The theme for this week's blog circle is water.  I thought that it would be a cinch because I am actually near a large body of water...the Atlantic Ocean, but things don't often go as planned, and my laptop decided to not allow me to edit as well as I would like when I use my main computer at home. 

So I decided to do a review of how "water" has fit into my life lately.

Closer to home, water played a large part in a first-day-of-fishing for two smiling faces.  This lovely little park is a wonderful retreat for these types of activities, and you can see, turns out fairly successful fishing for small folks.

I am a real gull and sea bird watcher.  While at the beach this past week, a convention of sea birds did a little parade every day in the same location.  Turns out, they were waiting for the exact perfect tide time to bring good food their way.  They would all fly out together to the same location to feast around 3:00 p.m.

And, of course, there is always ONE that waits for the food to come to him.

My view every night walking back to my unit was not too shabby.  This is a lovely spot on Silver Lake in Rehoboth Beach, along a canal which affords a look at an array of turtles, heron, huge unidentifiable fish and other wildlife.

I did run into a dog or two at the beach, but I am waiting to edit my other photos when I return home.  Maybe you will see them in other blogs.  I happened to have my cell phone the day I spotted this golden enjoying some ball play.  Since the quality of my adroid photos leaves a lot to be desired, I used a painterly filter on this image.

I am watching a Hallmark Christmas Thursday movie right now as I write this, and can't believe I've gotten sucked into yet another Hallmark trap, even at the beach, even in summer.  I am packing up to return home tomorrow and will miss the sun, the water, and this little beach community, but I am looking forward to Fall.

There are more watery things to see in the blog circle this week, and once again we are starting with Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography fetching portraits in Coppell and surrounding communities in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex.  Have a great weekend!

I can't think of a better way to start off this week's blog than with blue in the sky and a horse.  I chose this photo because in this particular case, the storm system that was either coming or going (cannot remember which) left the clouds a grayish blue, and hid the sun long enough for me to snap this shot.

My thought is that a splash of blue in a photo is never a bad thing.  In fact, blue is one of my go to colors, even when asking clients to dress for head shots or photos with their pets, often I will recommend a solid blue shirt or blouse.

Blue is one of those soothing colors. 

Blue allows other things in the photo to POP!  For the photo above I used a plain dark blue background, then added a painted digital background in post processing.

Many clients also like blue, and I have noticed that when given a few options in their viewing gallery, they will often purchase a photo that has a blue background, or hint of blue, or wide open blue sky.

You can go back through my blog posts and I am sure you will find quite a number of photos with the color blue. 

Sometimes I will give the blue a "punch" with another color, as in the photo below.

This photo uses the same dark blue background as the photo above, but I have focused a light directly onto the backdrop, then added some texture and another painted digital backdrop in post processing. 

I hope you see some blue sky this weekend.  I know many of our neighbors down south are experiencing hurricane Dorian, and I wish everyone well.  To see more "blue" interpretations in today's blog posts, start with Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography fetching portraits in Coppell and surrounding communities in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex.  Look for the links at the bottom of each post to take you to the next blog.  Enjoy!

I'm baaaacckkkk!

Yes, I did take two weeks off of blog writing.  A much needed break from everything and fun with the grandkids.  Especially this dude, who came and stayed with us while attending camp.

It turns out that the themes of blogs during the weeks missed were themes I had covered before, so no harm no foul.  This week's theme (metal), on the other hand, is not one I have done before, but I do have a photo that applies.  A bright red metal bridge in a local park with our Billie girl.  I have used other renditions of this photo, but never this one, so it's new to the blog.

I guess we could call it a day, what with a photo of a small boy climbing on metal playground equipment and Billie on the metal bridge, but I decided to delve a little further into my archives and also to create a new photo specifically for this week's theme.

First, delving into the archives.  Anyone remember this photo of our Moe on another set of metal playground equipment?

Honestly, Moe would rather lay on that piece of equipment all day than walk the park.  This was taken on a Fall day several years ago.  Moe will be 13 this year.  He has been with us since he was four months old and was adopted from Another Chance for English Setters.  Moe is the kind of guy that everyone loves, because he is so very laid back about life.

When I heard the theme for the week, my brain immediately went to the small metal crown I bought several years ago to have as an accessory for photos.  It has been sitting in my closet on a shelf since then, but immediately popped into my mind. My chance to use it. 

Lilah and I trooped over to the studio and after 201 attempts of having her try to sit still with it on her head, we finally got a shot that worked.

I think I like this little metal crown.  Just this week I mentioned on someone's Facebook post that Lilah has achieved the title of Queen of Whining, so it is fitting for her to have a crown.

For the photographers who read, I used a 70-200mm 2.8 Sigma lens on a Nikon D800 body.  Natural light streaming in from the door was my primary light source to a solid white background.  I dropped in the painted background in post processing, and added the wispy look to photo as well.  I also added a bit of pinkish treatment (a little more girly) by not brushing/masking off all of the background in certain areas.  I think Lilah's nose is shaped like a heart in this photo.  What do you think?

For more metal mania, the blog circle starts this week with Jo Lyons Photography - down-to-earth dog loving photographer for cherished dogs of Sydney up to the Great Lakes Region of NSW.  Click on the link to get there, then look for the link at the end of every blog to move around the circle.  Enjoy!

I know what you are thinking.  But no, it's not this.

This is a bouquet.  (Bo-kay)

The other is bokeh. (Bo-kuh)

It's that creamy background in a photo that many of us photographers love to see in our images.  It's achieved with various lenses (some have better bokeh than others) which are set at a very wide aperture setting or what we call "opened all the way up."

In the two images above, the shallow depth of field allows me to focus in on the subjects.  Because I have opened my aperture they are very much in focus, but the background is not.  What you see (that creamy look) is bokeh.

Here's a very recent one of Billie in her favorite spot at the window.

It was raining, so the water droplets on the window added some nice bokeh highlights.

To see more lovely images with creamy backgrounds, the blog circle is waiting.  Start this week's jaunt with Pet Photography Columbus Ohio, then work your way around the circle until you are back here again.  Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

This week's blog circle theme is "negative space."  I decided to take a slightly different slant on the theme, as this blog has already covered the topic of negative space twice.  (If you'd like to read both, simply use the search tool and type in "negative space.")

When I decided to take my hobby of photography and turn it into a profession, I was given an assignment in one of my photography classes to go out and find a subject (positive space) and use the space around it to create a dramatic image.  So back in 2013, I created this image while walking a local back road and finding some feral kittens being taken care of at a barn.

It was actually this assignment that got me to thinking about "space" in images, and how the use of space can create a dramatic image.  This was a much larger image, as I could not get close to the kittens or they would run inside the barn.  The orange kitten with the blue eyes, thought I was a curiosity, so he stopped to check me out.  My spacing of the kitten in the eventual cropped image, the elements I've left in, and the scene itself, is all quite deliberate.  This image is an example of negative space, but also in how the use of space helps to tell the story.

The use of blue sky and clouds in the heron image below (and the particular cropping of this image), is again able to lend drama to the photo.  This photo was taken in Assateague during a summer vacation.  The space surrounding the subject is the negative space.

Whether in the studio or on location, using the space around the subject can lend itself to an image with more impact.  In both photos below, the negative space lets the eye travel to the subject, and doesn't hem the subject in, as a centered crop might (with equal distance to either side of the subject).  I find negative space a dramatical tool to enhance the use of light in a photo.

Molly, below, looks into the distance, almost like she is thinking about the great treat she is going to get once she is done with this photo.  This would be a much different image cropped down.

The use of space to enhance a pink-tongued black lab, makes for a fun image.  The darkness in the space to the right, brings the eye back to the subject again and again.

Back in the very first blog post I ever did about negative space, I noted that I would be using it more often.  That prediction was certainly true. I use images with space quite a lot.  If I'm not giving extra space, I am cropping dramatically.  I guess that has evolved to my own personal style.

Space is, after all, the final frontier. :)

Enjoy more interpretations of space, time, matter and anti-matter (well, maybe just space...) in this week's blog circle.  Start with Pawparazzi Pet and Animal Photography presented by Shae Pepper Photography.  Have a great Friday and rest of your weekend! 

In the studio, it's relatively easy to fill a frame with your subject.  I often do headshots of pets as part of the "menu" of photographs for the session, and they are a classic example of frame filling photography work.  This beautiful Lab was a prime candidate for close up work and a frame-filling photo.

Sometimes more than one subject, all photographed at the same time, can fill up a frame.

In the example above, all three of these cuties were shot at the same time.  There is no piecing together for this photograph.  Aren't they adorable!  They each have their own very unique personalities, and it shows.

In the past, when photographing shelter pets, it would be important to sometimes fill the frame with other than shelter paraphernalia in the background.  Such was the case with the kitty and pup below, both taken in less than stellar environments, with too much going on to focus in on the subject.  Filling the frame gets rid of all the extras and lets the pet shine through.

I like to use extreme cropping techniques when I fill the frame in some cases.  Over the years I have filled the frame with many shelter and rescued pet faces, but these two really have been some of my favorites.

For more fill-the-frame techniques and interpretations, check out this week's blog circle.  I have been absent for a bit due to summer activities and studio work, but hope to participate these next few weeks before going on vacation.  I hope you have a great weekend!  We are having a heat wave.

Start the circle with Jo Lyons Photography, the down-to-earth, dog loving photographer for cherished dogs of Sydney up to the Great Lakes Region of NSW.  Enjoy!

This week's theme is "Doors," and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to participate due to my schedule, but as schedules often do, it changed, and I was glad to be able to do two things:

1.  Try out a door backdrop I had purchased from a fellow photographer a while back, but never got around to using.
2.  Try out a new light I purchased recently, but have not had time to set up.

The results are below, thanks to my model, Billie.  I thought she would do well to tax me in using the new light, because if I can light her, I can light anything; AND her coat has some blues in it, which I thought would lend itself to this particular backdrop.

The image above is a close up of Billie and the doors, but I wanted the entire door to show, so the second image showcases the door.

This is a particularly lovely backdrop, well made and I think actually looks like a real set of doors.

Billie moved slightly in this photo.  She is a very fidgety Miss.

I added the cobblestone underneath her feet from a stock photo I had taken of a street in Scranton.  I often take "extra" photos of skies and streets to add to photos here and there, when I think they might enhance the story.

The photo above is also moodier and darker than the second photo.  I only used the single (new) light in the photo above, but used the new light and a fill light in the second photo.

I think this door backdrop might make a great Christmas backdrop with the right props. 

I may just have to try it out this holiday season.  Maybe Santa standing near the door with a sack of toys?

What do you think?

The final photo below is my personal favorite because it shows Billie in her truest light.

This is a classic Billie look.  By this time I was really getting the hang of the new light, and Billie was sitting perfectly still.  All good things!

I am looking forward to seeing what comes up in the circle today. 

To see more "Doors," start with Jessica Wasik with Bark & Gold Photography, celebrating the joy and love between Pittsburgh pets and their people.  Enjoy and have a great weekend!

The song "It's raining it's pouring, the old man is snoring..." keeps playing over and over in my brain.  The reality keeps playing over and over in my yard.  I cut 1/4 of my yard grass on Wednesday.  That's because we had 15 minutes of sun to dry it out enough to be cut.  The other 3/4 of the yard was too wet, and the alligators wouldn't let me pass.

Yes, I have the blue sky blues, as in....there are few blue skies and I need to find more of them.

Because this week is full of storms, I went through and found some of my favorite blue sky images from the past, which also proves Northeastern Pennsylvania has the capability of producing lovely blues when it wants to.

A particularly great blue sky day in mid-September at DeCoverly Kennels.

A mesmerizing sky with Corey in the middle of summer.

A patch of blue at an area horse show.

Two setters ready to hit the road on a stellar blue sky day.

See, it does happen.  If only it would happen soon.  In the meantime, I hope you, at least, will have a blue sky weekend!

More blue skies coming your way in the blog circle.  Start with Pawparazzi Pet and Animal Photography presented by Shae Pepper. Happy Friday!

Oh man oh man....lately the selected themes have gotten me nostalgic for times gone by.  Last week's Mellow Yellow had me thinking of Donovan.  This week's theme, Fairytale, has me remembering the Rocky and Bullwinkle Cartoon Show.  Fractured Fairytales was one of the segments of the show.  Unlike regular fairytales, the fractured version always featured a twisted path, and my kind of humor. 

If you have never seen one, here's a link to one of my favorites.

With that in mind I set out to composite some fractured fairytales of my own.

Billie, who loves to chase squirrels, would probably love to live in a fairytale land where she could make all kinds of friends of creatures great and small.  So this week, I started with an older image of Billie, and added all the friends I thought she might like.  Once upon a time, there was a scruffy dog, who liked to romp with many different critters.

Baby bunny aside, her favorite would absolutely be that bushy-tailed squirrel.  You can't even S-P-E-L-L the word in my house.

Next up is a dog who loves the fairytale where the cat is sent packing, so she has the house and humans all to herself.  I call this one:  "I swear I didn't do it."

I love creating fairytale worlds.  Use your imagination and finish the story here.  Do they live happily ever after?  Hmmmmm.  I think not.

I can't wait to see everyone's take on the theme this week.  Start here with Jo Lyons Photography, the down-to-earth dog loving photographer for cherished dogs of Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and the Great Lakes Region of NSW.  Enjoy your weekend!  Looks like we are going to have our first dry weather weekend since March.  I hope that's not a fairytale!

Who remembers Donovan?  Raise your hand.

Mellow Yellow was one of my favorite sing-a-long songs.  Click here if you'd like to hear it.  I still don't know what all the lyrics mean.

This week the theme is "yellow."  I recently did a session for two rescue kitties, so I thought I would edit one of the photos with a yellow background.  Yellow often shows off a black cat, and that's exactly who visited me in the studio.  The result is below.  Patrick is available through Baby Jack's Rescue.

Patrick is 8 - 10 months old and up to date on his shots.  He is neutered.  Patrick is a lovely Tuxedo kitty (one of two that visited me that day), and has a great personality.  His brother, Dave, is also up for adoption through Baby Jack's.  They are both in foster care at the moment.  Although they were both a little nervous at first, they were happy sitting on my bench and were not at all bothered by my lighting.

I don't often use yellow as a background, but there are times when it fits in well.  Yellow, as a backdrop, can really reflect its own color on the subject, so you have to be careful in post processing to remove that reflection.

I especially like yellow flowers in the springtime as an outdoor backdrop, but it's been raining so much here lately, that we have not been able to shoot outside.  The ground is pure mush, and I don't see it drying out anytime soon.

Of course, I also like "mellow yellow" when it is the coat color of my subject.

There is nothing like the golden yellow color of a Retriever.  How about that smile?  Now that's MELLOW!

For more sunny yellow photos, visit the blog circle.  Start with Susannah Maynard of Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati, the San Francisco Bay Area, and destinations nationwide.  Have a great weekend, and let's hope that big yellow ball makes an appearance in Pennsylvania!