Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper aside, this week's blog circle theme is "Shallow Depth of Field." 

I am living a little shallowly right now.  It's just me, my husband, and our quirky animals.  While they love us, I'd forgotten the revolving door of cat life and the whinery dogs are capable of producing, especially when delivery drivers pull into our drive...and there have been an abundance of deliveries lately.

Our cat Harry has little empathy for several of his furry cohabitants.  He gets fed in a special spot on our counter because the "bullies" try to beat him up if he eats where the regular cats eat.  However, many of the regular cats know where Harry's food is and will make a game of trying to get it during the day.  When he finds his bowl empty, this is the face he makes.

Doesn't it just scream "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

I use a very open aperture, so that only Harry's face would be in focus and all the cats smirking behind his back are not.  Hence, a shallow depth of field.

I honestly feel the same way Harry.  After all, I have to go down the basement stairs to the catfood bags to refill from the containers they are kept in.

One of the biggest culprits of stealing Harry's cat food from his special spot is Barney.

If you ask Barney if he is supposed to be on that table, he probably would not have the correct answer...or any answer for that matter.  Again, with the aperture a little more open than it was for Harry's photo above, the focus is mostly on Barney and not on the room around or behind him.  This is an older photo, but still a good illustration of a wider shot with shallow depth of field.

Yes, my day is full of refereeing cats, and keeping dogs from scaring away UPS drivers.

I know you are all so jealous.

Back in the day when I used to be able to attend events and photograph them, there were often cute animals attending.  This is a photo I found while looking for something to illustrate shallow depth of field on a larger scale.

This cute little screech owl has total focus on him, even though there is much going on around him.  Shallow depth comes in handy on occasions like this one. 

I had actually never edited this photo, so we can call it new.

And now I'm off to take part in the sport of folding laundry.  I know....I know....just too much excitement.  We're in the shallows now.

For more thoughts about shallow depths of field, the blog circle awaits!  Start with Terri J Photography, capturing portraits of your pets in the Toronto area, and have a great weekend.  Stay safe out there.  Stay healthy.

Color is everywhere.  Even the lack of color is color.

I know that right now we are all living in a very changed world.  But we are at the verge of spring and all its colorful glory.  We need to stay positive.

I thought I'd share some colorful images today, like the colorful characters and their puppy below.

In the not too distant future, our grass will be this green again.  Something to look forward to.

Another colorful character is our kitty, Matty.  You've met him before on this blog.  He is a pretty sassy cat, until the dogs bark, and then he just runs through the cat door into his safe space.

This image shows him against a vinyl studio background that is pretty colorful.  He normally likes to hide BEHIND the back drops, but eventually comes out and sits on whatever I have piled or set up in front of it. 

I just did a somewhat colorful composite of Matty on a car at night.  It's below.  I took all of the element photos, including the car, the background, and Matty.  I call this one "A Night on the Town."

It may be a while before any of us can enjoy a night on the town again, but our cat, Matty, has never really experienced an exotic cat night in a brightly lit, colorful area......until now!

This week's theme is "colorful," and I hope you will take a trip around the blog circle to see what other photographers see through their lenses.  Start with Kylee Doyle Photography, serving pet parents in the greater Sacramento area.

Stay home.  Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  I send my best to all of you.

This week's blog circle theme is "negative space."  Since I have already covered this subject a few times, I have decided to look at how I use space when trying to make a statement with a photo.

I have admired old world type setter prints for many years, as we do have setters in our dog family.  Here's an example by Percival Leonard Rosseau painted in 1916 (his work can be found up until 1937, when he passed).

This particular painting inspired me to try and do a similar field photograph with our setter Lilah, and to leave quite a bit of space around her.  In the field, there are so many bushes and trees, branches and tall grasses, that you often lose sight of the dog, and I believe Percival's paintings bring your eye right to the dog(s) in the picture.  Below is my work inspired by his work.

Mine is a little more brash, and I've left quite a bit of light on Lilah which originally came from a break in the trees over her right shoulder.  There is a lot of negative space in this photo.  I have once again used the painting filter I talked about in the last blog.

Had Lilah been in the middle of the photo, I don't think it would have had the same impact.  So deciding how to ultimately use the space around your subject is an important decision to make.

Especially when you make your dog Queen for a day.

They don't call them Elizabethan RUFFS for nothing!

Again, a use of space, darkness and light, brings the eye to Billie and her quirkiness as a Queen.  In simple snapshots, if you use your space wisely, you will get a much better photograph.

Happy Friday the 13th! Have a great weekend!

To see more about space in your photos, visit the blog circle, starting with Susannah Maynard of Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati, the San Francisco Bay Area, and destinations nationwide.

This week's blog theme is "Details."

There are two ways to approach it. I could either show you how important details are to a photograph, or I can show you when too many details break the line of focus away from the subject.  I have chosen to do the latter.  Although I want to mention a few things.

Attention to detail is the hallmark of a good photographer.  From keeping the necklace straight in a senior portrait to fixing ears on dogs, working toward the final, planned picture in both mine and my client's head, is my goal always.  This is a learned process.  You make mistakes, look at the photo, see what you don't want to see, spend a great deal of time in editing trying to fix it, and then at the very next photo session, you......REMEMBER WHAT NOT TO DO AND WHAT DETAILS TO LOOK FOR.

Now let's head in the other direction.  I am going to use a horse event as my example because horse events are a haphazard mish-mosh of too many details.  Not necessarily stellar backgrounds, too many people, wrong angles, dust/mud/rain, you name it, you can find it at a horse event.

You will see two photos below, the original processed in Nikon Camera Raw (larger extended photo), and the final version, edited for canvas.  Of course, there was just too much to look at in the original photo.  I always try to find a background at this type of event that will lend itself to a "subject only" image.  In the case of trees and flowers and fencing and sky, there are many things that could draw the eye away.  In this type of shot, I am seeking to pare down the details to keep the eye on the subject.

I can give you a simple trick for working with a too detailed photo.  Invest in some type of painterly program that allows you to add a painting filter to an image, then brush off the filter to only expose the detail you want to expose.  I have found this to make for GREAT canvas images!  I use Topaz products, but there are many out there to choose from.

Here is another example of taking a too detailed image and redesigning it. The top image is the original.  The second image is the edited down version.

You can see how the painterly filter softens the background without having to use a "blur brush," and also adds a bit of vibrancy to the color.  The crop also helps to focus more on the subject, and I would never survive without "dodge" and "burn" to add depth and light where needed.

I can't tell you how nice these images come out on canvas, and also on 11x14 Art Blocks, two of the products I offer from my studio.

Finally, there is this image's before and after below.  The before has many nice, crisp details, but once again, too much to look at.

Now the focus is totally on the subject, which jumps out at you immediately.  And again, another lovely canvas.

So tell me what you think?  Do you like more details, or less, in your photos?  If you are looking for a more minimalist view on the world, be sure to try to achieve it in how you set up your shot.  Often, I take MORE than I need because I know I will edit it down, and I want it to also look great in a picture frame should a client choose to go that route.

Now to get more details on "details," visit the blog circle starting with Pawparazzi Pet and Animal Photography presented by Shae Pepper Photography.  Enjoy your weekend.  Keep the details to a minimum, except for the ones that make you happy!

I am a firm believer that most of the things a photographer does can fall into the "creative" category. 

From our set ups to our crop choices, each photo is a reflection of the design, style and process used by each of us to best capture the moment, likeness and spirit of our subjects.

I don't think we have to go overboard to be listed as creative.

Something as simple as taking a plain background and dropping in a painted one in post processing, is a basic nod to creativity.

Going back through my blog posts, there are many times that I have featured images that were taken from rags to riches by using some very basic editing techniques.

There are times when I want to use editing to add my own flare and signature style, which has evolved to what it is now, and encompasses my vision for what I want to see in a finished photo.

I think all photographers walk around looking at everything in terms of how it can be used to creatively construct a photo, whether that be backgrounds (real or studio), props, lighting, and the arsenal of tools we call our dark room.

I love my work and enjoy bringing it all together for my clients.

Creative editing is what we make it.  It's so important to continue our education to make sure we can offer a mixed bag of usable and effective tools that will ultimately meet our client's vision as well.

The theme this week is "creative editing" and the blog circle will take you further down that path.  To see how other photographers interpreted this week's theme, start with Jackie Petersen Pet Photography, serving pet lovers in Northern Utah.  Look for the link at the bottom of each blog to move around the circle.  Enjoy and have a great weekend! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

This week's blog circle theme is "Love."  It's not often that the blog falls exactly on a celebrated day.  Here are just a few of the things I love.

I love our silly cat, Matty, who is comfortable in the studio, and will gladly pose on just about anything.  I had not even planned on taking this photo, as I was in the midst of cleaning out one set up and putting down another, when all of a sudden, there he sat.  The camera was set up, so I used the remote and, voila, there you have a Valentiney cat.  I love that.

I decided to take an old photo of our Billie, and give it some love.

She was looking pretty scruffy here, which I believe was just before a visit to her groomer.  I like to do a before (scruffy) and after (perfection) photo to show how different she can look, and this was, obviously, the before.  I added some hearts from an overlay I found in my old files, and a frame.  Billie is my shadow and very affectionate.  She takes care of me at all times, and I truly "heart" her.

Finally, there is Lilah.  This, too, is an older photo I revamped.  I love Lilah's expression, which is so typically HER!

I sometimes like to go back and take old photos and rework them.  It's great for practice, helps build skills, allows me to use some of the new things I have learned through classes and tips/tricks from fellow photographers.

We have many more animals in our lives that we "heart."  They give love daily right back to us.

Be sure to check out the rest of the circle this week, traveling all the way to New Zealand to start with Lynda Mowat from Heartstrings Photography, based in the Waikato region of New Zealand.  Look for the link at the bottom of each blog to continue around the circle!

I hope your day, and your weekend, are filled with things that warm your heart! 

In Hollywood, CGI technology uses a "green screen" to add dinosaurs running after actors, millions of aliens landing on earth, more zombies in the horde, and a host of other activities.  It works.  Why do I bring this up?  Because gray is my green screen.

I love to use gray as my background and platform base covers.  Then I can add overlays, painted backgrounds, textures and even change the color a bit as needed.  So gray is a favorite here in the studio.

Having said that, I found some other gray things to show you.

This hen may have more than 50 shades of gray in her feathers, don't you think?

Graying senior dogs are among my favorite subjects.  SUCH CHARACTER!

Gray kitties come in many different varieties.

And whether in color, or black and white, gray tones can showcase a Bernese Mountain Dog.  (Which version do you prefer?)

We've had a couple of gray days here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but that dastardly ground hog promised us an early spring.  He'd better be right or I just might have to find him.  I hope your weekend is blue and yellow, but if it isn't, we can use a gray background and make it so.

For more "gray" interpretations on this week's theme, head over to Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography, fetching portraits in Coppell and surrounding communities in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex.  Look for the link at the end of each blog to move around the circle and see more enjoyable grayness.

If animals were made out of fabric, would it be easier to capture the nuances of their coats?

I mean there would be a lot less nooks and crannies, right?

How many textures do you see in the photo above?  What jumps out to you?

There are many considerations when photographing dogs and cats of different coat textures and colors.  Lighting is always a key element.  How do certain types of light reflect on and off the coat of an individual dog or cat?

The fellow above was easy to photograph.  He never moved.  But let's look at two examples of very different-coated dogs below that used essentially the same background and lighting (except for minor adjustments).  Can a single set up work for a number of different-coated dogs? 

In the image above, the coat is wispy and swirly, but relatively short.  Because this jaunty fellow has both dark and light in his coat, I wanted to light him in a way that would show both his coat texture and coloring, without being too bright or too dark.  I am always looking to see the texture of the coat come through in the shot.  I then try not to get too carried away in post-processing and OVER texturizing, by bringing up the coat too much.

In the case of this very multi-colored pup below, I did switch the lighting and brightened her up.  She was a mover, and decided that looking into the camera was not on her dance card.  I also gave her some space, leaving a good distance between myself and the platform so she would not become too nervous.  We were able to get this one still moment, and I think her coat textures and colors came through.

I did brush on a little more texture to the background in post processing.

In the end, showcasing coat texture is a very individual thing.  Not only to each dog, but to each photographer.  How much or how little is up to the photographer's choice, and ultimately, up to the owner in the final photo selection.

This week's theme is "texture."  To see more interpretations of the theme, start with Lynda Mowat from Heartstrings Photography, serving the Waikato and beyond, in New Zealand.  Then work your way around the blog circle by finding the link at the bottom of each blog.  I hope you have all the textures you like as part of your weekend!  Enjoy!

I have taken a little bit of time off blog writing, as battling a cold, which morphed into a sinus infection, which morphed into a bronchial infection, has kept me watching old television shows and movies, sitting in a chair, drinking tea.  I think that battle has almost been won, but this week's theme had me looking back through some images, as I am still not venturing out too much in our very cold weather.

Finding possible locations in urban settings, where there is both safety and a usable background that isn't too busy (and will distract the eye), is part of what I do on a regular basis.

Although even our largest, closest city isn't really all that large, there are some good locations in the smaller towns that are just outside of my rural residence.

This daylight image was taken outside an older bank building in one of these smaller towns.  I call it "waiting for the bus," as the bus does stop very near to where this photo was taken.  This is our dog, Billie, and her Dad.  As you can see by the weather, and the reflected window flowers, it isn't winter.  This is a photo I did not edit or use from a past photo session, until this blog.  I was happy to find it, because Billie's expression does look like she is waiting.

It is a safe spot, and although there is traffic through the main thoroughfare, it's not so much that you can't stand in the middle of the street now and then to take a photograph.

I decided to also use a night photo in a larger city setting for today's blog.

Even with a lot going on in the background, at night, with less people and more lights, what might have been an unusable site during the day becomes much more usable.  A 70-200mm lens can also provide good background blur.  Off camera flash and a street light gives adequate lighting .  There are people in this photo, but you can't really see them, as they blend well into the background camera right.

I am scouting all the time for urban locations, and I have a great list, not only for pet photos, but for senior portraits.  Here's just some of the things I look for in a good urban site.

I am looking forward to a good snowfall for some winter photography work, and the ability to go outside and not cough. Hopefully both those things will happen in the next month, when our winter begins in earnest in Pennsylvania.

The theme this week is "urban."  To see what other photographers in the circle have done with it, start here with Pawparazzi Pet and Animal Photography presented by Shae Pepper Photography.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

On Wednesday we woke up to 2.5 inches of frozen, crusty snow, and a gale wind that whipped both trees and snow around like a carnival ride. 

We had had no internet overnight and into the morning, so when it came back on I decided I might get this blog done, just in case future wind and climate issues took the connection away again.

We could call this story "Party on the Patio."

We have a local hotel that often has "party on the patio" themed nights, but this party is WAAAAY different.  Instead of offering a cash bar, we offer a seed bar that tends to attract locals.

When the weather is too cold for words, putting seed in protected places  often makes it easier for guests to stay out of the wind while enjoying their selections.

Word gets out fast.

Pretty soon there are lines forming.

Humans are not invited to this shindig.  We are mere servers who just need to keep the supplies refilled when necessary.

Juncos, titmice, chickadees, phoebes, downy woodpeckers, jays and squirrels are the typical customers

Bar peanuts are always a favorite.

Some dine alone and some dine in small groups.

Make no mistake, there are some swingers in the crowd.

And every once in a while, some cat who made the mistake of thinking it was Spring again and ran out of the house, even though we gave him our best advice on NOT doing that, crashes the party and decides he wants back in immediately.

Whether you tell your story with a series of photos (as done here with one theme), or one single photo, I hope you have a storied weekend, and that you will head to the blog circle to see more interpretations of this week's theme.  Start with Jackie Petersen Pet Photography, serving pet lovers in Northern Utah.  Jackie is a new blogger with the group, so welcome!

Side note:  This blog is dedicated to my Mom, Celia Mueller, who passed away on Thursday, January 9th.  She constantly encouraged her children to be who they wanted to be and do what they loved.  Thanks Mom.