2015-tammymarlar-dogsandstick
Jan, 2016Views
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Action Award
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Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
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Winner in Dogs Only Photo Challenge
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Outstanding Creativity
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Platinum
joycealicesmith
January 30, 2016
Great photo!! Love the lightening in it as well as composition. Congratulations on winning the Challenge! Very well deserved!
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on Wimbledon Common which is a beautiful open space near where I live in South West London. It's a very popular place for dog-walkers.Time
I took this shot just after 9am in early February. Winter light can be exquisite at this time of day / year but it was rather overcast on this particular day.Lighting
I often prefer natural light but I had to use quite a high ISO for this shot as it was overcast and the shutter speed had to be fast.Equipment
I used my Canon 5d mark iii with my EF50mm f1.8 ii, in manual with a shutter speed of 1/320, f6.3, ISO 2500 in continuous shooting setting.Inspiration
It was a shoot for my friend Sophie who wanted to give her parents a photograph of the two dogs as a present. The black labrador, Benny, belongs to her and the golden retriever, Monty, to her parents. She often has to look after Monty so the two dogs have become firm friends! She was very clear in her mind as to the picture she wanted, and that was to capture the two dogs' friendly rivalry over stick ownership! We were both really pleased with the results of the first session. I had been keen to stay in full manual mode just to make the very best of the beautiful winter morning light but it was challenging, and dropping down into either a Shutter Priority (TV) or Aperture Priority (AV) setting would have been no disgrace when dealing with fast moving and fairly scattergun objects like labradors! However, the icing on the cake for her family would be, she said, to capture both dogs, heads together, facing the camera, running alongside, eyes forward, chewing on same stick. “Right” I said …. We didn't manage it the first session, and she very sweetly asked me if I would come out again the next morning to try and get the shot. We ventured back to Wimbledon Common. Sophie worked as hard if not harder than me in this “Round 2”, sourcing endless sticks, encouraging the dogs, and running on ahead to set up a “chase”, hoping that they would follow her down the path (lots of annoying undergrowth on the common to potentially get in the way!), remain side by side, run towards me with heads facing forward, both keep hold of the stick, smile for the camera, etc etc! And all I had to do was capture it in perfect focus! I chose a fixed 50mm lens which forced me to nail the shot when the dogs came into the frame rather than be distracted by changing my focal length at the critical moment. Two attempts didn’t quite produce the desired result. But “Take 3” and the picture she had so wanted to capture was in the can!Editing
Yes, the picture needed a bit of cropping in, plus a little brightening and re-touching to clean up stray bits of undergrowth etc! I also reduced the noise a little as, because of the relatively fast shutter, I'd had to use a very high ISO.In my camera bag
I have a Lowepro 400 which holds a great deal, so there are always 3 or 4 lenses, back-up batteries and cards, and some basic lighting equipment should I need it. A monopod and tripod often accompany me too.Feedback
Haha! Never work with children or animals, or so they say! Moving objects are tricky, be prepared to keep persevering to get the shot you want. Take props for dogs to get their attention and be prepared to work hard. Stay low to the ground. I've also learnt (again) that the client brief is all important and if at first you don’t succeed, be prepared to go out again and make it happen. It’s not just about keeping the customer satisfied, but the satisfaction to you as the photographer of delivering exactly what your client wants (with a following wind, if at all possible, all things considered etc)!
