Izzy
Sep, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This picture was taken in my backyard. Photography has been a hobby of mine since early 2013 and I love to photograph my dogs. They both refuse to pose, but I enjoy the challenge of trying to capture them doing something in the moment.Time
This picture was taken in July 2013 during the middle of the afternoon. It was a windy summer day and some leaves had begun falling off my trees from the breeze.Lighting
For this shot, I was laying in the grass under the tree. Izzy, my miniature labradoodle kept looking up at the falling leaves and I was able to capture this picture with her eyes glancing up. The light was a bit harsh and this picture certainly required post processing.Equipment
Nikon d5100, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Auto Focus-S Nikkor kit lensInspiration
We had just returned from a weeklong fishing trip and I wanted to spend some time outside with my dog, she was excited to have us back since she was left home. She loves being outside and I had just spent quite a bit of time getting acquainted with my camera on vacation. After playing around for a bit, she laid down under the tree, so I got right down on her level and I was able to take this picture.Editing
At this point in time, I had only had my DSLR for a few months. This was picture 1,227 and I still had stock settings on my camera capturing JPEGs. I regret not immediately switching the camera to capture RAW files, but at the time I did not know any better. When I went back to edit this picture quite some time later, I was not able to recover the highlights that were blown out. Still, I managed to accentuate the colors with some vibrance and contrast. I would have appreciated the fine tuning that editing RAW files afford, but I was still happy with the output. For the Viewbug post, I also cropped down the picture to edit out a dead leaf that was a bit distracting.In my camera bag
These days, I am still shooting with my Nikon d5100. I’m looking forward to upgrading to a full frame camera in the next year or so, but I have learned a lot on this model. In my bag, I typically carry a Nikon 50mm f1.8 prime, Nikon 18-200mm f3.5-5.6, Rokinon 8mm f3.5 fisheye, and a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. I also have an Aluminum Manfrotto BeFree Tripod. I keep a couple filters handy from Breakthrough Photography, a X4 Circular polarizer and a X3 ND 6 stop.Feedback
To capture a shot like this, the premise is simple, get low. I was laying down in the grass with my camera on the ground. The lens was a bit obstructed by the grass blades, but that added some character to the picture. Also, don’t be afraid to make mistakes and try new things. This was one of the first good pictures I took on an entry level DSLR, that I still use. Having better gear would be nice, but it’s important to take what you have out of the bag and use it. Create, share, grow, and continue to refine your approach. I have come a long way from this shot a few years ago, but I still have so much that I want to learn and improve upon.
