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Let the Hunt Begin
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Let the Hunt Begin



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS REBEL T3i

settings Aperture 5/1 ISO 100 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 105/1 

upload_dateNov, 2016

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1 Comment |
douglasgray
 
douglasgray January 20, 2018
Wow. The way the animals are set apart from that background is incredible.

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at the 101st annual Blessing of the Hounds fox hunt in Southern Pines, North Carolina. This event is a Thanksgiving morning tradition where hundreds of people gather (tailgate, actually) to watch the horses, dogs, and riders in formal hunting attire - including the signature red hunting jackets (a.k.a "Pinks"), receive the blessing to open the hunting season. The Moore County Hounds hosts the general public to witness a pseudo hunt (no live foxes are used in this hunt), and to enjoy the pageantry and tradition of one of North America’s oldest private hunts. The guests arrive early and set up tailgate areas to usher in Thanksgiving with mimosas, bellinis, bourbon cocktails, and just about every culinary concoction that one can imagine . It is definitely something that must be experienced.

Time

I captured this photo around 10:15. The local priest offers the blessing at 10 o'clock, and I moved to this spot a few minutes after the blessing started so I could capture the Master of the hunt leading the pack over the first fence line.

Lighting

The morning light and weather were working in concert to produce a layer of scattered clouds and diffused the lighting on cool, damp morning.

Equipment

I used my trusty Canon T3i and Canon EF 70-200mm (1:2.8 IS II USM) lens, at the time this shot was taken.

Inspiration

We have made this a Thanksgiving tradition, since we moved here a few years ago, and I had shot this event from a few different locations. I studied the route that was being used, and had admired the jump pictures from local steeplechase clubs. This admiration motivated/inspired me to walk the course to position myself along the first fence line to capture the hunt before the horses worked up a sweat, and while the riders still displayed the jovial mood at the start of the hunt.

Editing

I used Lightroom to conduct my post-processing. This is a single shot with a few tweaks: The whites and blacks were perfectly captured but I did bump the temp up, lowered the contrast, dumped the highlights, and raised the shadows to enhance the blues hiding in the sky & adding to the overall silkiness of the photo. I also increased the vibrance and lowered the saturation before I enhanced the clarity.

In my camera bag

Canon 5D Mark IV Canon lenses - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 IS II USM; EF 24-105mm 1:4L IS USM; EF 50mm 1:1.8 STM; Speedlite 600 EX II-RT Manfroto tripod

Feedback

Set the white balance to the match the setting, and let your camera work for you by setting the ISO to auto, and using the Shutter Priority (Tv) setting to achieve the motion stop/blur effect you are trying to capture. Spot metering worked well in this case because: I metered off the middle of the wooden obstacle so I could get closer to my desired results without having to do too much in post processing.

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