More Thor & Apollo

[MiniChris]

What great posers these guys were...that the little girl was holding two treats...well, it might have helped a little.

[jamn4ex]

Nice shot, when I try to picture dogs they usually move or walk straight at me .Someone else holding a treat is a great idea . Thanks Chris.

[Donald]

Love those ? 'collars'.

A bit like my Ollie - you're having to manage extremes of light and dark - in this case in relation to the different colours of the dogs ... and in bright sunlight. A good job to get the whole thing held together as you have. And those expressions ..! Brilliant.

[MiniChris]

When in doubt....punt (an American football idiomatic expression), which translates to, "when all else fails, try something different." I was at the marina specifically to shoot big white boats against a stark blue sky, so was making use of a circular polarizer, dialing in a variety of exposures. My first exposure of the dogs posted yesterday had the highest polarization value while the second, the lowest. I could have taken the filter off, but I was filling in a brief moment while awaiting the arrival of a large, white container ship (which in the end, veered off to another side of the port, inaccessible to me - oh well).

Though you (Donald) planned for your Merced River shot with a 6-stop ND filter, I had not such inspiration other than knowing most of the boats, boat sheds, and dock areas were going to be quite brilliantly lit and surely would need the assistance of a polarizer. Now that I see how well it worked with these two guys, I will surely always have this idea in the back of my head. I am quite stunned at how well the filter separated the two colors and in quite fine detail. Sharpening is at a minimal (though did go a bit stronger on the output sharpening - but simply for viewing impact), because the soft detail was already helped along through the use of the 1.8 50mm.

Serendipitous discovery is what makes so much of this learning curve a fun experience.

[wilgk]

A very nice image, Chris - But I can't get over how they're not drooling!

[MiniChris]

Those guys never did drool...not even a little...made me like them all the more. If I held a treat out like that to my (now gone) Bull Mastiff, I'd be covered in slobber.

[jiro]

I'd say "You nailed the exposure perfectly on this shot, Chris." The amazing thing is, you were able to get that subtle catchlight on the black dog. 5 thumbs, my friend!

[MiniChris]

I'd say "You nailed the exposure perfectly on this shot, Chris." The amazing this is, you were able to get that subtle catchlight on the black dog. 5 thumbs, my friend!

ACR saved me on this shot...there was a fair amount of work done to get this shot to this level of clarity...though thank you for the comment, because we both know, if it is recorded, it isn't there to get out...I am still learning, and this is one of those fun lessons because I can use this method again someday.

[ilovelucydog]

I love it. Are their names really Thor and Apollo?

[MiniChris]

Indeed..their owner (and who really owns, whom?) is an Army guy working out of our local Army Reserve Center.

[ilovelucydog]

In my house... Lucy owns me.

[MiniChris]

I have that feeling, no one really owns you...but if there was one, it would be the lovely Ms Lucy.