I haven't posted much lately, so, I thought I would catch up


I'll start with my daughter

Julie,
that bear was hard to light wasn't he? There is something about black Chows that make it almost impossible to put enough light on them. I've shot them 5 times in shows and each time, they come out like ink spots.

A suggestion: Nik Software has just come out with Viveza which allows you to select one subject in an image to make adjustments on (yes, you can do it with layers but this is much easier). You may want to download the demo and try it on those images to see what you can do. The link is here: www.niksoftware.com/shop/cont_index.php?tpl=produktwahl&artikel=002363

The horse portraits are lovely. And who is that black & white dog with the ears sticking straight up? Is that a miniature Whippet?

Jim

I am not sure what it is about chows, but, it is like their fur sucks up the light vs normal black dogs who reflect it. Another problem is if you try to lighten it, it ruins the color of the coat.

I think it is their eyes, which are small and deep set that adds to the issues. I am just glad the eyes are visible!

Ms Bat ears, aka Roxy is a boston I picked up off of craigslist. She is 6 years old, has seizures, unspayed and had litters. Something about her broke my heart and I had to get her. I don't normally rescue dogs, but, I had to her. She goes to her new home today. In one week I found 3 people who wanted her. Probably a misuse of my client list, but, what can you do. It worked. Boston rescue here in town has FORTY ONE rescues in right now. Sad state. Makes me glad people find whippets shaky and ugly. Best kept secret in the world. Our *national* rescue usually has less than 5. One of the few rescues that operates well in the black.

Hi Julie,

thought I should give this site a try for a change and saw your nice sequence of images here. I appreciate the technical perfection of your pet photographs. The horse in the first picture is very handsome although the super-tidy stable in the background distracts a bit from the animal. Also, the reflection gives away thet you cloned out the reins - I'd probably have left the reins in the image or at least continued to use the clone stamp also on the reflection.

Please show us some more of the dog and horse action shots you are doing!

Cheers, Jens.

Hey Jens!

Do you really think the stable detracts? The horse was posed there because it was snowing and the barn is not finished quite yet. Landscaping still has to be put in. It as really the only option at the time. I like it, but, I also have the entire stable in my minds eyes Beautiful stable..... I did leave the reins in the reflection. I think I got a kick out of it. I dunno why

Here are some coursing in AWFUL weather photos.









This one impresses me because the focus was on Dot(pink jacket). Can't say that it wasn't accurate



My Dottie rocks!

Julie,
yup, Chows soak up light. So do Newfies but there are some reflections with them at least. Not Chows. Keeshunds are another one but at least they're lighter in color.

Try using Noise Ninja on the Chroma channels to get out the artifacts from selective lightening of black Chows. You can fade it in Edit to get the effect you want while still keeping detail. Not sure about other noise-reduction software.

Personally, I didn't find the stable distracting at all. In fact, it added some dignity to the shot overall. I like that series.

As for Rescue, congrats and thanks for taking a chance with her. Rottie Rescue is, unfortunately, not as barren as Whippet Rescue and our kennnels and foster homes are always too full. I have a girl I'm looking to re-home that lives just a few miles from me and she's a total sweetheart. Fortunately, the family she's with will foster her until we find someone. I'll have photos of her later today. Too many decent dogs and not enough good homes.

Jim

Thanks for the action Julie! - I love it! (SWD or classic?)

Dottie in pink is really good.

Re. distracting stable: Yes I think so, although the horse itself is very nice looking, I feel it being a quite 'off', standing on those tiles etc. But it certainly drew my attention to the photograph so it might work very well as an ad for the stable!

Cheers, Jens.

That is the SWD and I really love it. I love my Dot, she is curled up with me while I eat soup and play on the internet Along with miss bat ears Roxy

Jim, all the more popular breeds are overcrowded in rescue. Whippets just aren't a popular breed, the backyard breeders and puppy mills don't really use them as they aren't easy to sell. Which, is a good thing for whippets

i love the closeup of your daughter!! the colors are wonderful! what kind of setup do you use for you lights w/ the white backgrounds?

great shots! i like the barn behind the horse & didn't even notice the reins in the reflection. lol your watermark on the golden pup looks good...i like the one on the closeup best!

liz

For high key stuff I use two softboxes behind the people, pointed toward the backdrop and I use a softbox on the right and an umbrella to the left. Lots of light. Not a lot of light control, but lots of it.

I like that closeup of my daughter too. Shows off her pretty blue eyes.