catburton
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Autumn Chestnut
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Contest Finalist in Horses Photo Contest 2015
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was visiting a wetlands nature reserve in Lincolnshire, UK, with the intention of photographing birds. As I wandered around with my telephoto lens attached, I saw this beautiful horse stood on a nearby embankment! I never even realised there were horses in the area!Time
I had ventured to the reserve fairly early in the morning, but not early enough for the sunrise. I think this image was taken around the usually avoided midday time. Luckily there was quite a lot of cloud that day which helped diffuse the light and prevent it from looking too harsh.Lighting
Even though people say you should avoid midday lighting because it's harsh, it's still worth taking your camera out! A little bit of cloud can really help diffuse the light and give a lovely gentle highlight to your subject.Equipment
This image was taken using my Canon 70D and 100-400mm lens. The horse was quite far away so I was glad to have my big lens!Inspiration
This was another one of my lucky moments where something unexpected happened but I was prepared with my camera. The horse didn't stay still for long and soon vanished behind the bank. I thought the horse with its colouring was beautiful, and with those thistles near its feet, it provided the perfect framing.Editing
I only did minor post processing in this image. A little bit of cropping/straightening and then gave it a little boost using Macphun's Intensify Pro (which helped to bring out the sky/hair details).In my camera bag
My bag is often very heavy! I'm looking to purchase a smaller, lighter mirrorless camera, but until then I'm usually carrying: My Canon 70D, Canon 100-400mm lens, Canon 10-22mm lens (with polarising filter), Canon 50mm 1.4. I also always have a tripod with me and a selection of batteries, memory cards and cleaning cloths/brushes. I sometimes also take my macro extension tubes, depending on what I plan to photograph.Feedback
If I'm going out to photograph wildlife, I usually have my camera prepped with my telephoto lens on. It's usually also mounted to my tripod to help keep me steady. I also try to get in the habit of ensuring i'm in shutter priority mode, often around 1/1000 or 1/2000 depending on the light. I pick something fast to catch any unexpected action. I usually keep the camera in silent continuous mode too so I can quickly fire off multiple shots if something were to happen. There have been many occasions where a deer has darted out of a forest, or a horse poses like this one before running off. You have to be ready! You can always change your settings if you don't need to shoot so fast, but prepare for that eventuality just in case. You don't want to miss the moment.