Cow portraits - taken near South Stoke

Cows in Reflection

A week or so ago I returned to the hamlet of South Stoke to take a shot of The River Arun. Whilst setting up my camera I noticed in a nearby field a herd of cows in the distance. I thought nothing of it until a couple and their dog came close to where I was sitting. The dog had disturbed the cattle and they were now running across the field and getting ever closer to me. Fortunately a wide ditch prevented them from coming too close and devouring my equipment!

Having taken a few shots of the river, I decided to turn my attention to the cows which seemed more than interested in what I was doing as I pointed my lens towards them. The shots which follow were all processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro2. They all share one thing in common. I am now using a custom preset in Silver Efex which adds a 'coffee tone' and mimics a black and white film type - Fuji Neopan Acros 100. I have never used this film in a film camera so cannot say how well or otherwise replicate the look in a digital file but I find the combination of the tone and film type works well. It adds a little warmth, some grain and contrast to the overall appearance. That's not to say that there isn't further processing carried out before the photograph is deemed to be finished.

Here are selection of the shots I took. The first and last images in this series were taken of the cows reflections in the water ditch. They are quite mysterious in their look and mood. I hope you like them.

Portrait of a cow

Heads Up

Cattle

Head of a cow

Reflections of cows