Project 52 Richard Crowe

[rpcrowe]

I guess that I shall throw my hat into the ring...

Week-1

Bridget, one of our rescue Maltese. She is actually a Maltese mix but, we don't accurately know what the other part of her ancestry is...

[FrankMi]

Awwwww, she's cute! Glad to have you in the fray, Richard! So? What was the goal for this shot and what kind of a setup did you use? ...and you thought I'd never ask!

[Sam Smith]

Who cares what kind of mix she is she is cute. Excellent shot also.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Cute dog with gorgeous eyes captured exceptionally well - what more could you want?

[rpcrowe]

Frank Miller asked, "What was the goal for this shot and what kind of a setup did you use?"

The purpose of this shot was to get a photo of Bridget to post on www.petfinder.com which is the primary website for animal rescues in the USA. I shot outdoors with a 7D and a 70-200mm f/4L IS lens which is my standard dog setup. I used a 430EX at -1 ev for fill light and did some minimal PP in PSE-10. I use direct fill at -1 or -2 ev outdoors and bounce flash with a diffuser/reflector for indoor shots.

There are always a large number of dogs available on petfinder at any one time. Having photos which show them at their best is really necessary in order to get any interest in a particular dog.

Here is Bridget's page on petfinder.com
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21899595

The first five dogs on this page are from our American Maltese Rescue. I think you can see how a decent picture would give a dog a better chance at adoption...
http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?...tsearch=Search

We get most of our adoption applications from petfinder.com followed by word of mouth from families who have already adopted from us; lots of folks who have adpted a rescue want a second dog or know someone who wants a dog and, thirdly we find adoptive families from adoption events. The PETCO chain of pet supply stores have frequent adoption events and our vet has an event every couple of months. Judy is preparing to take Bridget and two other dogs to an event right now. I will remain home to take care of the rest of our dogs.

Here is my wife and a few friends at a rescue event...


Here are the Maltese we had at the event...


We never adopt directly from the event. Instead we get applications and then check references as well as do a home visit to ensure that the home is safe for the dogs. We always have several foster Maltese living with us and there are other foster caregivers all over the USA who work with us. We have the luxury of being able to wait for an adoption which will give the dog the best chance at a "furever" home.

In addition to Maltese, we also work with Labradoodle and Goldendoodle rescues. Here is a Labradoodle whom we fostered last summer. She was adopted by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Petco and is now living in an eight and a half million dollar home. Pretty good for a gal whose original owner gave her up because he did not want to pay eight hundred dollars for a sugery...



Petfinder has thousands of rescue animals of all types available from hundreds of rescue organizations and animal shelters. the advantage of adopting from a rescue organization over adopting from a shelter is that our dogs have lived in our foster homes and we can give the prospective adopter an honest evaluation of the dog's personality and health issues if any.

BTW: We can always use potential fosters anywhere in the USA. The more foster homes we have, the more dogs we can rescue. The American Maltese Association Rescue reimburses for all vet bills incurred for our dogs and we have submitted paperwork to become 501c3 certified with the Internal Revenue Service which, once approved, will allow anyone working with American Maltese Rescue to deduct costs such as transportation and food, etc. from their taxes.

Our website is: www.americanmalteserescue.org

Please visit us there. It is a fairly new website but it is growing.

[Shadowman]

Very nice and expressive eyes.

[FrankMi]

Beautiful pictures and well designed web sites. I'm sure that your photographic efforts really make a difference in finding new homes for the rescue animals. Great results!

[Goldcoastgolfer]

You're a good man, Richard.

[Mark von Kanel]

Must be both heart breaking and rewarding work, as a dog lover and owner my hat goes off to you Richard fine work both photographically and Charitably, thank you.