Rosie

I have been completely assimilated by the Corgi Collective.  While I wouldn't ever intentionally choose to serve a dog that is smarter and more stubborn than me, Rosie definitely has me wrapped around one of her stubby little leggies.   We were hitting tennis balls when Rosie came out and staked her claim on the park.  I stopped hitting tennis balls to break out the camera (and the liver treats) and asked Rosie if I could get some pictures of her.  Once she determined that my liver treats were all natural, sourced and produced in the USA, she allowed me to take some photos.

Hard to tell if she's lying down or standing up here!  Heehee!  (She was lying down.  But with those stubby little leggies, it can be hard to tell.)

Yes, human, I think I will allow you to feed me liver treats.

Seriously.  Fork over the liver treats or this photo shoot is OVER!

Look into my eyes... You have been assimilated.  You will give me scratchies and liver treats.  Not necessarily in that order.

Derp!

I think she's picking up radio signals from her home planet with those ears...

I think I might need a wider angle lens to get those ears in the frame!

Day 305/365.

A New Experiment

Today I decided to break out the white muslin background to see if I could get a photo where the white background wasn't blue-ish.  I used a couple of continuous lights pointed at the background, and that helped.  However, I really need to wash the background to get the wrinkles out.  Since I haven't done that yet, I had to get a little help from Lightroom (I could have done more in PhotoShop, but that is for another day).  For a rough draft of sorts, I'm pleased with the results.

Yes, I missed a little spot on the right - like I said, these were rough drafts!

Day 304/365.

Tennis Ball Action and Some Fun with Reflectors

I was really hoping to get a photo or two of Rosie the Corgi when we went to the park to hit tennis balls, but Rosie was surveying the park from her yard and didn't seem inclined to move her low-slung self down to the park.  Oh well.  I've got a few more days for this last photo assignment.  So instead I got some tennis ball action shots and I played around with my 24" reflector to see if I could use some of the late afternoon sun.

The watermark was something I was playing around with last night and forgot I still had 'on' when I exported files from Lightroom.  Not that it's a bad thing, it was just a surprise!
 

I really like the silver reflector with the late afternoon sun because the sun already has a yellow/orange tint to it - there's no need to add warm light to the image, and the silver reflector reflects a lot of light on the girls.

I like this photo.  I'm not super wild about the tree growing out of Abby's back, but I like the colors, her stance and the wide expanse of sky.

These next two photos are an example of my latest theory about shooting everything on burst mode; while neither photo is bad, I like getting a bunch of shots at the same time, as things can change quickly (photographing dogs and other moving objects is not like photographing bowls of fruit...)

I love the Fall sunlight - it's soft and warm feeling!

Goofy Queen of the Tennis Balls!

I think I'd really like to get a nice reflector shot for one of my homework assignment submissions - the girls laying in the grass with tennis balls never gets old!

Day 303/365.

Acting on Some Suggestions

One of the suggestions I got from the photography instructor was to try shooting the studio shots sans collars.  I was actually sort of curious how this would work, as the girls tend to go a bit bananas when their collars come on or off.  Don't ask me why.  This is one of the great mysteries of the universe.  But since we were inside, and liver treats tend to calm the crazies, I was game to give it a shot.

The totally naked look works well on a black background.

No distractions from a collar.

Fi gets to show off that pretty long neck of hers!

I do like the 'clean' look of no collars in certain situations, it is also clear that collars can be a focal point if so desired.  Here Fi's collar is striking against the gray background.

Of course, this afternoon was not all work and no play; the girls got in a ton of tennis ball action.

Yep.  A reflector here would have been very handy.  Why didn't I have one?  Laziness.  That'll learn me...

And finally, for those of you who were curious, here is the latest version of AirFiona (aka my new car).

Day 302/365.

Some Action Photos and Some Thoughts

Today was a bit brisk, and when we were done slapping tennis balls around, I didn't want to spend a lot of time outside getting portraits of the girls.  Action photos were definitely the way to go today.

I've been contemplating the photos for my 'anything goes' final photography assignment.   I'd like to get another photo of Rosie the Corgi - if I can manage it, I think she can really 'glow' in the late afternoon sunlight.  I'd also like to get another action shot - either of the girls, or of unknown doggies at the dog park.  And I'd like to get another portrait shot.   All of that is fairly vague, so I need to refine my ideas a bit and get shooting!

Day 301/365.

A Few More Studio Photos

I officially submitted my studio homework assignment yesterday, but this week (the final week of class, sadly - I've really been enjoying this class) is an 'anything goes' assignment - submit our best, creative photos.  That's it.  So, I actually need to think through the shots I want (and while I would like to include photos of pets other than the girls, this might not be the week for it - although I will take a trip to the dog park, and I'll take my camera to the tennis courts to see if I can get 'get lucky').  I think I need a rough idea of what I'd like to get, and then come up with a plan on how to get the shots. 

However, I haven't come up with that list yet, and I had a bunch of stuff to get done today, so I thought I'd try a few studio photos.

Abby was totally not into the studio thing today (which is fine), and instead chose to lay on the bed and give me the "Woe is me; I'm not getting any liver treats and clearly I will waste away to nothing."

Woe is me.

Woe, I tell you.  Woe.

Day 300/365.