Noses and Paws

So I was shooting my pets once again and the focus was the parts of the dog that we love so much. Noses and paws. There is so much detail found on a dogs nose. And I try to emphasize that in these shots. Colorful, wet, stinky and in your business all the time! The paws are another fascinating part, 'cookie dough paws' is the name of one and 'tarantula paws' for the other friend. Worn out shoes and they smell like Fritos corn chips (or Skateland). My lens that I use, 40-150mm, does a 'good' job except for I'm finding out more and more that it's too slow, and the apperture is not big enough!! At a focal length of 150mm, I can only use a 5.6. I work in low light conditions alot and it just drives me MAD! But I have to learn to live with it for a little while longer. I'll upgrade soon enough. As far as the image comp goes, I spend a lot of time messing with the white balance and exposure so much that I forget about stray hairs(fur) that can be distracting sometimes. But after a bit since this is for my purpose only, I'm ok with it, I could clean it up more in post processing but it makes it look more authentic. Fur everywhere! You bet!

From my backyard

Thought of taking some 'pretty' pictures of my back yard. The antique gerbera daisy was completely underexposed and I messed with the levels and contrast. I almost deleted it and look what I created. I like the grainyness and the texture of the stems. The indoor vase is all natural light, not quite b&w but monochromatic style was what I came up with. I like the abstract look. And my dying dandy lions, a couple in a hurry to spread seeds once again in my backyard. I like the soft, fuzzy, ethereal style. Death to the weed!

Safari Park, Ashland, Nebraska.

So I've been away for some time. Originally I'm supposed to be in Norway, but Leia got the flu and it became a huge ordeal with the airline/flight/expenses etc. The trip will be postponed for Spring 2010. I've been stressed and discouraged for 2 weeks. But I'm through complaining. It serves no purpose. What a whiner. Drove to the 'Wildlife Safari Park' and the peep in this photo was my fave. I need to improve on shooting from the drivers seat. Kinda awkward. So I only ended up with this cutie.

Home sweet home

My first attempt at drawing and painting my 'ideal' home. Both are done in Painter 8 . My inspiration came from John K's 'Ren and Stimpy Show'. My all-time favorite cartoon in the world. (Yes, I know it's 'animated', calling it a cartoon does not give it any less credit.) In fact, anything that is drawn is pretty much influenced by John K. Anyway, these are painted on a Sony tablet PC. Hard to believe it still works after 8(!!) years!! Strictly for drawing and painting. It's frustratingly slow, but this is what I will use to practice on until I invest in more efficient technology. I'm saving.... I like my first version(yellow home) I did back in May, better than the second one I drew last night. Sketching modern and traditional homes is something I'm quite interested in lately. Especially in a cartoonish sort of style.

Favorite sock toy

We pulled together some fluff and squeak and sock parts and to create a one of a kind favorite squeak toy for Kenobi. He's real proud when he hits the 'squeak' sound effect just right. I thought it was interesting to crop this image so the focus is on the toy in his mouth. True love.

Even more Moxi!

Took some indoor natural lighting (the best) and converted to black and white. This is by far the most superior type of lighting for portraits. I just love the results. And boy does she love her rock!

Moxi's Rock of Luuuv

This is Moxi the Mutt. She has this obsession for rocks. It's this bizarre fetish that not even her owner-Lucy Chapman-understands. Lucy is One of Omaha's Leading On Air Personalities & Voice Talents. She talks about her once in a while cuz she's her baby of course. Anyway, she was a FANTASTIC model for me today. The weather was a perfect overcast gloomy kinda day. Love those days. Perfect for portraits. I'm real proud of the close up shots of her scruffy face. Mutts are just plain adorable.

My Pets

Here are the results from whipping out my 40-150mm(finally). Tested some shots on my precious furry friends. They are FANTASTIC subjects and NEVER camera shy. This lens will be my new all around lens until I fork out a heap a cash for a new wide angle(perhaps?) In the new/near future. This lens has made some sooper dooper shots and I feel all gooey inside. I love it when things turn out. A boost of confidence is just what I needed!

Felix

So I finally pulled out my 40-150mmlens and started snapping away when all of a sudden amazing clarity emerged! It's like I forgot(what a dumbass) that I had this lens. Well, it's fantastic and my subject today was all about Felix the puppy. He's a smooth coated collie. Scrawny lil dude with an enormous snout. He is just beautiful in his own lil scrappy way. Ahhh, luv that puppy smell.