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Let Me Run

Let Me Run

Photographer: Kip Hobson

Added: 02-Mar-11

Camera Type: Nikon D300

Lens: 50mm focal length

Shutter Speed: 1/400s

Aperture: f/22, 400 ISO

Adjustments: Aperture priority, cropped and auto corrected in PS Elements 7

Photographer's Comments: This shot was taken by Kip Hobson as he sat in a dog sled on the side of a mountain about 60 minutes 'left' of Banff, Canada, while snow was falling. He wrote: ”The dogs are carted to the sledding site in small cages and when they finally get out they can’t wait to run free. Unfortunately they have to wait for the humans to get themselves sorted before being give the “go” word, which is not “mush” but apparently “hike”. For me this picture captures the longing in the lead dog’s eyes as he turns to the camera and says: ‘I’m cold, let’s go…please’.”

Image doctor's advice

I don't doubt that the dog is itching to get going, but as for feeling cold, that sounds more like you - quite understandable judging by this shot.

This captures the context for that sharp and clear foreground dog quite well though I would suggest shooting at f/8 or f/11 to knock that background even more out of focus. It doesn't have to be very sharp at all for us to get the sense of what's going on, and the softer it is, the more our eye goes to the main subject, the foreground dog. It is good to see the eyes and a hint of a catchlight.

TIP: Animals can take on a real bigger-than-life dimension when you go right down to their level and shoot upwards with a slightly wide angle lens.

reader comments
  • Just thought i'd clarify that i shot this at f2.2 and not 22 lol using my 50 f1.4. And it was very cold indeed but totally wonderful experience. Thanks so much for publishing it. Cheers Kip.
    Kip hobson on 17-Sep-11 11:13 PM

  • I love photo's that tell a story, this one does just that. It shows emotion which can be hard to get from a photo of an animal.
    Claire on 20-Jul-11 11:47 AM

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