The Eagle Hunters – Working a Composition

This, the first series of images in a new section on our blog, involves Kazakh eagle hunters in western Mongolia.
These are a very strong people that have a strong sense of culture. One of those cultural icons is hunting with eagles. I wanted to get a shot that really conveys the sense of spacious land in Mongolia, the power of the eagle, and the traditional dress that seems to be seen less and less in the historical cultures of the world today. This first photo basically establishes where we are – two eagle hunters, a horse, and the eagle traversing an open slope on the border of western Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

In this second photo you actually see how close I am to my subjects. I am using my Canon 1Ds Mark III camera with a 16-35 wide angle zoom lens, which allows me to include a strong foreground subject (the hunters) as well as the dramatic sky in the distance. Also note that the light looks a bit flat in this shot, but from the viewpoint from which I am taking the photo things look completely different.

In my third image, which is at a right angle to the direction of the sun, I have attached a polarizer to my wide angle. You can see how much more dramatic the light appears. This image also highlights the problems of working with dramatic light – very harsh shadows were cast every time the eagle moved its wings.

The wing of the eagle is now down, but the man that’s controlling the eagle is casting a shadow on his assistant.

I decided to get lower and shoot upwards to bring in some of the openness of the sky in hopes of creating more of a story than in the previous shots.

The result is that I don’t have nearly the problems of the previous images with the shadows. This is a very satisfying image to me, but in an effort to see what else is achievable, I begin working the scene a bit more.

I’m standing at eye level again with the hunters, but the problem with this shot is that the man closet to me is staring straight at me. I try to maintain a little anonymity when I am taking pictures, and would prefer that the subject is not staring straight into my camera.

I ask him to look straight ahead, but now with movement of doing so, the eagle is staring straight at me. This isn’t necessarily a bad composition, but I would prefer the eagle in a different position.

I move a little bit further around and discover I love the way the light is falling across the main eagle hunter and his beautiful fox fur hat. However, as you can see, I have moved in too close to get all three in the frame.

I decide to back off a little bit, and now I am getting what I am looking for. I love the fact that the man in the middle is kind of looking my way, the assistant is looking off to his left, and the eagle is conversely looking off in the opposite direction. There is a nice balance to this image, with no shadows on their faces. In addition, the eagle has nice light on his eye. This to me is a winner.

I also like this last photo because it has a nice sense to it; the eagle is looking further opposite now, and is even more absorbed in what is going on in the landscape, rather than in what the photographer is busy trying to achieve. Both of these final two images are very strong photos for me, and I am very happy with the results:
good balance of compositon, dramatic light, openness of the land, traditional wardrobes – it all comes together in a very nice way in these last two images.
The Eagle Hunters – Working a Composition: Eagle Hunters Image-1 © Art Wolfe
This, the first series of images in a… http://bit.ly/bfTFBu
RT @artwolfe: The Eagle Hunters – Working a Composition: Eagle Hunters Image-1 © Art Wolfe . http://bit.ly/bfTFBu
Great series of images displaying the thought process that went into the final image. Very educational!
Great series of images displaying the thought process that went into the final image. Very educational!
I really enjoyed your description of how you worked with the scene to get the strong composition you wanted.
Interesting article. Is a good story on how to evolve the setting will have it on my mind next shoot i do. Thanks.
Thanks Art, a great little walk through. Looking forward to more of these! It’s a little more in depth into something we saw in Travels to the Edge.
Very well done. It’s always nice to get inside a masters head to see how he approaches things. What’s acceptable and what isn’t. I like the step by step with the photographs to help. Well done and thank you.
Art, that was a very helpful example series, particularly how you go around the entire frame looking for “flaw” (like shadows on faces and direction of the eyes). I think this a great format for viewers!
[…] The Eagle Hunters – Art Wolfe […]
Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful series of shots, Art, and you’re technique when working with such incredible subjects in a challenging, outdoor lighting situation.
Cool stuff!!! – The Eagle Hunters – Working a Composition by @artwolfe http://bit.ly/9YsIy8
Cool stuff!!! – The Eagle Hunters – Working a Composition by @artwolfe http://bit.ly/9YsIy8
RT @jimgoldstein: Cool stuff!!! – The Eagle Hunters – Working a Composition by @artwolfe http://bit.ly/9YsIy8
Those guys are incredible. And yes, the second to last photo is a winner, the eagle looks great:)
Reading The Eagle Hunters Working a Composition from @artwolfe http://bit.ly/99QATP
Thank you very much Art for this very good lesson. I have found much inctructive for me! I think that the best photo is penultimate. The eagle see on the very good and interesting angle, and both hunters too. It’s the best photo. Working in this situation difficult but very interesting! Mongolia is one of the minority countries where have stored historical culture ancient timeses. People in this country very poor. I heard that on development Mongolia is found approximately in 18 century!
Thank you Art for your very interesting Travels on the Edge! We are woke traveling with you, when we watch your programs! Sorry if i make some mistakes, I not very good speak English!
Thank you for sharing this set and giving an insight as to how you create the image and the thought process behind it. Enlightening.
I am interested too as to the polariser you use with the 16-35mmm lens. Doesn’t the extreme wide angle create problems with vignetting or an uneven polarisation effect?
Dave