See the world
A good friend and I went for a hike and we brought along her dog Jax so that he could enjoy the day with us. Toward the end of the hike I trailed a little behin...
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A good friend and I went for a hike and we brought along her dog Jax so that he could enjoy the day with us. Toward the end of the hike I trailed a little behind the two of them, busy looking at the beautiful place I was in, searching for a shot that would convey the way I felt about this place. I had my eyes looking up the trail when several birds caught Jax's attention. It took only a split second for this scene to come into being and then to be over. Thankfully I was left with an image that is beautiful in its own rights, but also expresses the way I myself was walking through this living emerald.
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May, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Early this summer, my wonderful friend Mallory, invited me out to visit her in the gorgeous state of Washington. I am a self declared shutter bug as well as a self taught photo fanatic, so when Mallory suggested we explore a bit of the country side by way of hike I was more than ready; she brought along her sidekick Jax the husky, and I my trusty Canon 7D.Time
Believe it or not, this image was taken in the middle of a bright, super sunny and pretty much cloudless sky. One of the many wonderful things about being inside the living emerald that is Washington State, is that the dense foliage softens the harshness of an otherwise unfiltered midday sun.Lighting
To me there is no bad time to take an image, if it's dark I use a tripod or a rock, if it's bright out I can stop action like nobody's business, run after reflections in glass and water or have fun creating abstract shadow works. Diffuse lighting, fog, rain etc, as long as I can somehow show my sensor the light I'm going to do my best to make an image happen! With this particular image of Jax I was actually paying particular attention to the low amount of light that was filtering downward. I hate to ramp up the ISO but the delicate dance between that, shutter speed and depth of field can sometimes be tough. My ISO wasn't actually all that high, 640, but it came at the price of a shallower depth of field and a lower shutter speed. That being said, I read once that it is better to have a high ISO and capture the image than a low ISO that fails to stop the moment.Equipment
I shot this image with my Canon 7D paired with the Canon 70-200 f2.8 and a very sturdy and fortunately placed post and rail for stability Setting were at: ISO 640 Focal length 200 Shutter at 1/200 Aperture 2.8Inspiration
To be truthful, anytime that I go outside, anytime I look around, catch a smile, see a flower, a ray of light etc I am inspired. I am not saying that I walk around like Pollyanna and am always happy, but I am almost always amazed at all the small and beautiful miracles happening around us all the time. I also look for them. When Jax and Mallory were up the trail I had slowed down and was spinning slow circles trying to find a way to capture the feeling of wonder and awe that I had for this beautiful, old and natural space. I heard the same sound of birds that Jax did and knowing he was further ahead up the trail I quickly launched myself at the nearest post, wedged the lens up against the post and board and used the back button focus button to do its magic as soon as the anticipated husky head popped out between the boards. I figured there was enough distance that the f2.8 was going to be ok, and I prayed the 1/200 was going to be handled by my impromptu "tripod" as I was out at maximum focal length of 200. To me the photo is a success in that it is beautiful in its own right, but I feel that it more importantly captures the feelings of curiosity, wonder, excitement I myself had been experiencing that day.Editing
I utilized topazlabs and I believe that I utilized: - denoise filter to help remove excess noise - detail filter where I lightened up the shadow areas - clarity filter for nature subjects, and I imagine it was the fur enhancing option #2In my camera bag
Canon 7D Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Canon 70-200mm f2.8 Tamron 200-500mm f5-6.3 plus UV filters on all lenses extra battery SanDisk 32 GB x5 Mono &/or Tripod lens cloths Plastic Bag(s) Notepad & Pen, few business cards Snack & water sunglasses, sunhat, ear covers, gloves - they stay in the bag as they are small, light and I always need them when I don't have themFeedback
I would love to say that this shot was a perfectly timed and created moment so that I could replicate it easily, it wasn't. The best advice for a shot like this or any other shot is to have you camera out, to have your camera on, to have the settings where they will give you the highest odds for success. Had I known this shot was coming I probably would have had my ISO up to 1000 or even to 1250 due to low light, kept my aperture at f2.8 or f3.5 because I had a fair bit of distance between me and my most probable subjects (Mallory & Jax or the canopy) and had my shutter speed up higher to at least double my focal distance of 200 (so a minimum of 400 but probably closer to 800 because I hate camera shake, and I unfortunately produce a bit of it). Most importantly I take a positive and a can do attitude with me. Every time I take my camera out I go with the mindset that I will bring back at least one image that I find successful. That can be because I tried a new technique, rocked a composition, aced the histogram, limited myself to only 5 shutter clicks etc., but I refuse to leave my shoots not feeling positive.
