Kentucky Horse Farm
2009. A thin blanket of snow barely hides the ground on a horse farm at sunset, near the central Kentucky city of Lexington. ...
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2009. A thin blanket of snow barely hides the ground on a horse farm at sunset, near the central Kentucky city of Lexington.
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Dec, 2015Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Virtuoso
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Happy
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linabulgaria
April 11, 2019
Wonderful, bravo! Love your winter horse and the shining peaceful mood! :)
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken along Interstate-64 just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, at about the 68 mile marker. Lexington is known for its many beautiful horse farms, and this stretch of the highway, between Lexington and Frankfort, is a particularly scenic drive.Time
We left the Gatlinburg Tennessee area in mid-afternoon, and by the time we passed through Lexington, the winter sun was getting ready to set. According to my camera, it was 6:43 pm, but I travel a lot and sometimes forget to reset the clock in my camera; I am thinking it was probably 5:43 pm. Taken on Jan 31, 2009.Lighting
The picture was one of a series of 5 quick snaps - I was traveling with some family members on our way back to Louisville, KY. Sitting by a back window of our van, I saw the scene approaching and knew I had to react quickly. Because the sunlight was fading and we were moving at 70 mph, I had already set the ISO to the highest setting I felt comfortable with - 400. I was shooting with an older Canon dSLR, and never set it higher than 400. The metadata says the shutter speed was 250. I really did not expect to get anything usable, so I was surprised that this one turned out well, despite the low level of ambient light.Equipment
The camera was a Canon EOS 20D dSLR with a Canon 100-300mm lens. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
All along our route, there were beautiful and interesting snow scapes and icicles, but I was afraid to take a chance of shooting because of past experiences with blur while shooting out car windows. But I kept watch as we drove and when I saw the horses I decided to take a chance. I especially was hoping for a silhouette of a horse and I got one, even though very small.Editing
I didn't do much in post; just some general editing like exposure and sharpening tweaks and a little bit of vignetting. The main thing was adding some yellow to the scene to 'enhance' the late afternoon glow.In my camera bag
Today, I carry a Canon EOS 5D II with the kit 24-105mm L lens, a Canon 16-35mm L lens, and a Canon100-400mm L lens. I also usually have with me a Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro lens for getting close in to flowers and other interesting stuff in my back yard. I rarely use flash but I do keep a Canon Speedlight 580ex II in my bag.Feedback
For shooting while moving in a vehicle, shoot with as fast an ISO as your camera can handle so that you can use the fastest shutter speed for the available lighting. Also, use the fastest lens that you have which will allow yo to use a faster shutter speed. This is all to avoid motion blur, which is mostly a problem with foreground objects - the ones closest to you. Objects farther away generally exhibit much less blur, so try to crop out those closer objects or you may have to digitally crop in post. Also, try to shoot in the same direction as the vehicle is moving to -or- away from. And take several shots to increase the chances of getting something usable. The best scenario is having the driver either slow down some or stop completely. This is not always possible, for example if you are on a train or a tour bus and have no influence on choosing the stops along the way. As always, be aware of obstructions/filth on the glass surfaces you are shooting through and keep the lens/shade as close to the window as possible to avoid any reflections on the glass.
