Running dog
Jazz running for her ball
Jazz running for her ball
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Sep, 2016Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Pets In Action Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo one summer up in the hills in my home county of Kent. It was taken on a huge patch of natural landscape that is freely open to the public. It is also roamed by a herd of cattle belonging to one of the local farmers several months out of the year, which can be seen in the distance, top left of the picture. The featured dog is called Jazz and she is a blue merle border collie belonging to my boyfriend James' family.Time
This photo must have been taken late morning between 10 and 11AM. It was obtained purely by luck, with me being at just the right place at just the right time, and it is definitely among the ones that I am most proud of. I was just starting to experiment with shutter speed and ISO, and was very fortunate to get a shot this clear and from such a great angle.Lighting
It was a very bright day, which was a big help with lighting. However, I decided to test the effects of letting just a little more light in, by increasing the ISO slightly from 1200 to 1600. This was mainly because I wanted to clearly capture Jazz in all her beauty, as well as the beauty of the landscape. The results turned out to be fantastic!Equipment
This photograph was taken on a Canon EOS 1200D, with a 5.6 55 mm lens. No tripod was used.Inspiration
I was planning to put a calendar of 'Jazz photos' together for James' mum Jacqui as a Christmas present. I was hoping to get some fairly decent action shots that captured her energy as well as her colouring. This photo was taken as she was running at full speed to catch the toy that had just been thrown for her by Jacqui. The shutter speed was at 1/4000 of a second, as Jazz is such a fast mover, I kept clicking as she shot past me, which is the best way to photograph her on the move. I looked back at all the photos afterwards, and couldn't believe it when I saw this one! It featured in the calendar on the festive month of December, as Jacqui described it as "magic".Editing
No post-processing was carried out on this photograph. I was so happy with it that I didn't feel the need to edit it in any way.In my camera bag
I aim to get the best out of the limited equipment that I have. I have my Canon EOS 1200D camera, and only the one lens, which is the 5.6 55 mm one that was used to take this photo. Although I do own a tripod, I don't carry it often, as I find it restrictive, and also feel that my best photos have come from experimenting from numerous different angles. I also feel that the freedom of my own body posture is a good way to increase my familiarity with what is likely to create a good photograph.Feedback
Considering the many photos I have obtained of Jazz, I feel that weather is a key element. This one was taken on a bright summer day, providing a great opportunity to take advantage of the many colours that make up the landscape, which also made Jazz show up better. For example, the slightly blurred background of greens were a great backdrop to the clearer, central subject: Jazz. The yellow buttercups also provided another great contrast for her darker coat. Capturing clear images of a fast moving dog takes practice, and I feel that one of the best things you can do is to take many, many images at many different shutter speeds and observe the different results. This will help you become more familiar with individual shutter speeds, and make you better at predicting what is likely to work best for different moments. Also, you will have an opinion on every shot you take, some you will be happy with, others you will be disappointed with. But this experimentation will help you discover exactly what you want to get from your photography, and how best to achieve the results you want. Then there will come that moment where you get an absolutely fantastic shot, totally unexpected, like I did with this one. The feeling of utter euphoria is well worth the wait!!
