IMG_6239
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texaaronpueschel
October 12, 2018
I usually do not like the sepia tone, but here is works well. You bring out the handsome eyes of this young fellow.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo of my son was taken at the Blue Crane restaurant in Pretoria, South Africa. They went for a very bushveld look and feel. https://www.viewbug.com/photo/65547481 was also taken there shortly before this photo. As a rule, I always take a camera with me to any place other than my day job.Time
It was taken late Sunday afternoon. As the area is covered with trees due to bird sanctuary next to the restaurant, bits of sunlight came through the trees in specific areas to create a very dramatic soft natural light source.Most of the photo, I must admit, was luck. My son was playing all over the place being a busy body and while standing on a wooden deck he just decided to lay down. Luckily he laid still long enough for me to get into position and do the required camera settings before he got up and dashed off again.Lighting
100% pure natural light. It was a clear day with a lot of tree coverage that helped with the soft dramatic lighting in the photo as well as lighting his face perfectly without being to sharp that he had to squint his eyes.Equipment
I took this photo with my Canon EOS 500D with the default Canon 18-55mm lens that comes with the camera. I used the wooden deck as a dead rest for my arms.Inspiration
It was purely an "in the moment" thing. I was busy taking photos of my daughter investigating a turtle that was walking around at the venue. My son was being a hyperactive 18 month old boy as per usual. Running, jumping and climbing everywhere. At some point he just stopped. Laid down. Complete and utter calmness. And that was when I took the photo. After I took the photo, he got up and continued with being a hyperactive toddler.Editing
I did. The photo was originally taken in full colour. I increased the contrast a bit and changed the colour to sepia as in full colour it didn't really reflect that moment of calmness experienced.In my camera bag
When I started, it was a Canon Powershot S5is with a x2 telephoto lens adapter in an old laptop backpack. Now it is the Canon EOS 500D in a proper camera backpack. The Canon standard 18-55mm lens attached. There is a Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 di lens, a x2 Vivitar Telephoto lens, Vivitar 0.43x Wide Angle Lens, Vivitar Series 1 filters (UV, CPL, FLD), two spare memory cards and a spare battery and charger. And 2 lens hoods. And then there is a smaller camera bag attached to the big one that has my Canon Powershot SX40 in it for nature trips. Just in case I really need to zoom in for a photo.Feedback
Originally, I thought you had to have the best equipment. The better the equipment, the better the photo. It wasn't until I saw a National Geographic photographer going on assignment with no camera buying disposable camera on location and take stunning photos, that I realised, the equipment has very little to do with it. I was lucky with this photo as my son laid still long enough for me to use manual focus and AV settings. The reality is, when photographing, almost all toddlers, put your camera on sport mode and auto focus. Patience. Lots and lots of patience. And a large memory card. It is also important to be able to see a photo with your eyes before you look through the camera. I think is was my mother that said I have a way of seeing the world differently then others. I see what everyone else see, but I see the photo in it.
