Highland cattle (1 of 2)
Sep, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken a few hundred yards down the road where I walk my dog in Somerset. I had seen this breed there before and immediately thought " I need to capture this" In Somerset and Dorset you will find many interesting and rare farm animals.Time
Although when I first saw these cattle in the evening I didn't have my camera with me I went home as it was just up the road and grabbed my gear; the light was failing and there were signs of rain. The actual photo was taken at about 7.30 on a late Summers evening.Lighting
Lighting was pretty poor and i would have really loved some backlighting with late evening sunshine. Using a 40-150 f2.8 MFT zoom lighting was a challenge but made it more interesting I guess. .Equipment
When I'm out walking I tend to travel light and in this case just had my Olympus EM1 and 40-150 f2.8 lens with Tele Converter attached to get in as close as possible. . With the built in Image Stabilisation I was able to get this shot using a fairly low shutter speed at 2.8 and ISO 800.Inspiration
I have always loved photographing anything to do with the countryside and animals always appeal to me, in particular sheep and cows. It was lovely to see this highland breed just down the road where I live and in particular the shaggy coat and those horns. Just had to capture it.Editing
Post Processing of this image was done in Lightroom with some tweaks to image contrast and adjustment of the black and whites to bring out the detail in the shaggy coat. Some clarity was added with a vignette to focus the eye on the subject and add to a moody setting.In my camera bag
When I'm out taking photos I normally travel light with an Olympus OMD system and usually a 7-14 f2.8 and 40 -150 f2.8 zoom with several primes such as a 25mm and 35mm. If I'm doing a landscape my Benbo tripod is light enough to carry with me. I have just added another body the Em5II which really impresses me. I also have a Nikon D750 outfit and normally use that for extreme detail or really bad light, Sometimes I will take my old film camera along with me and the OM4 with a black and white film. This reminds me of my roots in photography and what is important when taking photos. .Feedback
Basically anyone can capture this type of image but its perhaps necessary to be sensitive towards the animal and not frighten them with sudden movements. Just let them know you mean no harm by standing well back with a long zoom or tele photo and shot wide open at say 2.8 to blow the background and give more punch to the subject. Depending on your camera system and lens always aim to use a high shutter speed 1/250 or above. The type of post processing you decide on is really personal taste and how you interpret the image. Above all enjoy your photography.
