Wild Horses
Jun, 2016Views
3821
Likes
Awards
Contest Finalist in The Power and Grace of Horses Photo Contest
Featured
Runner Up in Two Of The Same Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Two Of The Same Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I frequent horse farms and zoos quite a lot in my spare time for fun and I just love Horses. I'll often stop by the side of the road to get pictures of them. These two were very friendly at a local horse farm that I went by and was able to go up into the pastures. They were grazing close to each other and it was just a split second shot when they touched noses. I was so lucky to get it.Time
This was actually taken at a HORRIBLE time of day! It was taken in the mid afternoon, so the sun was right above them. But, it was creating really cool shadowing on their muscles and then I just took out the grassy background so that the main focus was right on them!Lighting
This was taken mid-day, which proves that if you're creative, you can make anything work!Equipment
I shot it free hand with a nikon d750 and 50mm 1.8 lens (my standard walkabout kit) Sun lighting, no flash no tripodInspiration
I just love the grace and musculature of horses and was with my friend and fellow artist Holly Elizondo, who was taking reference shots for her paintings. I've always been drawn to the grays and this one was following me around, so I took a lot of pictures of him.Editing
Tons! The background was all grass, so very distracting and because of the harsh sun, color wasn't really an option. I always gravitate towards black and white for these types of stark portraits. So, I ran it through Silver efex Pro 2 so I could have full control over it, upped the structure of the blacks and then clarified it just a bit to bring out the musculature. The hardest part was the outline, because I wanted to keep most of the individual hairs and the mane of the horses. That took a bit.In my camera bag
I always carry a camera with me, where ever I go, because you never know when you're going to see something. Usually I just have my Nikon d750 and a 50mm lens with me at all times. If I carry any more, it's probably a 35mm Sigma Art, 85mm and a few filters along with my tripod for landscapes.Feedback
Patience. The main thing with capturing animals is that you need patience. It's going to take a while for them to get used to you. Also, if you're shooting around a herd, if they start grouping and rough housing among themselves, get back quickly, cause they can stampede. (this is where shooting with a zoom comes in)
