http://www.digitalcameraworld.com JUNE 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^93
Cage ’n’ chicken
The chicken’s white plumes against the
dark background caught Jen’s eye here,
but there was still some work to do.
“I wanted to blur the background but
prevent the moving bird blurring, while
also not over-exposing the feathers,”
she says. “So I used f/4.5 with 1/320
sec, then brightened the face slightly
and sharpened the eye in Photoshop.”Challenge 1
Jen Dixonespite being away from their
mother, our porcine pals didn’t
take long to loosen up, and
were very good company. Jen
seemed particularly bowled
over – perhaps she was considering putting
her name down on a waiting list for one.
“This little pig was frolicking all over the
place, and was so excited to be snuffling
among the hay,” she says.“I laid on the straw patiently, waiting for the
right moment. Eventually, curiosity got the
better of him and he turned and looked at
me. I had a second to get this shot, then
he was off with his playmates again.
“The light levels in the barn varied slightly,
but for this shot I opened the aperture up
to f/2.8 with a 1/800 shutter speed at ISO- Afterwards in Photoshop, I cropped
out as much of the background as possible
without losing space around the pig.
“Then I lightened the image slightly, trying
not to lose the detail of the pig’s fur, and
gently sharpened the image.”
Expert opinionWhen it comes to photographing micro
pigs, it’s not an easy challenge. They don’t
stop for the camera, they dart off in many
directions, and have a mind of their own!
Jen has done a great job of capturing one
heading towards her camera; unlike Olivia,
she’s gone for a wider composition, which
gives the pig breathing space.
The light is good, and Jen has taken the
background into account, selecting a low
angle to ensure she doesn’t include
any distracting clutter behind the pig.D
Camera Canon EOS 60D
Lens EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
Exposure 1/800 sec at f/2.8, ISO 400