Saturday, February 20, 2010

purple today






kenobi can be a fantastic model when he's all mellowed out-just chillin. after a walk and run and romp he's perfect.used my 40-150mm f4 lens which produces far better images than the kit. iso 400. f4. 1/60. 40mm focal length. at this high iso there is minimal noise and it works fine. pretty vivid and sharp. the only challenge with black dogs is the post production. the specks of lint and dust and crap is so over the top when you zoom in. it can be time consuming so it might be wise to use a damp towel to wipe them down a little. either way you do it it takes your time. i like to edit as minimal as possible. however my end result is fine. i like the combination of a color and a pet. it makes for a more interesting image.

Friday, February 19, 2010

asleep. awake.



these shots were suited to be black and white. i like the comp. i like the symmetry. natural light is the key to great photography. a fast lens helps too. iso 100. f3.5.1/125 and 1/400. every second there is movement and surprises and frustrations and disappointments. but discouraged i am not, patience i have and many people with pets there are. in 2004 americans spent 30 billion on pet services. in 2008 it topped a whopping 43 billion. americans love their pets. and i love that americans love their pets.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

puppybowl!! and kitty halftime


puppybowl 2010!! this is what we all look forward to every beginning of the year. football. food. fun. fur. i chose to entertain myself with the kitties. i will sit through this all day long. i can't get enough of the puppies and kitties.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

snow day







this experiment was a series of black and white on a super duper perfect overcast snow day. kinda artsy to show off kenobi's texture in his fur and other parts of his dopey body. i'm shooting with my trusty olympus 14-42mm f3.5-iso200. and let me add that he was hyper and not patient so most of the shots were impossible to lock focus on-lens is not known to do this-it struggles in low light and is time consuming. i did basic editing in iphoto and cropped the heck out of a couple cause that was the look i was goin for. i love black and white. i dig the different tonal ranges you can create. furby in color was just a bonus for me. i like the snow effects in all the shots-course it would be cool to have a longer exposure for that but the fastest for these buddies is 1/250. it's frustrating to know that more can be possible with an upgrade. i love the wide angle look and that is what i aim for. in the meantime these best buds are a great team to practice on.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

benny









benny is our foster dog. he'll be staying with us until may when he'll then move in with my nephew tony. he's a pound dog that's been through some traumatic experiences and is very protective at times. he needs training for that which can be fixed. he's extremely affectionate and smart. but lately has been going stir crazy due to the weather. that'll change soon. benny became my subject of the day and was very cooperative and patient. i tested the samsung happysnap camera cuz it has the ability to shoot at f2.8. these were shot at that with iso 100. all natural light from a southern exposure window-diffused all day-snow weather never lets up. i was aiming for the catch light in his eyes on the close ups and i achieved that-an important factor. the blurry ones with furby in the background were interesting-they may be blurry but i like them-snake tongue.