BEHIND THE IMAGE

"Golden Joy"

I am an active member and curator of a photography website called VIEWBUG.  The website allows members to build a profile and portfolio and focuses on photography contests and challenges.  The other really neat thing is that you can get peer reviews and see how you rank amongst other photographers as well as save photos for personal inspiration.   I have been a member since 2012 and was asked a few weeks ago to answer some questions about the image below for a chance to be added as a featured photographer on their blog site.  The photo has received many peer awards and ranked well in the contests in which it has been entered.  The photo was taken in 2014 and continues to be one of my favorite images in my portfolio. 

Golden JoyBrandy and Riley Summer 2014

The following paragraphs were taken directly from the ViewBug questionnaire that I completed and would like to share with you all!  To view the page in which this was taken from CLICK HERE (this also links to my ViewBug Profile).

Location

This photo was part of a larger private photography session with this woman, who was also a long time friend, and her beloved horse at their private barn just outside of Eugene, Oregon, USA. Eugene is at the southern end of the lush Willamette Valley region and the warm tones in summertime photos here are my favorite. ​

Time

This was one of the first client sessions I had ever done but I knew enough to know that there was a golden hour and I wanted to capitalize on that so we planned for a late afternoon/evening time where photos started in the barn around 5 pm working towards the field and this particular image at 5:52pm on September 19th, 2014. The sun in the valley (as with many places) can be tricky in the morning and evening as hills, forests, open spaces and direction of terrain can make a big difference when that perfect golden glow will happen. If you haven't planned where the session will take place, you kind of throw a dart into a big circle and hope you nail it. We continued to shoot for another 30 minutes or so but this image and a few more following it continue to be some of my favorites.

Lighting

I only used natural light and no reflectors to capture this. The sun was getting low behind us and casting the perfect golden glow across the dry grass. I love the way it backlights through the woman's hair, highlights the dandelion and outlines the horse.

Equipment

This was shot using my Nikon D5100 crop sensor camera and my favorite lens for equestrian photography a Tamron AF 70-200mm F/2.8 with a Promaster UV filter. No other equipment used.

Inspiration

The woman in the photo is a good friend of mine and she had been through some tough times, often leaning on her horse for comfort. We both grew up with horses in our lives and they are a big part of who we are, giving us incredible joy. With this being said I needed some practice and she wanted some photos with her best friend so we scheduled it. I did some research and we talked about the types of photos we liked. It was my job to capture the essence of who they were as a team, as friends. I like more candid photos and am not great at the "look at the camera and smile photos." The shoot started great but was getting a little boring just as the light was beginning to change so we walked over to a nearby field. My friend was getting frustrated as her horse was not being very cooperative so I had her pick some dandelion weeds and show them to her horse... I wasn't sure what would happen but the image above shows the pure joy of a sweet and innocent interaction between horse and person. That perfect moment when you are so glad the settings on your camera were right and the moment was captured for all that it was, the moment she forgot her troubles and faded into laughter.

Editing

I did do a little post processing but not much. Most of my editing now-a-days is done in Lightroom but when this image was taken I edited it in Photoshop CS4 only. Along with adding a little bit of saturation and clarity the biggest change was when I added in a hint of the lighting effect's function which created a little more "oomph" in the image.

In My Camera Bag

I am a minimalist and I am lazy but I want good pictures, on a budget and with little effort. I know, a lot of people are laughing right now, including myself but I have struck a good balance at this point and I ALWAYS have with me in a holster bag or my purse is my 2013 D5100 from Nikon and the Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 as you never know when a good photo opportunity will appear and I never want to say I was without the right lens or heaven forbid my camera all together. I have been really happy with the Tamron zoom lens and find that its quality is good for such a wide range on a budget. The D5100 is lightweight, fairly small and in most situations takes great photos. So what else do I carry? I have an assortment of lenses. The Nikon DX 10-24 F/3.5-4.5 is a great wide angle on my crop sensor camera and works great for real estate photos. The Nikon DX 35mm F/1.8 is a great for low light situations and as mentioned above the Tamron 70-200mm F/2.8 is my favorite for equestrian photos and a number of other fine art related pictures and is probably my favorite lens. I have a Nissin Digital flash with air card for external mounting that is really helpful for real estate/indoor photography. I also carry a Vanguard Alta tripod for most things I do, however, I often forget to use it.

Feedback

My advice for anyone trying to capture the same type of image is that lighting is key and a good photo taken under the right conditions will save you lots of time in post production. Know your camera settings and be able to change them quickly if needed... When I was learning my DSLR while I watched the evening TV I would play with settings and buttons during the commercials. I now have good built in muscle memory for my controls and needed that for this shot with changing light and directions. Above all, try to have fun! I think the last one is most important, especially for beginners as the promise of making a name for yourself can often be stressful and intimidating and the feeling can rub off on the subject. When you are having fun you are probably interacting more which brings out some of the best qualities in the people and things on the other side of your lens.

​Side note on MY VIEWBUG PROFILE: One thing I really enjoy is the way the images are organized on my profile page; chronological order from upload time.  What this means is that as you scroll from the top of the page through the images down it highlights the ebbs and flows of my creative style, my artistic growth and changes in subject interest; all on a very simple platform.  The most recent images are at the top and of course is updated with either my favorites from the month or uploaded for a purpose; i.e. photo contests.    Please remember if you do view this page and you see something you like to tell me about it! If you see something you don't like also tell me about this.  There are no bad critiques in my mind as everyone's opinion is different and unique, which is exactly what makes it fun and beneficial to me!   

Thank you to everyone who has been a subject of my lens and an inspiration to me!