Thursday, February 28, 2013

Dog Behind the Mask

White Hat



White Hat



White Hat


Dog Blog Post #979



Photography Assignment



Our Daily Challenge - Feb 28, 2013 - "The Masks we wear"

Really, what you see is what you get with these guys.

They are as golden in their hearts as they are in their coats, and any mask/roll they wear/play would have to be that of the Good Guy.

Daily Dog Challenge "486. Dog Behind the Mask"


When Good Cameras Go Bad


There is only one human involved in the making of these shots - me.

And since I'm needed near the boys to direct attention, I rely on the camera's autofocus to do the job of, well, focusing.

999 out of 1000 times (or more!) it does beautifully - which is a good thing as the camera is sitting on a tripod a good 20 feet away from me.

Today, however, was not its day.

Something about this background perhaps? This is the first time I've used it. All I know is that I have never seen so many blurry pictures.

Henry's were passing fair, but Zachary's were pretty much a total write off.

Hence the need to resort to the post-processing in that top shot.

(sigh)


Fearsome Faces
Fearsome Faces!



When my otherwise mild-mannered Golden Retrievers are engaged in a rousing game of bitey-face, they trot out their best Fearsome Faces - their wolf-masks, if you will.

Of course, it's all in play, and moments later they are lying on their backs with all four paws in the air, tongues lolling out the sides of their mouths, laughing at each other.


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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Winds-Day

Winds-day
Henry: "Ooooo" 


Winds-day
Zachary: "Leeeeeean into the wind."



Dog Blog Post #976



Photography Assignment



Our Daily Challenge - Feb 27, 2013 - "A great wind is blowing and that gives you either imagination or a headache" quote by Catherine the Great

The boys decided to don their Lei and Antenna Balls for one last time (they hope) and stand in front of a great wind, noting how the…

Daily Dog Challenge "485. Intensity"

… of the breeze caused the fluff (and their ruff!) to dance around.


A Few More


Winds-day
Zachary: "Weeeee!"



Winds-day
Zachary: "Isn't that cool?"

Camera Settings


Ah, the magic of shutter speed causes things in motion to actually appear in motion. In this case, taking the shots at 1/30s was just slow enough to give my rapidly spinning pinwheel (powered by Henry's Fan on High and held in place, in a saucepan, by backdrop clamps and dish towels) a hint of motion.

Anything slower, and the boys would have been blurry. Anything faster, and the pinwheel wouldn't have been.

I was actually rather surprised how clear the boys came out, given I usually shoot at 1/125s.

It helped that the camera was on a tripod and fired by remote.

I used the 50mm lens again today, as it was still on the camera after I'd switched to it yesterday for the just-a-bit-too-wide-for-the-135mm-lens-given-the-length-of-my-room Alphabet shoot.


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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Alphabet

The Alphabet


Dog Blog Post #975



Photography Assignment


I've always wanted to try this!

Here's a…

Daily Dog Challenge "484. Still Life with a Dog"

… (or two) with a common noun for EVERY letter of...

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 26, 2013 - "The Alphabet"

(No Z=Zachary nor H=Henry. In fact the boys aren't needed at all to get all 26!)

Admittedly, some of the objects are a bit hard to see - especially "W".

(Hint: one letter, and one letter alone, is represented by its actually letter.)

Did You Know…


Feb 27th is International Polar Bear Day, which prompted the festivities.


The Alphabet



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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Monday, February 25, 2013

Goldilocks and Three Bears

Goldilocks and Three Bears


Dog Blog Post #974



Photography Assignment


Did you know…

Feb 26th is Tell A Fairy Tale Day

And what better of...

Daily Dog Challenge "483. A Fairy Tale"

… for the Golden Boys to tell than Goldilocks and Three Bears. In...

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 25, 2013 - "Black and White"

Go figure.

This used the Nikon D7000's Color Sketch option to create a (colored) sketch, then selective coloring to remove all the color except for Goldilocks… aka Zachary.

And while I frequently raid Son's room for props, today's collection of bears is entirely mine.

The oldest is the bear on the upper left, dating from at least my High School days. He went on numerous family vacations, and was the best college roommate ever. The polar bear next to him was a gift from Hubby while we were in college, and baby bear came from Disneyland many year later.


Editor's Note: I admit to being a bit bummed that ODC was B&W, as I personally prefer these shots in color...

In Color


Goldilocks and Three Bears
Baby Bear: "... and he's still there!"



Goldilocks and Three Bears
Zachary: "Uh oh"


Goldilocks and Three Bears
Henry: "But... but... but this is MY bed!"


Goldilocks and Three Bears
Henry: "Momma!"


Goldilocks and Three Bears
Zachary: "Hey Mom, got any more porridge?"



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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Attaché

Attaché


Attaché



Dog Blog Post #973



Photography Assignment



Our Daily Challenge - Feb 24, 2013 - "Begins with A"

Henry, an Attaché?

Who knew??

He certainly seems to have the right...

Daily Dog Challenge "482. Attitude"


Or...


Mr. Zachary


Our Daily Challenge - Feb 24, 2013 - "Begins with A"

Zachary, looking suave with his attaché case.

Look out James Bond!

Daily Dog Challenge "482. Attitude"

Monday Mischief


I'm pretty sure either interpretation qualifies!

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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Look Before You Leap

Froggie
Henry: "Well, what have we here?"



Jump Froggie Jump!

Dog Blog Post #972



Photography Assignment



Foggy had better…

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 23, 2013 - "Jump"

… before Henry does!

Daily Dog Challenge "481. Optical Illusion"

Through the magic of small aperture, I was trying to make Froggy appear big while keeping Henry in focus.

Turns out there is neither the room nor the light to get what I wanted.

Oh well, live and learn. :)


Look Before You Leap



Look Before You Leap



Look Before You Leap


Zachary is such a good boy! :)

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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Friday, February 22, 2013

So Close And Yet...

So close and yet...



So close and yet...



So close and yet...



Dog Blog Post #971



Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge "480. Texture"

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 22, 2013 - "Macro"*

The boys, contemplating their Blue Buffalo Turkey Biscuits up close and personal. :)

* Actually, the top shot is cropped. Even though the flash is off-camera, the camera still sets off its flash to trigger the Speedlight and so I prefer to keep a bit of distance.

Did You Know...


Feb. 23rd is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.

The boys think that's a pretty good thing!

Editor's Note


The obsessively observant will note that Zachary's dish (top shot) has two Cookies fewer than Henry's (shot #2 and #3).

That's because Henry was being such a good boy that I rewarded him immediately instead of making him wait until Zachary was done.

Sure, they get small treats throughout the shoot, but they really like the Blue Buffalo Cookies and having them so close must have been a real test of will. :)

And in case anybody's wondering - nobody paid, gifted, or otherwise reimbursed me to say that. :)

Zachary
"Now?"



Henry
(sigh)



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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Thursday, February 21, 2013

The Phoenix

The Phoenix



Dog Blog Post #971



Photography Assignment


This was definitely a challenge, creating a...

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 21, 2013, "Phoenix"

… from your...

Daily Dog Challenge479. Classic"

… bitey-face shot.

Above is Henry's head and Zachary's fluff, rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise.

I then spent about an hour pushing the Levels curve around until I got it as fiery as it was going to get.

For whatever reason, the next two took me less than five minutes each, and I did them first.

The Phoenix



The Phoenix


Go figure.


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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Big Boots to Fill

Big Boots to Fill
"Whatcha doing Uncle Zachary?"



Big Boots to Fill
"Uncle Zachary?"



Big Boots to Fill
Zachary: (slurp)
Henry: "Hey, there's Cookies down there..."



Big Boots to Fill
"Cookies Cookies Cookies!!!"



Big Boots to Fill
(munch munch  munch)


Dog Blog Post #970



Photography Assignment



Hopefully, seeing the boys with their…

Daily Dog Challenge "478. Nose In A _______"

… pair of…

113 Pictures in 2013 - "#61. Boots"

… qualifies as just a bit...

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 20, 2013 - "Bizarre"

Perhaps.

Or not?

Many thanks to Hubby for contributing both the idea and the Boots for today's shoot. :)

And yes, of course there were Cookies down there - LOTS of Cookies, hence the picture title.


Big Boots to Fill
"Oh Coooookies... eeees... eeees... eeeeessss"



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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Greed, Gluttony, and Envy

Sloth
Zachary: "Whatcha got there Mom?"

Since February 20th is Love Your Pet Day, I brought a big pile of cookies for you and Henry to share.


Greed and Envy
Zachary: "Mmmmmm"
Henry: "Share?"

Eh hem, Zachary, that was for you and Henry to share.

Pretty Please
"Momma, Uncle Zachary isn't sharing."


Zachary, don't you know that Greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins?

Shock!



Dog Blog Post #969



Photography Assignment



Did You Know…

Feb 20th is Love Your Pet Day

Unfortunately, my generosity seems to have let to a couple of the...

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 19, 2013 - "Seven Deadly Sins"

… namely Greed and Gluttony on Zachary's part and Envy on Henry's.

Oh Dear.


For the record, the others are lust, pride, and sloth.

Cookies

There's a good boy!

Editor's Note: Of course they split one of those large Canidae Snap Biscuits when the shoot was done. The one Zachary had drooled on, in fact. :)

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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Monday, February 18, 2013

Which is Which?

Which is Which?



Which is Which?



Which is Which?



Dog Blog Post #968


Photography Assignment


Our Daily Challenge - Feb 18, 2013 - "Wild Goose Chase"

Lacking any wild geese, I'll instead pose a question:

Which parts go with which dog?

… and send you off on a wild goose chase of your own. :)

Daily Dog Challenge "476. Take Seven - Take only seven pictures of your dog today and choose your favorite to post."


Bitey-Face



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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Finished

Finished?
"Are we done?"

What do you think?

Finished
"Done."


Finished
"Definitely done."



Done
"Better be done."



Dog Blog Post #967



Photography Assignment


The boys spent the day cleaning…

Daily Dog Challenge "475. Setting the Tone"

… of the today's shoot to be "exhausted", and leaving them...

Our Daily Challenge - Feb 17, 2013 - "In the Mood"

… for a much delayed nap.

(Or was that me that spent the day cleaning, and they're exhausted just watching?)


The Rest


I loved how the lighting turned out today, so I broken my "absolutely no more than six pictures" rule and uploaded seven (plus a lighting diagram.)

What's This?
"A rose by any other name..."



What's This?
"... would smell as sweet."


Very funny, you two.


Done.
"I'm not lifting a paw to dust another darned thing."


Lighting Diagram


And for the curious, below is an approximation of what I did (created using the Strobox iPhone app.)

Obviously, my background was black and not white - the app is strangely lacking in that regard - and my model was canine and not human (probably not so strange, but just as annoying).

The camera really was offset like that so it can "see" around the sofa, as I'm shooting from the back of the family room into the kitchen.

And finally, and perhaps not so obviously from the looking at the images, my reflector was turned black side out making it an anti-reflector.

Why an anti-reflector?

Because behind the anti-reflector was a big white double-door refrigerator, which does a marvelous job of reflecting light, and I was looking for something a bit more... dramatic.




Mischief Monday


I'll leave it to the viewer to decide if me making the boys dust is the mischief, or them quoted Shakespeare is.

My vote is on the app not having a canine model.

Really, would that be too much too ask?


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© 2013 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved