Month: January 2012

You put your left paw in …. you put your left paw out … you put your left paw in … and you shake it all about!  You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around…that’s what it’s all about!  Can’t you picture this dog and handler doing the hokey pokey in the middle of the show ring?  Okay, maybe not, but they DO look like they are totally in sync as they trot around the ring together in front of the crowd at The National Dog Show!  When dog and handler are in sync, magic happens!

Seriously…is this not the face of an angel?  So sweet and innocent looking!  If I came home and found pillow stuffing all over the floor, and this sweet little Cavalier was the only one at home, I would truly believe that aliens invaded my house and tore apart the pillow before I would ever blame this little one!  

I really work hard to keep my backgrounds from being too busy when I’m photographing.  Especially when it comes to pet photography.  I want all of the focus to be on the animal, with no distractions.  Sometimes it’s virtually impossible to do that, depending upon the setting – especially at dog shows when there are so many people, chairs, fences, and other animals.  One solution is to shoot with a very shallow depth of field so that even if the background is busy, it’s out of focus.  Another solution is to get really close to the main subject and eliminate the background as much as possible.  That was the choice in this image and it works for me!  I love the focused look of this dog! 

…it’s Spring!  Whoo hoo!  Yesterday they had potted hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, and bluebells!  It’s a good thing they don’t charge for sniffing the plants because I would be in trouble [and have a very large grocery bill because I was loving the fragrance!].  I guess it’s also a good thing they don’t charge for squeezing fruits and vegetables because I’d be in trouble for that, too!   I just had to bring home a little bit of springtime to put on my windowsill. I took a few photos with the Lensbaby while it was still bright enough.  Love these soft pastel colors!  Happy Spring a couple months early!  Spring officially begins on March 20th…..only 57 more days!  Time to start my countdown!  🙂

On a snowy Saturday I had time to work on more of my images from Steel Stacks in Bethlehem, Pa.  Here’s an image taken at dusk of the lights near the old blast furnaces.