Posted on August 18, 2010 in Animals, Pet Photography
How do you suppose this Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was able to nap amidst so much activity at the dog show? There were dogs, handlers, owners, and spectators all around, plus judging in the ring just a few feet away. All I know is that the dogs at the show LOVE being there and are very happy. I have spoken with many dog owners who tell me how much their dogs enjoy showing. If they didn’t, it would be so apparent. For me it’s a chance to see beautiful dogs, learn about each breed, and practice photographing people and animals in ever changing situations.
Posted on August 17, 2010 in Animals, Pet Photography
How often are you out shooting and just wish you had a different lens to help you better capture a subject?! Well, that was my thinking at the dog show this past weekend. It was an indoor show and flash photography is frowned upon around the rings when the dogs are showing. There is the potential for the flash to scare the dog and even ‘blind’ them so to speak before they go into the ring, thus altering their performance. Most of the serious photographers had very professional equipment that allowed them to easily photograph handheld in low light at high ISO. I had such lens envy. My best attempt with my meager equipment was to use my Canon f/2.8 135mm lens. I shot at ISO 400 [any higher and the noise is ridiculous] , 1/60th or 1/80th of a second shutter speed [I know…I should have been at 125th or even faster due to the focal length of the lens!] and still I had to overexpose every image by 1 or 2 stops. It was tricky, but I managed some good images! Like this one of a Sheltie [Shetland Sheepdog] that I really think is adorable. These sweet dogs have an expression that just melts my heart!
Posted on August 16, 2010 in Animals, Pet Photography
This is Dodger, a Smooth Fox Terrier who won Best in Show at the Harrisburg Kennel Club Dog Show yesterday. Dodger has won 41 Best in Shows in 2010 … wow! A very impressive dog! He even has his own website here: http://dodgerthesmooth.com/index.htm I will have more images to post from the dog show, so bookmark my blog or subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any!
Posted on August 15, 2010 in Architecture, Street, Topaz
Big Creek Vineyards is a wine shop on Race Street in Jim Thorpe that seemed to be doing a brisk business when I wandered past the other day. I was lucky this day….it was after 5:00 PM when I got into town….I found a parking space right by the train station where there are parking meters….and the meters don’t need to be “fed” after 5:00. Whoo hoo! The parking meters only take quarters and most often I don’t have quarters when I want to park there. That results in either trying to find a free space way up the street or parking in the lot that charges for the day. I processed this image with the Topaz Spicify filter, then tweaked back on the saturation a bit.
Posted on August 14, 2010 in Animals, Black and White, Landscape
I’ve always liked cows! When I was little, my family would often take a ride through the country on Sunday evenings to the dairy bar to play a round of miniature golf and have ice cream. There was always that familiar “scent” in the air when we left town and reached “the country”. I was always hanging out the car window looking for animals along the way … mostly we saw cows and deer grazing in the fields. Later on, my first apartment was situated in the country, across the road from a dairy farm. For a whole week in the spring you couldn’t open the windows when they fertilized the fields. Now my kitchen is decorated with cows! Ahhh….the memories! This friendly cow was posing for me during a recent visit to Lancaster County, Pa.