raven2
Oct, 2015Views
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terrysigns13
October 24, 2015
I hand raise a white neck raven for 2 1/2 yrs...So Ravens have my heart. I love this shot!
Did you know that the babies have blue eyes until about 3 months old?
Did you know that the babies have blue eyes until about 3 months old?
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in rural Essex whilst walking my dog. I always take my camera along just in case something of interest appears as every time I neglect to there's inevitably a nearby buzzard or unusual large toadstool or similar lost opportunity.Time
This was taken in the mid afternoon about 2pm October 13th 2015, so the sun which was very bright that day would have been pretty low and made taking the photo quite difficult as the sun was behind him as he approached.Lighting
The light was plentiful sunlight, too much and behind the subject for most of his approach. When he finally stopped I was finally able to get enough to the side of him without falling in ditch to take this photo.Equipment
This was shot on a Fujifilm Finepix S1, so no lens used, obviously no flash. f/5.6 ISO 250. No tripod, just my elbows on the grass!Inspiration
I was walking Dex along some fields that lead to a woods when I noticed this guy seemingly looking at me from the field on the other side of a ditch near me. He then slowly made his way towards me, I think he was quite old as he moved slowly & carefully and looked a little bedraggled. I tried taking some photos but a bright low sun was behind him all the way. He ended up coming as close as he could about five yards away over ditch and just companionably sat there so Dex & I sat with him in the sun for a while & I took some more photos. It was a magical fifteen minutes where I felt I'd befriended a raven and I'm very happy with the close ups I was able to get as a result. Thank you to eveyone who voted on this photo.Editing
Yes, I felt this needed something a little different to mirror the special moment of this guy sitting next to me & my dog. I went for b&w to make it more atmospheric, used photoshop spotlight, faded an equalisation using the color burn option then added noise. Basically kept experimenting until this was the result.In my camera bag
As I only have a Finepix S1, there are no other lens etc to carry. Sometimes I take out a tripod but it's rather large & cumbersome. I do weirdly have a bag with Quality Street wrappers in in case I ever see anything that would look more interesting with a coloured crinkled filter over it!Feedback
Patience! It took the raven some time to make his way over a ploughed field and I had no idea if in the end he'd stop near me. The light behind him was frustrating as well. Obviously as well if you are that close to a wild animal/bird, keep still & quiet and luckily for me my Staffie is very laid back and doesn't bark or chase things!
