Love life completely
Dec, 2012Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken near the top of our long pretty strenuous hike up Mt. Dickerman off the Mountain Loop Highway in the Cascades of Western Washington State.Time
Hubby, our two labradors and I started the hike relatively early in the morning to beat what might become some good summertime heat in the mountains. This photo was taken roughly 8 miles and nearly 4000 feet elevation gain after our start, in the early afternoon hours. The fog was just beginning to lift as we neared the top after emerging from the forest, and we were excited to reach what are 180 degree views of numerous mountains; everything from Mt. Baker to the North to Mt. Rainier to the South.Lighting
Nothing special regarding the lighting, other than what I felt were some fantastic emergences of the beautiful sun breaking through the fog line to expose the terrific wildflowers and our beautiful yellow lab Zale's seeming reaction to the newfound sun and beauty.Equipment
I used a Canon 7D for this shot (currently use a Fujifilm X-Pro2with no special equipment. Generally shoot in manual, raw mode but do very little post-processing. I like to keep the images real.Inspiration
Hiking up Mt. Dickerman is a really tough grind. Our labradors love to go for mountain hikes with us and they are often very animated in their interactions with the trail as well as each other (and us!). I felt this shot captured so much in terms of the moment and what it felt like to be near the top. After the grind, to see the expression of pure joy on our labs face was just so incredible. To see that joy amongst the lifting fog and the vast fields of wild flowers that the beautiful summer brings in Western Washington... I mean it just doesn't get any better than that. His expression is one of such a love of life, and whenever I feel things getting a little crazy and out of control, I look at this picture to bring things back into perspective. Our yellow lab is so funny and expressive and loving, and this picture captures the essence of everything that day hiking up the mountain was.Editing
I rarely do any post-processing. I typically shoot in manual raw mode, but I try to keep my photos as they are. I may make some adjustments on contrast or try to clean colors up a bit, but I really just love keeping the photos as raw as possible. Plus, I am not that experienced with post-processing yet. I am a really new and very green photographer with a ton to learn and not enough time :)In my camera bag
Because I like to photograph our adventures, I keep equipment light, to include my camera and possibly a lens change. But hauling too much equipment up very steep mountain hikes, or even road bike rides is difficult. As I learn and grow and expand my horizons of photography, that will undoubtably change!Feedback
This is a really tough one. For one, you have to be emerging from a strenuous hike up a mountain into the beauty of sunshine and wild flowers! I just try to keep the camera out and ready to capture those moments that seem really special, and hope like crazy everything turns out right. I hope to keep developing an eye and better talent in order to answer this question better at some point. I think just seeing something and knowing it's got to be kept for memory is key. If the light is there and hopefully correct, and you can be quick to capture the moment, it is really incredible the beauty you can save with a few clicks on your camera. I will forever hold this moment dear in my heart.
