Steve Winter Photography (Nature/Wildlife) LO1

A: Photographic Category

Steve Winter specialises in nature/wildlife photography.

B: Purpose

Steve Winter's photography would be used in such things as promotional material for a nature related brand like National Geographic (or possibly an Instagram account), and it could be used in a museum (like the Natural History museum) or educational books (Animal Encyclopaedia by National Geographic) and websites to teach people about animals and possibly their characteristics (BBC Nature).

C: Image Analysis

Steve Winter specialises in nature and wildlife photography. His style does vary from photo to photo but each of his photos share similarities. Typically he takes advantages of framing, like how
 the image of the woman with the scope tool has an over-the-sholder view, with a low angle since she is aiming at the animal high up in the tree, which you can also clearly see in this photo. Another example of him taking advantage of what is shown by a use of framing is the image of the monk praying to the mountain, where his hands look like the shape of the mountain so Winter cleverly framed the mountain to be exactly where his hands meet, alongside a somewhat low angle to connote the power and scale of the mountain. Since this is nature photography, natural lighting is what you would mostly find in Winter's work as there won't be many man-made light sources, if at all. This works though as he may take advantage of something like the moon to help connote a narrative or emotion, and it stops the areas he takes photos of from looking fake. His photography fits purposes such as education as he demonstrates characteristics of animals like climbing up and down trees, it fits something like a National Geographic promotion as a lot of his work contains not only an animal but the landscape around it, which seems to fits for a promotional image on something like instagram as a caption such as "The mountain finding its way" or something.

The composition of this image features the monk on all four focal points when it comes to the rule of thirds, making this an equal image that lets the viewer see the monk straight away. It is framed to include monk in the foreground, directly behind the mountain and clouds above in the background, and the hands of the monk make the shape of the mountain. In terms of lighting, it is natural but more low key than high, making it seem the ISO would be at around 1100, with the aperture being small (like F.10) since there's a deep depth of field as well. The monk is wearing a red robe, which is what monks are known for, creating the connotation this is a monk in the first place. The orientation of this image is in portrait as the focus is on the alignment of the monk, praying to the mountain, and so a portrait image puts extra emphasis on this. The shot type is over-the-shoulder to denote  monk's hands (connoting the significance of his prayer), and the mountain (to connote the significance of it, as it could be what he is praying to,)

D: Meaning

The meaning of this particular photo is to connote the survival of the mountain lion during the night. It denotes a mountain lion while a very dark night, lit only by the moon. What makes this interesting is that the moon lights it and the small area around it almost like it is a spotlight during a theatre performance. Generally the spotlight in a dark area in a play is used in an emotional scene for one character, like a character development or a character's tragic scene. The fact Steve Winter denoted this with the mountain lion could be to connote that the lion could be a character in itself, going through its own emotional scene as the lion is alone during the night. As pathetic fallacy would say, the night connotes negative emotions.