My New Friend
Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Great Vermont Corn Maze in Danville Vermont. Most of my photos are taken on the adventures I go on. I love capturing all of the new experiences that I have and the new places that I visit.Time
I remember this adventure clearly, and it will always be one of my favorites. After getting a little bit of a late start on the day, my boyfriend and I left from our home in New Hampshire before noon. We arrived at the corn maze after a 3 hour drive that was full of beautiful Vermont scenery. Unfortunately our drive took a little bit longer than we had expected, and we got there just as they were taking last entry into the maze. Even though half of the 24 acre maze had been closed off due to time restrictions, we still spent about two hours trying to find our way out of the massive maze. Once we found the exit and started walking back to the car, we passed through a small barn yard where you can pet some of the animals. Being an animal lover at heart, I could not go home without saying hello to the little animals. I’ll never forget the fact that as soon as I walked over to that gate, the goat in the picture came running over to meet and model for me, we instantly became friends. This picture was taken on September 23, 2015 a little after 4 PM.Lighting
I do a lot of my work in natural lighting, so it is very rare for me to manipulate lighting in a photo. Because this picture was taken in a little later in the day, the sun was softer and it allowed for me to easily capture the natural beauty of the goat and its environment with out loosing any of the contrast or vibrant colors.Equipment
This image was shot on a Nikon D5300, with an 50mm F/1.4 prime lens.Inspiration
This photo (as well as most of my other work) was inspired by my love for animals, nature and adventure. With a very strong history of vision impairment issues in my family, capturing my adventures and memories has always been very important to me. On the off chance I do lose my vision, my photographs will allow my children as well as others to see the world the way I once saw it.Editing
I always like to take my time when I am shooting, and do my best to get the exposure and composition correct in camera, to save time and eliminate the need for a heavy editing. However, shooting in RAW is always going to require some post processing. For this specific picture I had to warm up the temperature quite a bit to get it to a warm natural feeling. I also brought the contrast up just a little to help the colors pop. I lowered the highlights and black clipping by a small amount and brought up the white clipping to help even out the over all exposure. The last thing I did, was add a very little black vignette, to help draw your eyes to the goats face.In my camera bag
At the moment my list of equipment is pretty small. I have a Nikon D5300 camera body, an 50 mm f/1.4 prime lens and an 18-55mm f/3.5 kit lens. Of course I would love more than anything to upgrade my camera body or maybe buy a new lens or two, however financially I cannot afford to do so anytime soon. Thankfully I was taught that it is not the gear that makes the photographer, but the photographers eye and skill it’s self. Until I am able to buy new equipment, I will happily rock the gear I have,and continue to do the best I can with what I’ve got.Feedback
When it comes to shots with animals, having patience is very important. Animals are not always going to cooperate and do what you would like them to do, so you might have to get cozy and sit there for a few minutes, get your shot set up in the viewfinder and just wait for them to look your way. Having a little treat for them can also help direct their attention toward you! :)
