I have been photographing dogs that trail run with their humans for the past couple of years. This weekend on Orcas Island, we attended a 25K and 50K run that doesn't officially include dogs, but they are always there. Many of the dogs ran the races and were only slowed down by their human's slower paces than their own. First dog that I photographed is Jack. He is a grand Aussie and at 11 years old, is now officially retired. In his day, he could run 100K without much effort and now holds court over all of the other dogs in the races. Even though it is controversial, I prefer to crop my dog portraits close to the faces with emphasis on the area around the eyes and nose. Ears are good if I can fit them into the photo. I'm still working on where to crop when taking the photos as my first impulse is to move right into the eyes and therefore, the ears sometimes take a bit of a hit.
This little Red Heeler is just beginning to run. She is only 5 months old, so is still learning the ropes of long trail runs. So well behaved! For the photo, I went with a slight sepia wash and cropped square to emphasize her beautiful features.
This 6 year old Aussie mix dog has been running for years. He could not wait for his human to begin the race and was right there in front at the end of the 25k. I ran into a problem photographing him as the day was very dark and so was he. I didn't want to blast the photo out on his white spots, so instead I got a very dark photo. I'm still thinking about how to lighten some parts of it.
Ferdinand is not a runner. He was a companion for a spouse of a runner. However, from the way that this Chihuahua/Pommie mix strutted his way around the much bigger running dogs, you would not have guessed that he was not a running star himself. Instead, I was told that he is a water droplet chaser. I can only guess what this means.
At the ferry terminal, on our way home, I saw this beautiful sail boat and caught it from the Ferry car deck as we were leaving Orcas.
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2 comments:
I agree with you about the problems and creative cropping of dog fotos. Black dogs are very tricky. Where was Ferdinand? I was looking forward to seeing him. Love your work - makes me homesick.
For me, the Aussie photo shows the most soul. His expression and soft fur pull me into the image.
I agree with you about shooting animal portraits: what to include, how to get close without sacrificing something important. I think the Red Heeler portrait works because you see enough of the ears to add character. They're an important part of who he is.
The colors are good in all 3 dog portraits but I'd like to see more of the Mixed Aussie's eyes.
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