The Process of Shooting and Editing This Eagle Hunter Photo
I have been visiting Mongolia for over a decade now. I have spent countless days with the Eagle Hunter community, most of the trips being in the autumn during festival time, the time of year that kicks off Eagle hunting in Mongolia.
A lot of these Eagle Hunters I would now consider friends. I have been to their homes, been invited to community celebrations, and talk to some of them between trips. Photographing them now is so easy for me. I have a connection that transcends the photographer/subject dynamic. This brings up the first teaching moment of this blog: the connection you need with the subjects you photograph.
Think if the situation was flipped. You are sitting on your front porch at home, and a van pulls up full of people who do not speak your language. They start photographing you sitting on your deck chairs while enjoying a coffee on a peaceful morning. How engaging will you be in that situation?
Now, what if they came with a translator that explains these people travelled halfway around the world and are interested in capturing your culture, but they also want to get to know more about you, your family, and your way of life? After sitting around for an hour talking, are you more open to getting your photo taken? I would think most of you would be open to it.
My point is to take some time and get to know your subject. You don't have to go to the extent that I have done and travelled to a country for over a decade... but even an hour of conversation and sharing a quick meal will go a long way to creating a deeper connection with the people you want to photograph.
Back to why you are here reading this post: to learn why I took this photo. Below are a sample of Eagle Hunter images I have taken over the years. My goal for this trip was to capture something more authentic while the Eagle Hunters were out hunting in the winter season.
I really wanted a photo of Serik Jenisbek. I have watched this young man grow up. I have met his family, celebrated his competition wins, and was invited to his house last year to meet his new wife with a group that was with me. My connection with him runs the deepest.
I was also looking for a photo conveying the desolate environment they journey into to hunt with their eagles. The image I was looking for should also feature the Golden eagle.
Below are the photos of the Eagle Hunters that I was seeing during this tour. I wanted to give you some perspective of all the shooting situations we enjoyed during this tour
The Image I Decided To Work With
RAW File Straight Out Of The Camera
Completed Image
WHY THIS PHOTO? WHAT SETTINGS DID I USE? WHAT SITUATIONAL DECISIONS DID I MAKE TO TO CAPTURE THIS?
Why This Photo?
I decided to focus on this image of Serik Jenisbek sitting on the side of a mountain, looking out over the vast landscapes of the Altai Mountains.
Here was what appealed to me
By placing him in the image as he looks out over the mountains, you, as the viewer, see what he is seeing, and you relate to him more.
He popped off the screen because he was in focus in front of the muted landscape.
The red of the hat draws your eye right to him. He is the first thing you look at before you explore the rest of the image.
This image screamed "solitude and peace" to me.
The Eagle did not have the hood on, and her face was in view.
There were a couple of images before and after this image where Jenisbek's shoulder covered the Eagle's face. The Eagle was in full view.
I loved the detail in his wolf skin jacket.
The mountain range was layered. They created a 3D depth in a two-dimensional medium.
I liked the colours in the rocks he was sitting on.
It was my friend, sitting in his happy place, doing something he loves to do.
What Settings Did I Use?
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: Nikkor Z 24-70mm F/4
Aperture: F/11 – Using this lens when 40’ away from the subject, I wanted to use an F-stop to ensure the entire foreground and subject were in focus. F/11 gave my image the sharpness I was looking for with the subject and foreground. I wasn’t too worried about the far off mountains. A little softness in the distance would help separate the subject from the background.
Shutter Speed: 1/1250th of a second – This was overkill. I easily could have taken this photo with a far lower shutter speed under normal circumstances. The environment called for this adjustment. It was -50F with high wind gusts. I was shaking, and my body was being moved by the wind gusts. While the subject wasn’t moving, and the ambient light was perfect for the lower shutter speed… I needed this faster speed to account for my movement. I wasn’t going to get multiple chances at this opportunity.
ISO: 800
Exposure Compensation: + 2/3EV. Why did I use exposure compensation? When you are photographing in the winter, the sensor sees all the white and wants to darken the image. You have to employ exposure compensation. You have to tell the camera that you do want to photograph the scene brighter. On a bright, sunny day in the winter, I will increase my exposure compensation as far as +2EV. Even the exposure compensation I used in this scene was not enough. But still manageable for some post-processing adjustments.
What Situational Decisions Did I Make To Create This Photo?
I made the following decisions during this photo shoot to create this image.
I placed Serki Jenisbek on the left so that there was lots of room on the right for you to see the mountain range.
I photographed wider than I needed so that I could make the decision on my final crop with lots of space to work with.
I positioned myself at an elevation that the top of the mountain did not go through his head. That would cause a tangency that would have been distracting.
I also tried to stay on the same plane as he was so I was not shooting up at him or down at him.
I took a few photos of him looking at me, but that was not what I was looking for. It looked too staged for my personal preference.
I consciously created a juxtaposition within the photo. I placed Jenisbek in front of the mountain section with the details versus placing him on the side of the image where the mountains have fewer details. It's a personal preference decision. I just liked how the photo was weighted to the left. I also create a juxtaposition of warm tones in the foreground and cool tones in the background.
There were photos of the eagle and man looking at each other. I preferred this look and asked him to keep staring off into the distance.
Editing Steps I Made To This Image
This image did not need much editing to create the final outcome. Here are the steps I took to create subtle changes to the image.
I cropped this to the final look to create a wide-screen look. I wanted to eliminate unnecessary components. There was no need to have all that foreground that contained anything of interest. I cropped it tight to the left of the rocks he was sitting on. I cropped out some of the bare sky just above the clouds.
I next selected the man and the rocks he was sitting on. I increased the exposure without blowing out the highlights. I increased the luminance slightly so the colours popped, and I sharpened the man and the rocks.
I then selected the mountain ranges. I increased the contrast and added some texture to give them slightly more definition than the original image. I then lit the snow on the mountain range to create more definition and separate the layers of the mountains. The last step was to enhance the contrast between the clouds and the sky. I lightened the blue sky and added some contrast to the clouds so there was more definition.
The last step was to work on the eagle. I lighted the shadows and sharpened the eagle slightly to give it more definition.
Conclusion
My chosen image may not be what you decided. You saw all the photos that I had been taking that day. Some of those may appeal more to you than the image that I liked. I go back to my comment on your personal preference. We can all stand and take a photo of the same scene. Chances are we will all gravitate to different things, and that’s ok.
If you want to see the Mongolia Photo Workshops I lead for Akari Photo Tours, check out our tour lineup. We would be happy to talk about any tour that may interest you. Click on the button below, and we hope to see you on a Mongolian Photo Tour soon.