if there is a mini contest for sugar sweet cute this be a winner

[JBW]

[Brownbear]

Gorgeous image, and yes a winner! Beautiful capture of a special moment...

PS Consider a very thin dark border to enhance Chako's gorgeous eyes

[Shadowman]

Nice, even the angle at which you are photographing works on this one.

[Manfred M]

Nice shot Brian - the one thing that I notice right away is that two leaves in the image, the one to the left of the puppies ear and the one at the bottom running out of the frame are quite distracting. I'm not sure if you can fit a polarizer to your camera; because much of the issue I have is the specular reflections from the leaves, and downplaying that might help.

I generally don't love images looking down that sharply (I prefer something closer to eye level); it really works quite well in this instance.

I'm not a fan of complex borders, as I find them a bit distracting, but in this case, it is fairly muted, so it does not distract that much.

[rpcrowe]

Chako brings a smile to my heart! He is developing into a gorgeous dog... Sometimes, shots looking down at a puppy or young dog are effective (as is this one) although (as mentioned) I do prefer an eye level view...

[JBW]

Nice, even the angle at which you are photographing works on this one.

it was just about the only time he sat or lay still long enough to get an in focus shot.

[JBW]

Nice shot Brian - the one thing that I notice right away is that two leaves in the image, the one to the left of the puppies ear and the one at the bottom running out of the frame are quite distracting. I'm not sure if you can fit a polarizer to your camera; because much of the issue I have is the specular reflections from the leaves, and downplaying that might help.

I generally don't love images looking down that sharply (I prefer something closer to eye level); it really works quite well in this instance.

I'm not a fan of complex borders, as I find them a bit distracting, but in this case, it is fairly muted, so it does not distract that much.

Starting with the border... it may well be a deep seated psychological need but I apparently need to put them on. Without them the photos all seem to move into nothingness. I might be able to make it a simple border but no promises.

There are actually 4 leaves and i think of them as a frame within which Chakko set himself. But people do seem annoyed with the top two. I do have threads on the lens to attach objects so if that's where a polarizer attaches...

I agree with the 'down looking' but as you say it does work quite well this time.
B

[JBW]

Chako brings a smile to my heart! He is developing into a gorgeous dog... Sometimes, shots looking down at a puppy or young dog are effective (as is this one) although (as mentioned) I do prefer an eye level view...

he is isn't he. and equally importantly he is learning how not to annoy our old Doberman.

[Manfred M]

Starting with the border... it may well be a deep seated psychological need but I apparently need to put them on. Without them the photos all seem to move into nothingness. I might be able to make it a simple border but no promises.

There are actually 4 leaves and i think of them as a frame within which Chakko set himself. But people do seem annoyed with the top two. I do have threads on the lens to attach objects so if that's where a polarizer attaches...

I agree with the 'down looking' but as you say it does work quite well this time.
B

Actually Brian; I like borders as well and usually use them, especially on prints. I just don't like borders when they are complex and distract the viewer from the image. Most of my borders tend to be just plain white, but I do vary the width.

Yes, there are additional leaves, but I only found the two I pointed out distracting. The one by his tail and the one by his paw are not distracting.