Happy Easter

"Happy Easter!"

"Can I take the ears off now?"

Yes, Zachary. Could you go get Henry, please? Then you can enjoy a few Easter treats.

"Happy Easter!"

Good job, Henry. You can take your Bunny ears off now.

"Really?"

Yes, sweetie. And you can enjoy your Easter a few Easter treats, too.

Dog Blog Post #1008

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge "517. Easter Parade"

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 31, 2012 - "Photograph Dyed"

Monday Mischief

Zachary, I said a few!


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Preparing for the Hunt

Henry: "That's the last one, Uncle Zachary."
Zachary: "Uh... well... hmmm..."

Zachary: "The closing of an Easter Egg must be done with great care and precision,
with the proper application of force in diametrically opposed..."

Henry: "Momma!"
Zachary: (mumble mumble mumble)

Yes, dear?

Henry: "I think Zachary is saying he'd like help again."

I'm not at all sure that's what Zachary was saying, are you?

Dog Blog Post #1007

Just one more egg to fill with dog cookies and the boys will be ready for the annual Puppy's Easter Egg Hunt!

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge "516. Hippity Hoppity Easter's On It's Way"

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 30, 2013 - "Fun"

Zachary: "I call leftovers!!!"

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Success!

Good job, Zachary!

Good job, Henry!

Dog Blog Post #1006

Looks like the boys were successful in their "Have Your Picture Taken With The Easter Bunny" fundraiser we posted about yesterday.

Just look at their enthusiasm as they give me High-Fives*!

Note the donation thermometer, symbolic of the amount of cash donated, is well past their goal.

Good job, guys!

Zachary loves to give high-fives. Henry? Not so much...

Really, Henry? Is that the best you can do???

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge "515. Enthusiasm"

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 29, 2013 - "Symbolic"

Say Cheesy Burgers!

Editor's Note: Amazing what a fresh set of batteries can do for a flash, isn't it?


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Picture with the Easter Bunny

Dog Blog Post #1005

The boys offered to help out at the Animal Shelter's "Have Your Picture Taken With The Easter Bunny" booth.

They sacrificed a bit of time and ego, so others would sacrifice a bit of money to a worthy cause.

What good boys!

Does this mean The Protest is over?

I sure hope so, but only time will tell.

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge "514. Create a Theme"

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 28, 2013 - "Sacrifice"

Editor's Note

And now I'm off to change the batteries in my flash, as it was clearly underpowered today.

FWIW: I've been EXTREMELY happy with my Eneloop* rechargeable batteries as they hold their charge well when not in use, last a long time when they are being used, cycle at least as fast as I snap the flash (I freely admit my style is not rapid fire, so that might not be saying much) and keep going right up to the point when they quit.

The fact they DON'T tail off in power until they flat out die means I don't get a lot warning when the DO decide to die. I get a scant half-dozen or so shots that seem "off" before the flash itself shuts off.

The real issue is that the flash gives me no indication as to the charge left on the batteries.

(sigh)

* No I don't work for Eneloop, invest in them, get reimbursed by them,... yadda yadda yadda... Just a happy customer.

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Protest News

Dog Blog Post #1004

Well, will you look at that.

The boys' protest yesterday made front page of the local newspaper.

Not a chance of them backing down on their demands, now, is there?

Then again, I should have guessed that based on all the supportive comments on yesterday's Cookie Equality Movement post.

(click to see larger)

Of course, the part most meaningful to Henry were the coupons for a free Cookie at Le Petit Chaton.

Poor guy, he's beside himself with anticipation.

Photography Assignments

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 27, 2013 - "Watch or Watching"

Daily Dog Challenge "513. Eye On You - What does your dog like to watch?"


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Cookie Equality Movement

Zachary: "More Cookies... More Cookies... More Cookies..."
Henry: "Please?"

Dog Blog Post #1003

Photography Assignment

Looks like the boys have…

Daily Dog Challenge "512. Adorned"

… themselves with protest signs for the Cookie Equality...

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 26, 2012 - "Movement"

Even Miss Kitty is joining in.

Looks like the Pet Modeling Union is united on this front. What's a photographer to do? Guess it's time to up their wages.

Again.

"Yah!"

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© 2013 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Fun With Hats

Dog Blog Post #1002

What is it about a dog wearing a hat?

The mosaics contain the same images, the only difference being the picture I placed in the middle.

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge "511. Head Shot"

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 25, 2013 - "A Tough Act to Follow"

Making Of...

This is the as promised description to go with the mosaic at the bottom of yesterday's Coming Soon post...

For grins and giggles, I assembled a mosaic of the complete shoot, minus 3-4 "center the camera" shots at the very beginning.

This was about as typical a shoot as they come, both in quantity and "quality" of shots. :)

As always, Henry went first. Zachary's pictures start at #11 and of course he had his eyes closed. Miss Kitty, a perfectionist in all she does, performed admirably in every shot.

The pictures were imported as RAW from the Nikon into Aperture then immediately exported as JPEGs, completely unchanged, into My Memories Suite (digital scrapbooking app) where I shrank the images and created the mosaic.

They were arranged in the order taken, from left to right, top to bottom.

I backed the camera up in middle of Henry's shoot (thus Kitty showing up alone again as a test shot) and I still didn't have the camera far enough away as I chopped the top of Henry's head off. (sigh)

The final layout was exported as a single JPEG, opened in Previewer for a simple Sharpen and Auto-Levels (to overcome the fact they started out RAW), and that's it.

Look closely enough, and you'll spot drool and me in #3 and #4 - notice Henry is focusing on my hand like a good boy! - plus several others.

As always, the hardest part was deciding which images to choose. This used to be a huge time sink, but through much trial and error I've managed to reduce it substantially.

Assuming nothing noteworthy happens in the boys' world, I'll include a few tips on that tomorrow.

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Coming Soon

Zachary: "... and I'm sure Farmer Cluck's Farm Fresh Cookies for Canines would be perfect in your new shop."
Miss Kitty: "They smell wonderful."

Miss Kitty: "It was really nice of you to stop by."
Zachary: "It was nothing."

Miss Kitty: "And you're sure dogs will love them?"
Zachary: "Ha! You'll see when Henry gets here."

Dog Blog Post #1001

Photography Assignment

Looks like Miss Kitty's Pastry Shop is Coming Soon!

I bet Henry, an ever hungry Canine, will be more than happy to sample one of those Crunchy Cookies from Down on the Farm.

And doesn't Miss Kitty Cat look quite Charming in her new Collar. I just hope she doesn't get Caught in the Curling ribbon!

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 19, 2013 - "Begins with 'C'"

Daily Dog Challenge "510. "Pastel Pooch"

Henry: "Cookies!"
Miss Kitty: "Would you like a sample?"

Henry: "I just ate three over at Farmer Cluck's, I don't think Momma would..."

Momma would what, Henry?

Henry: "Pleeeeeese may I have just one... or two... three more?"

Monday Mischief

I'm pretty sure there's Mischief lurking somewhere in the mosaic below.

Perhaps it's Henry not wanting to smile today. Or maybe he's not smiling because I chopped the top of his head off. And why is Zachary standing behind Kitty, anyway? Then again, why are parts of me in so many shots???

Editor's Note: Today's post is running a bit long, but stop by tomorrow for a Making Of description for the Mosaic.

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Down on the Farm

Zachary: "Mom, we're in luck. Farmer Cluck just finished icing her last batch of Cookies!"
Henry: "Can we buy them all?"

Yes, you can each have three Cookies.

Zachary: "I'd like my Cookies boxed up to go, please."
Henry: "Mmmmm"

Zachary: "I'll take this one, that one, and the one in the corner."
Henry: "Can I have mine right now?"

Yes, Henry, you can have yours now.

Why the box, Zachary?

Zachary: "Uh"
Henry: "Momma, we saw a Poodle last night!"

At the Dancing Dog? Zachary, do tell!

Dog Blog Post #1000

1000 Posts? Where does the time go!

Photography Assignment

The boys visited Farmer Cluck's Kitchen today to score some of the best cookies around.

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 23, 2013 - "Down on the Farm"

Yes, believe it or not, those really are Cookies meant for dogs!

Adorable, aren't they? Made with organic ingredients and iced with powdered yogurt frosting.

Alas, no. I didn't make them. They came from a local pet store. :)

If forced to choose between being a…

Daily Dog Challenge "509. City Dog or Country Dog"

…my Suburban boys might well pick "Country" - with wide open spaces and places to roam.

Of course, the City has the allure of people. Lots of people.

Hmm - decisions, decisions…

The Last Batch

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© 2013 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Dancing Dog Bar & Grill

Ok, boys. One more nice big smile for the camera...

"Cheesy Burgers!"

Perfect! The Dancing Dog's going to love these shots on the cover of their new menu.

Henry: "Can we take our hats off now, Momma?"

Yes, sweetie. All done. You can relax the rest of the evening.

"Weeeee!!!!"

Zachary: "Henry, can you see that Standard Poodle over at the corner table? Is she looking this way?"
Henry: "Why are we whispering?"

Henry: "Wow! She sure is pretty Uncle Zachary. Want me to tell her you like her?"
Zachary: "Aggghhh!"

Dog Blog Post #999

Photography Assignment

For an...

Daily Dog Challenge "508. Informal Friday"

… evening, the boys like to go down to their local Dancing Dog Bar & Grill.

This is one of their favorite places, as the walls are covered with classic paintings of Golden Retrievers, giving it an inviting atmosphere and…

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 22, 2013 - "A Sense of History"

I'm pretty sure most, if not all, the paintings date from the late 1800's.

The Golden Retriever breed was developed in Scotland by Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, later Baron Tweedmouth, during the mid 1800's.

They were recognized by The Kennel Club in 1911 and the AKC in 1925.

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The Artist

"... add the whiskers.... and we're done. Perfect!"

"Guess what, Momma? Uncle Zachary said Kitty and I should run off to Paris and become famous artists!"

What a wonderful idea, dear! I bet you two would have a lovely time.

Of course, the house would be awfully quiet without you around, and I'm sure Uncle Zachary would be oh so lonely.

Why, he'd have nobody to share the big, soft, cozy bed with, nor would there be anybody to help him eat all the Cookies....

Yup, it was really kind of Uncle Zachary to be willing to sacrifice so much for your happiness.

Dog Blog Post #998

Photography Assignment

Henry (above) taking inspiration from a painting my mom made of my beloved Tiger cat, as he tries his paw at sketching Kitty.

Daily Dog Challenge "507. An Homage"

Our Daily Challenge - Mar 21, 2013 - "O Captain, My Captain" - "a chance to pay tribute and celebrate one of your mentors."

Left to my own devices, it would be impossible for me to choose between my Mom and my Dad for this challenge.

The fact this is a visual challenge - and one with the boys - tipped the scales in favor of my Mom.

My Mom is an artist of mainly nature and still life, in semi-abstract forms.

As I was growing up she always encourage creativity and imagination in my own drawings, pen and ink, and childhood writing.

This is quite possibly the only full-sized animal painting she has ever done. :)

Zachary, Art Critic

Tiger

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