Field of dreams
Apr, 2015Views
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PictureWitch
April 25, 2015
The cat's eyes are amazing, they nearly match the greens in the leaves and stems, and the purple flowers? Perfect colour to go with his/her fur!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I was out photographing the forget-me-nots in my garden. I'd been trying a few different compositions when my cat discovered me and sat right in the frame of my previously composed shot. At first I was a bit disgruntled with her for disrupting my train of thought but then quickly realised I had an amazing opportunity to photograph her in amongst the flowers. I didn't even have to change my position only made sure the shutter speed was fast enough and depth of field wide enough before I pointed and shot.Time
This was taken during late afternoon in the spring time.Lighting
I took this in open shade on an overcast day so the clouds were acting like a giant soft box and there wasn't any unwanted glare or over exposed highlights to compensate for.Equipment
This was shot on a Canon 50D with a 75-300mm Canon lens, taken at 200mm, handheld. No other equipment was involved.Inspiration
My cat chose to be photographed and had stop to pose in just the right place. This is very unusual for her, she's only one year old in this picture. Normally when I'd try to take her picture she'd run right up to the camera lens, or run away when outdoors. I quickly framed her with the blue flowers, blurring the flowers in the foreground and background to give a dreamy effect. Luckily she didn't move whilst I set up the camera to accommodate her. On the same day I'd taken another shot of her profile but feel the eye contact in this shot makes for much stronger impact.Editing
I shoot in RAW only so I've just added a bit of contrast, sharpened and a vignette to draw your eye in from the edge of the photograph.In my camera bag
My Canon 50D with my trust Canon 50mm 1.8 prime lens. Canon 75-300mm, Sigma 105mm 2.8 and 10-20mm lenses. I occasionally carry a flash and a tripod with my ND filters but more often than not prefer to shoot handheld with natural light and sometimes using polarising filters. I carry plenty of batteries, only high speed professional SD cards and sometimes another body just in case!Feedback
Be prepared for anything! I go out looking for colour specifically in landscape however should something else catch my eye I'm always open to diversifying from the original plan. I usually go out with something in mind but should that not work out I will look for alternatives, try different lenses or alternative view points. Colour, lighting and composition are key factors, especially when photographing people or animals. I'm a lover of Lightroom and Photoshop but the less work I can do at my computer and the more in camera the better, so shots like this I find really rewarding. After all you only get one chance when working with moving subjects. Finally I've found that if you really want to photograph animals it's usually better to have an assistant or something to help distract or attract their attention once you get into position and help them stay in the frame.
