"The rabbit was poised along a trail near the edge of a weed-and-briar patch, sitting motionless except for the hint of a flicker of his ears. He watched as the red dog three times his size approached. She had her nose to the ground, sniffing, eyes and ears alert for any movement."
What a quandary, I was about 50 feet away and this scene was at eye-level, and what was worse the rabbit was sitting low in shade of the weeds and just barely visible. The dog was a bit better situated, but against a bright sky. What's a photographer to do? Most every nature photos are candid with no way to get the best pose and lighting. Crank up the exposure for a descent exposure of the rabbit. Great! Now for the dog. There was no way to get an exposure of the dog without burning out the sky, so I dropped the exposure a bit and was satisfied with a silhouette
Both shots turned out good, but I had to do quite a bit of cropping, especially on the rabbit's photo. The lighting turned out great, light was coming through its ears turning them pink. Some may think that a setting without the grass and weeds almost hiding the creature would have been better, but I like the way the rabbit is in a more natural setting, almost camouflaged in the weeds. The silhouette of the stalking dog could hardly turn out better. The bright sky backlighting the dog, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever I know, would have made any hope of seeing color or texture of the fur impossible. But that's what silhouettes are about.
What would I do different next time? Nothing! I could have changed to a longer lens, but by the time I had done that the 'perfect' photo would have vanished. Wildlife doesn't wait and pose. It's Wild! And two of the most difficult subjects to photograph are Dogs and Children. They both move at incredible speed and neither take directions.
What a quandary, I was about 50 feet away and this scene was at eye-level, and what was worse the rabbit was sitting low in shade of the weeds and just barely visible. The dog was a bit better situated, but against a bright sky. What's a photographer to do? Most every nature photos are candid with no way to get the best pose and lighting. Crank up the exposure for a descent exposure of the rabbit. Great! Now for the dog. There was no way to get an exposure of the dog without burning out the sky, so I dropped the exposure a bit and was satisfied with a silhouette
Both shots turned out good, but I had to do quite a bit of cropping, especially on the rabbit's photo. The lighting turned out great, light was coming through its ears turning them pink. Some may think that a setting without the grass and weeds almost hiding the creature would have been better, but I like the way the rabbit is in a more natural setting, almost camouflaged in the weeds. The silhouette of the stalking dog could hardly turn out better. The bright sky backlighting the dog, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever I know, would have made any hope of seeing color or texture of the fur impossible. But that's what silhouettes are about.
What would I do different next time? Nothing! I could have changed to a longer lens, but by the time I had done that the 'perfect' photo would have vanished. Wildlife doesn't wait and pose. It's Wild! And two of the most difficult subjects to photograph are Dogs and Children. They both move at incredible speed and neither take directions.
