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Highland cow-1
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Highland cow-1



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS 5D

settings Aperture f/20.0 ISO 200 Shutter 1/80 

upload_dateApr, 2014

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4843

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15 Comments |
sweetpea72
 
sweetpea72 November 22, 2014
sooo cute..Love this...congrats! ")
iceman2
 
iceman2 November 22, 2014
Beautiful capture with great lighting and clarity.Congratulation on your feature!
SaraSwati-Dimensions
 
SaraSwati-Dimensions November 22, 2014
Love it :)
chuckrickman
 
chuckrickman November 22, 2014
Congratulations on your feature. Truly great.
gondmagdi Premium
 
gondmagdi November 22, 2014
great shot !
MaryAnne306 PRO+
 
MaryAnne306 November 22, 2014
Well, cows aren't usually adorable, but this one.... How does it see? Congratulations on your feature!
AlanJakarta
 
AlanJakarta November 22, 2014
Terrific capture. Congratulations on being Featured.
GordonD
 
GordonD November 30, 2014
very cool, congratulations :)
Markofclass
 
Markofclass December 13, 2014
Slik work excellent focus and detail
Deebo48
 
Deebo48 February 16, 2015
Beautiful shot, great definition, great colour. well done.
sydneyosbourne
 
sydneyosbourne April 19, 2015
Kudos!
blackwood4qt PRO+
 
blackwood4qt July 25, 2015
Good colours and details. Excellent image.
Tkay
 
Tkay September 07, 2015
Awwwesome shot!!
DavyQuo
 
DavyQuo September 08, 2015
great capture ...
MommabearCole
 
MommabearCole February 06, 2017
Made me giggle

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#pebble #beach #river riverbed #cow #scotland #hairy #muzzle #horns #laying #mountain #sky #blue
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken whilst on a roadtrip around Scotland with my buddy. I was amazed by the 'hairy' looks of the highland cows, but until that day every opportunity to get close to them slipped through my fingers. Either the weather was bad, or the frame was too empty to fill the composition, or it was plain dark. This time however everything aligned perfectly. Besides, the backdrop with empty riverbed and the mountains was so pristine, I had to get close and snap a shot.

Time

It was just past midday. Sun laid at the right spot - casting little shadow and providing right amount of backlight on the horns.

Lighting

I wanted the cow to take all the spotlight, so I intentionally closed down the diaphragm (I didn't have ND with me) and used external flash to expose the bangs on this 'lady'.

Equipment

I have used my workhorse Canon 5D with Canon EF 24-70mm f/4 L IS mounted on it. I have also used Canon EX580 external flash for greater versatility with lighting.

Inspiration

The fascination with the highland cow, I guess. Where I come from the cattle is short-haired, so I am naturally drawn to longer haired creatures: icelandic horse, highland cow, bernese mountain dog (the list continues)

Editing

I am not fond of post-processing. Model shots require fine retouching, but nature shots I prefer unspoiled. I may have shifted the balance to a bluish one and bring the saturation in yellows.

In my camera bag

For travels I like to go light - not to carry to much weight - so it's usually Canon 5D Mark III body with a couple of L-series zoom lenses: EF 24-70mm f/4 L IS and EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS. I have an extention tube for macros (if I'd need) and a EF 1.4 extender for those extra long shots.

Feedback

I would say that you have to really think before you take a shot. Think about how you will frame it, how you will lighten it, how you need to take a shot to avoid too mich hassle in post-processing afterwards. You should be opportunistic. Don't shy out of an opportunity if you are certain you will not get another chance. You must weigh the time needed for preparation against the changes in ambient lighting. Also, don't let your scene dissolve while you're tuning the setup. I usually set everything beforehand - or while on my way to the 'photo-point' - that reduces the idle time and gives extra seconds to frame in an artistic way.

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