Across the Valley

tprevatt,

Another good one.

His hat just leaps off the page, doesn't it?
I love their shadow on the sagebrush.

Steve Thomas

Steve, thank you. We had just climbed to the top of the ridge line and stopped for find a tree and have a drink. Climbing to the top we interrupted an elk in a grove of small aspen - probably sleeping. He crashed through the trees and my riding partner's horse got a bit frisky which was another reason to stop. When we mounted up, I held back until i got the shot I wanted. My Fuji XPro3 is my default on horse camera as the ability to see outside the frame in the OVF is very useful and you can also keep an eye on what is happening and still get the shot. While it looks close, it about an hour and 1/2 back to the ranch which was straight ahead about about a half mine for the tree line at the base of the Tetons.

This is a lovely shot. Well done. Framed perfectly. Exceptional. Maybe just a touch of “de haze” on the mountains for a bit more drama?

tprevatt,

What aspect ratio are you using?

I lived in Colorado for a while up on a plateau, and we used to sit on a bluff eating lunch and watch the elk graze along the river bottom below. It was nice.

Steve Thomas

This image is a 4x5. I normally use 4x5 aspect ratio. I'm not a fan of the elongated 2x3 aspect ratio of 35 mm. Of course that could come from most of my cameras were more or less around the 4x5 aspect ratio. A list, Mamiya RB57, Mamiya 645, Zone VI 4x5 field camera. The common sizes for dark room printing paper were 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, etc. all close to the 4x5. Sometimes I do use a square aspect ratio. There are a lot of elk in the Tetons and Yellowstone. One reason the huge area of public land. There is the Great Teton National Park, Yellowstone surrounded by the Bridger Teton National Forest. Also just North of Jackson, WY on the edge of the Great Teton NP is the national elk preserve - a large fenced in area where the elk are fed in the winter.