MTPD Mounted Unit
Metropolitan Toronto Police Mounted Unit setting up for crowd control...
Metropolitan Toronto Police Mounted Unit setting up for crowd control...
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Sep, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was image was captured in North York ON Canada.Time
The image was taken approximately 3PM (mid/late afternoon)Lighting
This shot is "all" about the lighting. Not too far from where I live, just after lunch, on an oddly humid Spring afternoon, I could hear what sounded like a parade walking up Yonge Street. As it closer and louder I decided to grab my camera and stroll out to see what was going on. It turned out to be some sort of Persian Protest March over some Leader(?) as best I could figure out (unfortunately I do not speak the language(s) so I could not understand what they were yelling). The parade/protest stopped and set up shop a few blocks away from me. Minutes later, the parade was met with another [angry] group of protesters and that's where things took a turn. It was super humid that afternoon as threw myself into the mix of all this, the deodorant was working overtime to maintain the under-arm regions. When the gathering got rather sketchy, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Horse Division showed up for possible crown control, their presence caused the gathering to slowly disperse. As I was leaving, I turned around and noticed the sky's to the north were all grey storm clouds (hence the humidity, the storm was moving), but the sky's to the south were still light white clouds, and that cast this incredible dull/bright cast contrast. I quickly took a few shots before the crowds surrounded the horses to pet them. I absolutely LOVE the lighting of this shot.Equipment
This was captured with my SONY A7iii, using my most favourite of all lenses, the 70-200mm 2.8 G-Master.Inspiration
It wasn't "inspiration" with this one, it was more like "a perfect storm" of 'right place', 'right time', 'cool subject'. It was at the end of that protest rally and as I was leaving, for no real reason, I simply turned around and saw the MTP Horse Unit all lined up and ready, behind the horses was this magnificent pending storm cloud sky. Lucky for me, the crowds had not yet reached the horses so there were no obstructions. Minutes later, you could not see the horses for the crowd. It was simply timing.Editing
Very little post production with this particular image. I may have tweaked the exposure slightly (this shot is a few years old now), but I don't recall it needing much post processing, I did not want to mess with the natural mood that that sky provided. It's not often you find yourself (in the City) in an opportunity like this with such funky natural lighting. Looking at this image again, it could possibly use a little more exposure adjustment, but (in my opinion), there's nothing worse than over correcting an image in Post... just because you can, doesn't mean you should.In my camera bag
I travel as light as possible, I use the LowePRO Slingshot 200AW, it seems to work best for me. I have tried various styles and sized bags, but I keep going back to this one, it's not perfect, but it's the one that suits me best. I wish it was a just a "little bit" bigger, the next available size up is too big (for me). Inside it I have my SONY A7iii, along with my G-Master 70-200, my Sigma 50mm 1.4 ART, and my Sigma 24mm 1.4 ART. I will occasionally swap out my Sigma 24mm for my Canon 16-35 2.8 w/MC11 if I need the extra wide. (also batteries, lens cloths, a few extra memory cards, a power bar in case I get hungry, small bottle of water if it fits etc.)Feedback
This is an odd one... normally I would have all kinds of tips and/or little tricks, in this case, Mother Nature did the work, so my only advice here would be, be mindful of more than just the subject matter, think about composition of course, then look beyond, try and see the backdrop and surrounding conditions for what they are. In this case it was the wicked blue/grey stormy sky "behind" the subject with a brighter, overcast sky of white clouds in front of the subject matter, "a perfect storm".
