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Contender in the Photography Awards
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Creative Winter Award
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Contest Finalist in Puppies vs Kittens Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
We decided to take the young puppies to a local golf course where they would have the space to have a good play and run around without too much obstructions around them.Time
It was late afternoon and we knew that there wouldn't be any golfers out on the course.Lighting
At this time of day the sun was slowly going down. It's a magical time for a photographer, and I wanted to try and capture the puppies in the soft natural light that creates beautiful colours.Equipment
On this occasion I used my Canon EOS 5D Mark II together with a Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.Inspiration
I love dogs and photograph a lot of them. Photographing puppies is always a challenge but if I get the chance I do it because it is so much fun. What inspired me with these two was that I knew that they were two "naughty" little girls, always up to something, so they were an extra challenge, but I knew that if I got it right, it would be so rewarding.Editing
As I was shooting in RAW I did some post-processing, first I checked the sharpness, then I moved on to white, blacks, highlights and shadows. I am not a big fan of over adjusted colours, it looks too unnatural for me, so I kept the vibrancy, saturation and colour as natural as possible. I finished off with a vignette so your eyes are being drawn to the puppies at the same time as it outlines the photo.In my camera bag
As I'm mainly a wildlife photographer and what I bring with me in my bag depends on if I am sitting in a jeep or walking. If I'm in a jeep I will bring my Canon EOS 1Dx Mark II and Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras + a battery pack for the 5D, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM lens + Canon extender 2x, just in case, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 lens, monopod. If I'm walking I always bring two cameras with lenses, choice of lenses depends a bit on the terrain and how far I will walk as I have to think about the weight.Feedback
You really need to know your camera when photographing animals, where the controls are and how they work, to be able to change settings quickly. You need a fast shutter speed and check your ISO and histogram regularly as the light keeps changing. To make it effective check your aperture to get a nice depth of field and don't forget your focal points. Shoot in automatic focus unless you are using back-button focus and always shoot in continuous mode. Another important thing is to get down to their level, which means sitting down of lying flat on your stomach. And don't just wait for the perfect photo opportunity to appear, take lots of photographs, it will give you the best chance to capture that perfect photo.