Dog Sleeping with Moose

[NorthernFocus]

Well what did you expect?

1) Not quite the end of days chaos that the title would suggest. 120mm@f4



I hadn't taken any shots of the princess lately and just had the urge to poke around with the equipment. Long ago I got a nice flash, Nikon SB-800. Shamefully this is about the only thing it gets used for. I'm pretty clueless how to use it. When I strap it on the photos seem to come out reasonably well lit. Somewhat like magic

I started out trying the D810/70-200 f4. But it was so dark with ambient lighting that I had to get out the 105 f2.8 to get reliable focus. The princess wasn't in the mood...

2) Are we REALLY going to do this? 135mm f4



3) Daaaaaad! 105mm f5.6



4) Oh for goodness sake, take the darn picture! 105mm f5.6



The first shot was simply processed in LR. The other three were also run through a slightly tweaked version of an OnOne PS preset called "sunshine".

[Shadowman]

Nice, yes I was expecting Bullwinkle.

[Barbara Ponder]

The old bait and switch.....Adorable dog the moose, not so much . I love the last shot. She is looking at you as if to say "really Dad! I am trying to get my beauty sleep and you keep interrupting me with that bright light"

[Dave Humphries]

Love #4 Dan

[just me]

The last image is my favorite !!!!!!!

Griddi........

[orinoco]

No.4...fab shot

[ShaneS]

No 4 is great Dan but I wonder if a tighter crop losing some of the empty space on the left and top would give even more focus to your lovely princess?

[NorthernFocus]

..I wonder if a tighter crop losing some of the empty space on the left and top would give even more focus to your lovely princess?

I used to crop much tighter but now trend toward leaving more room. No.5 below is a crop as suggested. It seems to me that her nose dominates the image. No.6 same crop size but repositioned a bit. Slightly better IMO. Original comp also included for comparison. I do like the tighter versions.

5)


6)


Original

[KimC]

German Shorthaired Pointer Dan? One of my favorite breeds. I see she's a "Princess" like Mia ;-) The second one is my favorite as I love her expression.

[NorthernFocus]

German Shorthaired Pointer Dan?...

Yes indeed. And apparently from royal lineage.

[Loose Canon]

Beautiful pup Dan! The amber eyes are killing me! Gorgeous.

May I offer a guess on the other species…?

Bullwinkle J. Moose?

[NorthernFocus]

Beautiful pup Dan! The amber eyes are killing me! Gorgeous.

May I offer a guess on the other species…?

Bullwinkle J. Moose?

I suspect that is Bullwinkle now that you mention it. My wife paid a quarter for him in a garage sale. In Mississippi of all places.

[ShaneS]

I like the cropped versions Dan. I see what you mean about her regal nose being more prominent in #5 and now I'm torn between #5 and #6. Thank you for humoring me

[wilgk]

Truly wonderful expression, well done.

[Mike Buckley]

The second one is really precious.

[IzzieK]

Grace is really Grace, Dan...how beautiful all the poses! and I too had used Sunshine in Effects in On One and I like the result. Your story telling is really great and the expression on her face tells a lot. Thanks for making me laugh. It has a been a long tiring day for me so far today and these shots of Grace shows your humour and your photography. Both are great! A welcome retreat from my tiredness...I love dogs! especially well cared ones and related closely to its master/daddy and mommy.

[Downrigger]

Got me, Dan. Based on your portfolio, I was ready to believe it. As for crops of the very nice #4, I think the two tighter ones would work better (envisioned as though framed on the wall or on a desk), and favor the #6 version. Interesting you trend towards "leaving more room". Something to ponder.

[rpcrowe]

Some great shots of your beautiful Grace (what a peffect name for that dog). Did you bounce the flash?

[NorthernFocus]

Glad everyone enjoyed the photos. I think I like the tighter crops in this case since they are just head shots.

Izzie, it's hard not to laugh about a photo session with Grace. She is such a character and so expressive with her body language.

Richard, yes I had a diffuser on the flash and also bounced it off the ceiling. We have 10ft ceilings in our house so the combination of the two makes for pretty soft light. One of these days I need to get the manual out and read a bit about how to use the flash. Years ago I bought the flash and a better beamer based on seeing how others were doing bird photography. The BB has never been out of the box and the flash has never been out of the house. Maybe some day when I set up a feeder.