technical precision (focus and exposure) and artistic judgment.<\/p>\n

A compelling composition and creative vision, added to the field guide image, become the secret sauce of fine art wildlife photography. A great wildlife image captures a moment in time that, when viewed after the fact, evokes the photographer\u2019s feelings and emotions at the instant the shutter was clicked. In addition, the fine art wildlife image should tell a compelling story about the animal, its environment, and context.<\/p>\n

Fine Art Wildlife Photography<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There are several compositional guidelines that are ordinarily non-negotiable for great wildlife photographs. These are the baseline characteristics for any great wildlife image. They are rather simple in concept but not necessarily in execution:<\/p>\n