Photo of the Month: May
Welcome back to the Photo of the Month series! While I didn't have a lot to share in April, May was quite different. I took a lot more pictures, and even got a new piece of camera gear to share.
The amount of pictures I have to share definitely correlates with how many photography-focused adventures I take. I definitely got out to more of these in May so I hope you enjoy the variety of photos.
Wildlife Lens
Let's get right into the new piece of camera gear. I got a brand new wildlife lens! This has really reinvigorated my interest in photography. I have always admired the incredible photos that wildlife photographers are able to capture. As a lover of nature, I have always dreamed of doing the same thing. Seeing animals in nature is by far my favorite experience, and now I can try and capture them myself!
I finally just sent it and picked up a lens that would work with my camera, had the features I was looking for, and wasn't insanely expensive. The best wildlife lenses can be north of $2,000. I ended up getting the Tamron 150-500mm Sony E Mount lens for about $850 used. So far I have been very pleased with it. I plan to go more in depth on my journey of learning to use this new lens in another post!
Goblin Valley
As you may already know I also visited Goblin Valley State Park early in May. I even wrote a blog about the best things to do there.
Hawkin Saeger
The state park was a location I had never been to before, and I was blown away. There were so many amazing rock formations to capture. I am definitely not a landscape photographer by any means, but I enjoyed how these pics turned out.
While camping I also got a few pictures of my campsite. The first was actually just from my iPhone in the evening as the sun went down.
I flew the drone for a while when I first arrived at the campsite, and I snagged this picture which I really like too. I like how I framed it with the sky, rocks, and my setup filling different thirds of the image. I had definitely tried to focus on my composition as this photo of the month challenge has gone on.
The best picture of the month
Let's get to where my favorite picture of the month came from. My really good friend from back home in Wisconsin visited and we ventured out to Antelope Island State Park. This was my first time here so it was a joy to explore! We hiked Frary Peak first where I snapped a bunch of pics. This one was my favorite of the bunch.
For some reason I have always enjoyed pictures where clouds creating really unique shadow shapes. The way they wrap over the peaks and fall into the valleys is super interesting to me.
Now, the best picture of the month came from my new wildlife lens. After hiking Frary Peak we drove around the island a bit looking for wildlife to photograph. I got some pics of some bison far off in the distance, but we lucked out by coming upon a pronghorn!
I was pretty happy with how well I focused these pictures. This was my first big success getting an animal sharp and focused, and it was an incredible feeling. This was the first realization that it is also possible for me to grow to be like the wildlife photographers I have idolized for so long! Here was the best photo of the bunch, and my favorite of the month overall.
I love that you can see the details of the fur as the pronghorn looks off into the distance. The flowers and prairie also made for an interesting background that added a pop of color to the photo, really pulling it together.
Hope you enjoyed this installment of the series, and I will see you in the next one!
Interested in following along with my journey more or connecting with me? Make sure to follow me on my socials!
Until next time!
-Hawkin