Doggie(!!) Model Shoot

Okay, my friend SusieG is having some issues, or had. Turns out the person that was going to help her with Toby, the rescue, isn't. So she can't afford to really keep two dogs around so she was going to post something on Kijiji. So last Friday I get and e-mail asking for help. Help with what? Well, you see she needed some good pictures to go with the posting. She had a great write up already, just needed something more. So home from work I go, get all my gear sorted out and ready. A lot of gear sorted out and ready. You never know exactly what you will need until you don't have it. And off to her place I went. I set up an umbrella, first as a reflective, than switched it around to a shoot through instead for softer light. I took some practice shots. Mostly to get both Nietzsche and Toby used to the pops of the strobe. Then SusieG and I started trying to model Toby. Issues after issues. Nietzsche being the hog he was kept trying to horn in. Then there was trying to get Toby to sit in one position. Finally, there was the issue of shooting a black dog. *sigh* Most issues were over come. A friend came over and was able to assist. Light covers were found so Toby didn't blend into the dark background, and pictures were taken.

Post Processing was a breeze. Changed light levels, made sure that Toby wasn't a black amorphous mass, and the winners were selected. I did all the post processing on her computer using the Sony picture software she had. These pictures are all unprocessed. So here we go. Fun times had by all.




And the winning pictures? HERE WE GO!!!




Now the ones that were used were cropped partially and had some light work done to them. These were the two best shots, according to SusieG. The good news is that a prospective owner is being interviewed shortly. Keep your fingers crossed.

Dog Rescuers AWAY!

Okay, here's the scoop. The past week has been a little busy and distracting. My regular readers know about Nietzsche, the "Most Photographed Dog in Toronto", as my friend SusieG likes to call him. Well we had to go save his elder brother last week. That's right save. Here's a story to tug the heart strings. Tubby, now called Toby, is Nietzsches elder brother by minutes. When he was taken by his first owner he wasn't treated too well. The person in question never had any time for him and kept him caged up for a large part of the day. Any issues, and back in the cage he went. Well when the person that gave him away originally found out, they took him back. Well the damage had been done. That was a year and a half ago. I think. I am getting most of this information third hand. Any way things were sort of okay. My friend SusieG found out last week that Tubby was going to be put down. There were some behavorial issues that the family couldn't deal with. I won't go into details here, just because I never saw the issues and that old third hand thing.

Needless to say my friend went into rescue mode. Of course, the first person she contacts is me for a road trip. This was Monday August the 8th. We were all ready to go that day, but we couldn't get a hold of the owner. SusieG being the tenacious woman that she is didn't give up. So on Thursday the 11th, the vet date was Friday, we hoped in her car and drove to the location to pick up Tubby. Along road trip, two plus hours. We got there and reintroduced Nietzsche to his brother and other "family" members, father, sister, half sister.... When we saw that they were getting along okay it was a done deal and we packed them into the car and went home.

Along for the ride was one of SusieG's new friends. The reason she came along was she new a trainer that rehabilitated maltreated dogs. The best part was he had a home for Tubby all lined up. So on the way back home I was in the back seat of the car with two dogs. Tubby crawled onto my lap and stayed there for the whole trip. I just sat there petting him and giving him attention. I think he was starved for the good attention. Twice I have made that trip with SusieG and twice I have returned with a dog in my lap. :-)

So here we are one week later. The trainer is picking up Toby this weekend, SusieG renamed him because Tubby is juvenile, and he is anything but tubby. He has been getting plenty of attention, and playing with his brother. I wish I could take him home myself, alas it's not meant to be. I know he's going to a good home at least with lots of space and love. I may get a few more pictures before he goes. At least I hope so. Now here we go, the first day and a couple of times in the dog park. Enjoy, and love Toby.