Month: November 2010

I spent some time today processing images from my Pet Photography class last month.  I’m working on web pages of my photos along with student photos.  Our doggie models were precious and so well behaved.   The late Fall color made a nice backdrop for the images, too.  Here are a few photos of Colby, a sweet Golden Retriever and perfect model.  How can you not just love Colby in the turtle costume by the creek?!!

Tune in tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, at noon on NBC to see some of the top dogs in the country compete for Best in Show at The National Dog Show presented by Purina.  The show was filmed last Saturday at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa.  The dogs and handlers lined up right in front of me on the arena floor while they waited to be seen up close & personal by the judge.  Many of the dogs wanted to peek over the wall to see what was going on in the audience.  Especially when someone walked by with a tray of hot dogs or french fries!  In this image, professional dog handler Greg Strong and his Skye Terrier are hoping for a strong [no pun intended!] performance in the ring and a winning nod from the judge!  Tune in tomorrow to see how well they did! 

Rufus is absolutely a superstar!  He is the most famous Bull Terrier in the history of the breed and in 5 months won Best in Show at the top 3 dog shows…Morris & Essex, The National Dog Show, and Westminster in 2005/2006.  Since retiring from the show ring, Rufus has taken on the role of a therapy dog and he works with the Angel on a Leash organization [http://www.angelonaleash.org/].  Rufus visits health care facilities and was the National Dog Show Therapy Dog Ambassador at this weekend’s show in Oaks, Pa.  I was happy to have a chance to say hello to him and as always, he was a crowd favorite!  Over the past 6 months he has been selling ‘Follow Me to the National Dog Show’ tee shirts to help raise money for Angel on a Leash as well as Colored Bull Terrier Rescue.  Be sure to watch “The National Dog Show” which was filmed yesterday and will be broadcast on Thanksgiving Day [11/25/10] at noon following the Macy’s Parade.   I won’t tell you who won Best in Show because that will spoil all the fun!  🙂  Below are 2 more photos of my pal Rufus!

Back in the summer I spent a day at the Fair photographing mostly with my Lensbaby.  When I think of a Fair, my mind sees ‘movement’.  There are moving rides, lots of people moving along the midway, games of chance, and just all kinds of activities that keep your eyes darting from one scene to another.  I thought that the Lensbaby was a perfect compliment for depicting images that portray movement.  In this image I captured the top of the merry-go-round alongside the flying swings with a ferris wheel in the background.  Yes, it’s a busy scene but using the Lensbaby and processing with painting software has given it the softer and more impressionistic feeling that I was trying to achieve. 

It was late afternoon … just after 5:00 PM … and daylight savings time was still in effect.  I had about an hour of light left before darkness fell.  I spent that hour wandering through Jim Thorpe, Pa. with my Canon DSLR and 50mm f/1.4 lens.  I shot this scene from the porch of the Asa Packer Mansion looking down upon the quaint town.  St. Mark’s Church stands high above all of the other structures and is a focal point of historic Jim Thorpe.  Most of the trees had lost their leaves as it was early November, but there were still a few golds and greens here and there.  This was a spur of the moment photo shoot, but one that resulted in a few images that I’m very fond of…like this one.