The Long Road to Trust
Baby, an Arabian-quarterhorse cross mare who I helped to rescue last year. Her journey has been long & fraught with challenges, but the other day she rewarded m...
Read more
Baby, an Arabian-quarterhorse cross mare who I helped to rescue last year. Her journey has been long & fraught with challenges, but the other day she rewarded me with this simple look ...
Read less
Read less
Feb, 2015Views
619
Likes
Awards
Fall Award 2020
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This was actually a grab shot, I was following a pair of eagles who were circling the barn, but this lady stopped me in my tracks with her intent look! The image was created at Circle F Horse Rescue, in Abbotsford, BC, CanadaTime
Taken later in the day, as the filtered light wafted in through the opening to the barn, illuminating the horse in a very soft lightLighting
The combination of the indirect lighting, softer tones of the late afternoon & absence of harsh shadows I think gave this image its appeal. There was a wall near the right side of her head, which bounced just enough light back onto her face to fill in some of the shadowsEquipment
Taken with a handheld D700 Nikon & 70-200 VR at 1/250th 2.8, focal length was 135mm.Inspiration
The horse, Baby, was part of an SPCA seizure I participated in 4 years ago. She & the 9 other horses we took in were all basically feral, but we managed to work with every one of them, got them trained & found wonderful homes for all! Baby was by far the toughest one to reach; she was constantly fearful & wary, extremely difficult to approach. Everything i did with her took many times longer than the others to achieve results, and even then she never really dropped her guard despite all my efforts. One day as I was heading around the barn at the rescue, chasing a pair of eagles as my original subjects, I passed by the entrance & Baby nickered to me, then gave me this expectant look. Her & I transcended light years in that moment, and all of her fears melted away in the days afterwards. My inspiration was simple; after all the time, tears & tribulations, she made it all up with this one look. A little voice in the back of my mind softly whispered, "Paid In Full"Editing
I compensated for two hotspots in the original exposure but dodging them out, the only other adjustments were levels & croppingIn my camera bag
Far more than I really need! I tend to over-pack the bag I always have with me, but in reality I seldom use much of it. Two bodies hooked up to the most oft used lenses, my 24-70 & the 70-200, spare batteries, memory cards & an all-weather bag for surprises! I also have an 85mm 1.4 lens i use for low light & portraits, and a 105 macro that I thought I absolutely had to have, but now just balances out the bag so it doesn't sag on one end. The majority of my work is handheld, but I keep an older (& very sturdy!) tripod in the truck, mostly for planned shoots.Feedback
How many times have we heard this one? "Always be ready!" Here's my next favourite; "Never expect to capture what you set out to. Turn around, look the other way, bend down, look up. Always be ready for what you least expect" The best way to "be ready" is to know your equipment inside out & upside down. Every adjustment needs to be automatic, able to be done without thinking, much less fumbling. But don't let that deter you; if you can't make a perfect shot, make a shot anyway! This is how we learn about what works & what doesn't, then allows us to adjust to our own style.
