Getting Ready

"Hey Zachary, I just overheard Momma talking about us going off to school..."

"... something about dorm rooms and laundry baskets and..."

"... bins and boxes and won't it be grand! You and me and Momma..."

"Henry, Moms don't go off to college..."

Dog Blog Post #765

Photography Assignment

• Daily Dog Challenge "273. Signs of the Season - Wherever you live, take a photo of your dog today that shows us something about the season where you live."

The Plan

Too hot outside during the day, to busy watching the Olympics at night, so I took the easy way out and decided to take advantage of the ever growing pile of stuff Son is accumulating for College...

The Problems

... but first, Hubby had to remove all the camping gear (airing out from last weeks trip) that was stacked in front of it...

The Solution

... which he did. (Yeah!)

Too bad I didn't realize all the little bits of mountains that he brought back with him were still scattered all over the floor.

As for you, Zachary. Stop worrying your nephew.

Puppies don't go off the college either, Henry. You and Zachary are staying right here with me.

At least until you get a little bit older.

"Whew!"

Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Upside Down

Monday Mischief...

"Hey, who tilted the floor!"

Dog Blog Post #764

Photography Assignment

• Our Daily Challenge - July 19, 2012 - "Upside Down"
• Daily Dog Challenge "272. Crazy Angle

No plan, other than a bitey-face shot.
No problems.
Life was good!

Henry was rather tickled as he actually got Zachary to play tug...

"Play tug with me, Uncle Zachary!"

At least for a moment.

Editor's Note: My Bad, I didn't factor the Olympics into my timing for getting BZ Dogs Journal in place, nor how long a certain Real Life item was going to take.

Sooo... let's move the Grand Opening to September 1st, shall we?

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Olympic Glow

Dog Blog Post #763

Boys were at the day spa, the peeps were running around trying to get Son ready for college, and we all collapsed at the end of the day to watch the Olympics.

The shot above - taken using only the light of the TV, tuned to the Olympics, of course - and below are just to keep my 365 going, and have absolutely nothing to do with the usual challenges.

A little bird told me today was a better day. :)

"You are getting sleepy..."

"... sleepy"

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Golden Camouflage

"Zachary, why is Momma flapping her arms like that?"

Zachary: "I have no idea, just keep smiling and hope she tosses us some more cookies."

Dog Blog Post #762

Photography Assignment

• Our Daily Challenge - July 27, 2012 - "All One Color"
• Daily Dog Challenge "269. Neat or Messy" - this was actually the previous day's challenge

The Plan

Short of using hair coloring, my options were a bit limited on this one. Thankfully, I had an appropriately colored blanket. My idea was a profile shot of one behind the other, hoping they would somewhat blend in with the blanket.

The Problems

Confusion reigned when I tried to get them one behind the other, a pose I remember doing only once before.

As with most "only once before" shots, I quickly remembered why I didn't do it more often.

The Solution

My initial impulse was to stand off to the side and call one forward while giving the other the stay sign.

This was clearly a stupid idea, as the boys were dancing everywhere except where I wanted them to be. Neither wanted to be "last", and the result was picture #2.

Luring made things worse, as it created the same effect as #2, with additional drooling.

Finally, it occurred to me that I was making it much harder than necessary (gee, what a surprise.)

So I moved in front of them and asked them to sit with a nice gap between them. I then moved to the side, prompting them to pivot in place. I threw up the stay sign, clicked the remote, and presto, we were done!

And here was today's Daily Dog Challenge: "270. "Feet"

Looks like it's time for the Day Spa!

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Sport

Dog Blog Post #761

Photography Assignment

• Our Daily Challenge - July 26, 2012 - "Sport"

Sorry boys, Bitey-Face is not an Olympic Sport this year.

The Plan

The plan was to get a Bitey-Face picture that would work for "Sport" as well as the Daily Dog Challenge of "Neat or Messy".

The Problems

Unfortunately, none of my Bitey-Face shots showed the usual flopping of fur that would work with Messy.

I obviously played a bit with sliders on the one shot, but I never did get what I was looking for.

The Solution

While I will try again tomorrow for the DDC "Neat or Messy" shot, I was rather happy with how pictures at the top told a story that needed no extra verbiage from me.

Editor's Note: Worked on the Lighting page for BZ Dog Journal, adding in some examples from my Flickr stream as I ran across them.

I'd really like to consider lighting for every day's shots,  not just when one of the groups assigns it as challenge. I'm hoping having a page of sample images will help me do just that.

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Round 10

Dog Blog Post #760

Photography Assignment

• Daily Dog Challenge "268. Adjective -What's the first adjective that comes to mind when you think of your dog? Take a photo that shows us what it is."
• Our Daily Challenge - July 25. 2012 - "Numbers"

The Plan

Simple as can be. The first things that came to mind were Fluffy and Playful, so I decided to post a "Round 3" sign on the wall where the boys play bitey-face each evening, sit on the sofa and watch a bit of TV, snap a few pictures, and call it a night.

The Problems

Well, for starters, they decided to skip bitey-face tonight, other than a few seconds of half-hearted pawing...

"In a seedy part of town..."

... and a bit of tug in front of the TV - which, you might recall, was on.

Arg!

The Solution

1. I played Push The Sliders on the only picture I did get with the dogs and the signs together (above) and while it was a fun exercise, I didn't really get anything good. The color was off, the fur an amorphous blob... a total write off.

2. Moving on, I resorted to Photoshopping (Aperturing?) the TV to black and added in text. During that whole process, I realized I had misread the assignment as Number (singular) instead of Numbers (plural).

Oh well, tomorrow dawns a new assignment.

"Sorry, Uncle Zachary. It's too hot to play."

Editor's Note: Wow, things have been a lot busier around here than I thought, but I'm still plugging away at BZ Dogs Journal. Today I began fluffing out Putting It All Together by listing what I think about (or wish I had thought about) before I do a photo session. 


I'd like to get create a list of common props and such, as I always seem to remember the perfect item after I've already taken the pictures, but that will have to wait for another day.

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

A Hard Bargain

Zachary: "Mighty nice Lacrosse Ball you have there."

Henry: "I suppose I could part with this Special Lacrosse Ball for those stacks of cookies."

Eh hem...

Henry, stop trying to con your Uncle out of his snack.

Zachary, you have a dozen Lacrosse Balls exactly like that one. You don't need to give up your cookies for it!

Zachary: "But Mom, this one is special."
Henry: "You heard him Momma, Special!"

Dog Blog Post #759

Photography Assignment

• Daily Dog Challenge "267. Canine Currency - If dogs ran the world, what would they use for currency?"
• Our Daily Challenge - July 24, 2012 - "Now and/or Then"

The Plan

A Wild West theme came to mind, with the boys using their favorite items for currency.

The Problems

I love this faux-leather background fabric. I waited months for it to go on sale, as I needed 2 yards and it was regularly $16 per yard. When I finally spotted it 60% off I snatched it up.

Imagine my disappointed when I realized how hard it was to take pictures of, as it had a nasty way of reflecting the flash - see New Sherriffs In Town.

The Solution

After spending way to much time in post-production every time I used it, I finally figured out to shove a plastic bowl between the top of the cardboard the fabric is draped over and the cabinets behind. That angles the board/fabric just enough to keep the glare to passing levels.

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Sweet Dreams and Nightmares

Henry: "What's for lunch, Momma?"
Zachary: "I smell Cheeseburgers!"

I'm thinking you boys need to cut back some on your calories, so I picked up some nice salads from Jack-in-the-Box.

Zachary: "Good one Mom, but really, what's for lunch?"

Henry: "Ewwww"

This is lunch - low in calories, crunchy, refreshing... try it, you'll love it.

Zachary: "Seriously, do I look like a creature that grazes?"
Henry: "I smell Cheesy Burger."

Ok... Ok.... but don't say I didn't try.

By the way, I don't suppose you saw yesterday's A View from Behind shots.

Dog Blog Post #758

Photography Assignment

• Daily Dog Challenge "266. "Unique" - What is a unique feature of your dog?"
• Our Daily Challenge - July 23, 2012 - "Dream"
• Scavenge Challenge July 2012 - "7. On a diet? Let's see a nice salad full of lots of leafy greens!"

The Plan

What might dogs dream of? I'm thinking food.

What's left to take a pictures of for the July Scavenge Challenge? Salad.

What does Zachary do when Food is placed in front of him? Sticks out his tongue - showing his Unique Treat Spot.

So - the plan was for me to pick up two Ultimate Cheeseburger combos, with side-salads instead of french french fries, come home, take some shots, and call it day. I could even do in the Dining Room where it's cooler (has a fan) with a large north-facing window (so I don't need to set up the extra lights).

It was already in the bag... er... computer.

The Problems

Well, it should have been.

In fact, I thought it was, until I got back to the computer and realized there wasn't a SINGLE SHOT of Zachary in front of the Cheese Burger with his tongue sticking out.

Not one.

Arg!

How in the world did I manage to take SEVEN SHOTS, over an entire minute, without seeing his tongue once? It never even occurred to me to check for that. He always has his tongue out this time of year. The challenge is usually to find a shot where it isn't out!

The Solution

Solution? I handed off a salad shot to the Daily Dog and Scavenge Challenge, and the burger shot to Our Daily Challenge. Looking at them now, I wish I had thrown in the towel completely for multiple groups and used the very top shot for the Daily Dog, as I think it's a better picture.

Training

On the bright side, after I was all done, I realized after an early repositioning (right after the top shot, which happened to be the first shot) the boys didn't budge until I was done.

That's a 3 minute down. The first two minutes with the salads there, and then I picked those up, left the room entirely, came back with the Cheesy Burgers (crinkling the wrapper as I did so, as I had to unwrap them), then one more minute with the Cheesy Burgers in front of them.

Woo Hoo!

Zachary: "I knew she was kidding"
Henry: "Num Num Num"

Yes, of course they got some of the burger - although I kept half of one of them for me.

50mm  1/80s  f/1.4  ISO 200 

Editor's Note: As Hey... It's Jet Here requested a bit of helping telling who is who from behind...

Yup... that's where those Cheesy Burgers are going.

Bed Head Henry is on the left, with oh-so Smooth and Suave Zachary on the right.

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

A View From Behind

Dog Blog Post #757

Photography Assignment

• Our Daily Challenge - July 22, 2012 - "Sitting Down"
• Daily Dog Challenge "Fill the Frame" - Take a photo of your dog today that fills the frame of the camera."

The Plan

Sitting down and filling the frame. That doesn't seem too bad until you consider that the boys have a certain amount of... equipment... that might appear a bit too prominently in a fill-the-frame sitting shot for a G-rated blog.

So I decided it was safest to go with a view from behind.

The Problems

1. Just as hot today as it was yesterday.

2. Biggest problem was getting them centered, together, with their backs to the camera. They are very aware of the camera, and getting them to voluntarily turn their backs to it is always a challenge.

The Solution

1. I tackled the heat in a few ways:

• I opted to take the shots as early in the day as I could, before the house heated up.
• I moved to the Dining Room, which has more natural light so I could punt on the umbrella lights.
• There's enough room in Dining Room for Henry's fan to blow across panting tongues.
• By not showing their faces, it didn't matter if they were panting!

2. I set up the real photography backdrop frame, had the top bar at about 4' high, draped the stretchy black fabric over the bar, then stood behind it. This way, I could just call the dogs over, they would sit and stare lovingly up at me my ramekin of treats, and snap the picture with the remote when their rumps look relatively aligned to the camera.

In the end, this turned out to be an easy, low stress shoot.

Call, click, toss the treats
Call, click, toss the treats...

Perfect for a hot day.

Flickr Badge

I mentioned this yesterday, but failed to provide the link. Bad blogger, no biscuit. So, here's the link to Create your own Flickr badge.

Monday Mischief

From yesterday's Big Spill shoot...

Editor's Note: Yup, still working on BZ Dogs Journal.

Added a Putting It All Together page that lists the things I consider when making a "staged" story shot (like yesterday's Big Spill shots.

I keep meaning to make a checklist for myself, with some helpful notes so I know I've thought through everything before I get started.

Never enough time...

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Big Spill

"Uh oh... Zachary!!!!"

Zachary: "Must bring in heavy equipment. Bulldozer. Forklift. Quick! Can't let Mom see it."
Henry: "Won't Momma hear that?"

Zachary: "I'm guessing the diameter of the spill to be about 6" x 1/2"  creating a volume..."
Henry: "Can't we just eat it?"

Zachary: "Oh... he he... good idea" 

Dog Blog Post #756

Whew, was it hot yesterday!

Photography Assignment

• Daily Dog Challenge "264. Vibrant"
• Our Daily Challenge - July 21, 2012 - "Complimentary Colors"

The Plan

Complementary colors = colors on the opposite sides of the color wheel, like purple/yellow, blue/orange, and green/red.

I tossed out purple/yellow right away, as they yellow would have been the boys themselves, and I didn't think they would look particularly "vibrant" against my purple backdrop fabric.

Green/Red is always a winner, but I've done it quite a bit and was having trouble coming up with a "plot" for the shot.

So Blue/Orange it was. If you recall the orange construction hat shot a while back, I mentioned them barricading the corner of the kitchen. When that came to mind, so I decided to give them something to barricade.

The Problems

1. Did I mention it was hot? I cranked up the AC, set everything up in the dark, and didn't bring the boys in until the last minute, but it was still hot.

2. Perhaps it was the heat (see #1) or perhaps my rushing to keep them under the lights (which, while CFL's and no where near as hot as incandescents, still put out SOME heat) but I could NOT get Zachary to balance the hat on his head. Even Henry was having problems, which might well show up in tomorrows Monday Mischief post... it was bad.

3. Once on the computer - I once again discovered that boys look terrible against the blue background, and with the orange it seemed to make it even worse. Darned if I can figure out why.

The Solutions/Results

1. I took only a handful of shots - perhaps a dozen?

2. I gave up on the hats fairly quickly. I would normally have worked through it, but it was just too darn hot.

3. Not much to be done about this one. The computer room was even hotter than the kitchen ("studio") and I didn't want to take any more time than necessary to get the pictures loaded. Note how late I am getting this post out - too hot to blog? Yup, it was miserable. :(

Editor's Note: I just discovered that you can create a Flickr badge (see right) that changes every time you refresh the page. There are several options for how you want the badge to be populated by pictures, the colors you want for background and text, and there is even a flash option (not chosen by me). Pretty cool!

Editor's Note: -- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

As Sweet As

"Momma! Can I have some Peanuty Butter and Cookies?"

Sure, sweetie. Just give me a minute and I'll come make you some.

"You might want to bring a mop."

Dog Blog Post #754

Photography Assignment

• Daily Dog Challenge "263. As Sweet As..."
• Our Daily Challenge - July 20, 2012 - "Don't Forget…"

The Plan

Sweet and Honey seemed like a good fit, and Honey goes with Peanut Butter, and Peanut Butter goes on something.

I decided to do a profile, as the last two shoots  (Taste Testing and Friendly Game) were looking full on.

I also decided to try a different table, as if you recall the Magic Hat shots, the table seemed too high.

The Problems

Other than my (once again) misjudging how much the camera can actually see when I have it on the tripod and I'm using the remote?

There was the odd issue of the knife. Now, I'm pretty sure I've taking pictures with utensils sticking up out of the Peanut Butter jar before, but for some reason, both boys balked at it the first time they saw it - Zachary even worse than Henry.

I ended up pulling the table toward me, getting them to sit, then sliding the table back into place and hoping they didn't scooch backward.

The Aftermath

No, of course they didn't get any honey. They did get a healthy slathering of the peanut butter on the cookies.

And then chilled...

Editor's Note: I'm still working away on the BZ Dogs Journal site. Today I added several pages - lists really - of topics I hope to spend some time experimenting with. When I do, I'll create a page showing what I did (or didn't) discover and make the item in the list a link.

So far I have lists for Learning My Camera, Composition, and Post-Processing.

The contents aren't cast in stone, and probably will morph over time.

This was inspired by the series of shutter speed pictures I took for June's Scavenge Challenge. I discussed it in a bit more detail on the Wind Spinner and Kick up Your Heels posts, but the upshot was this picture:

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved