One of the biggest gripes with photography, especially landscapes, even more specifically ones that contain a sunset, is the early wakeup alarm calls. Today was no exception. We met out at Maclay Flats around 5.45am, a few minutes prior to the sun coming up, hopefully generating some pretty cool lighting situations.

The early morning didn’t disappoint, with dew on the grass, a shallow mist hovering over much of the area, clear sky, and a moose galloping through the meadows providing an unexpected bonus! Ideally the moose would have come to a stop in the mist filled meadow, making for a perfect silhouette against the rising sun.

The final critique went just as smoothly as all the others, my photos doing all the talking and showing the improvements I’d made during the past six days. Feedback, once again, provided just the right amount of criticism to keep me on my toes and ensure that I want to keep on improving. It was cool to be able to then chill out as a group and enjoy a couple of slideshows, one showing candid shots of the ten students doing what they had come to Missoula to do, and the other a series of what each student thought were his or her best photos.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon, even if it was a little sad to be leaving such a great instructor, his assistant Rox, and a fun team of newly qualified Intermediate Photographers.

Missoula, see you soon…