Photographing on location

Photographing on location means getting down and dirty in order to deliver eye catching images!

Photographing on location in Hamilton, Victoria

This award winning livestock hauler hails from Hamilton in South West Victoria. Shane Palmer, the proud owner purchased the vehicle from FUSO Geelong and picked up Best Japanese Truck at the Koroit Truck show thanks to the overall quality of the finish of both truck and stock crate! It was only natural that we would be photographing on location for this live stock hauler!

Photographing on location

Photographing on location for big rigs such as this goes without saying so traveling light with camera gear is a prerequisite while still delivering a wide variety of both wide angle through to stylised detail shots is a must!

I journeyed out to Hamilton with James, the media manager to take a variety of images from composed truck and driver pics through to action pics as the sheep were loaded and unloaded from stock yards to paddock.

Shane is no different to any other salt of the earth male when it comes to having his picture taken. Speed and assurance is the essence of capturing the true hardened nature of these Aussie workers. Shane was even able wrangle the working dogs in for a brief pose before their energetic eagerness took over as they were off chasing those country smells!

When it came to capturing the loading of the sheep, I had only one go at choosing the right position for the action shots while being sure not to spook the wary animals as they came up the race! Straddling the race while balancing myself on the galvanised fencing was a challenge in itself let alone staying steady, focusing and capturing the action as it happened but I love the challenge!

 

 

On the road action shots are a case of estimating the travelling speed of the vehicle, knowing your camera’s ability and choosing the right settings in order to show motion while still delivering sharp images! Dual lane highways work the best for this mode of photography!

With a mud map knowledge of the route the truck driver was heading with his load of livestock, we surged ahead, picking a suitable vantage point that would allow us to capture the FUSO truck in its environment. We selected the upper rise of a steep climb, allowing the parch Western Plains farmland to fall away behind.

I nestled my way into the thistle surrounds of the paddock far enough away from the loaded stock crate, aware that if the sheep exiting the tailgate catch a glimpse of me, they’re less likely to want to leave the comfort of their surrounds thus making Shane’s job harder and me without any action to capture! I picked a suitable lens, sat still and waited for the parade of shaun sheep to exit the via the running board.

 

We made the two hour journey home content in the knowledge we had captured the FUSO truck and its cargo in its surroundings without too much of a disturbance to man and machine and his daily travels!