Urban

We live 23 miles northwest of the city of Scranton, our largest metropolitan area. and the seventh most populous city in Pennsylvania, with close to 78,000 people.  That being said, we moved away from population overload and out to rural American in 1995 and have never looked back.  Now, our small town suburban areas are where we shop and take our dogs for walks and attend events.

It's because of this that I usually seek out small town ambiance for most of my sessions that are not done in studio or on location at a park.  I feel safer with dogs in a less populated environment, where less traffic (both pedestrian and street) make getting the right shot difficult sometimes.

Above is a photo of Billie taken in the historic district of downtown Wyalusing.  I did want to showcase some of the great color schemes of the street, and I was happy with her reflection in the door.  I held my breath hoping her stay was good enough for the duration of the photo, so the fact that she is not looking at the camera is due to the hurried nature of the shot. Still, I am happy with it.

In my past life I worked in the city of Scranton, at The University of Scranton, which is a beautiful urban campus.  I sometimes will take one of our dogs on a walk there in the better weather, and once students have left at the end of the semester.  Such was the case when I took this photo last year.

Animals of Billie's size are often dwarfed by their surroundings in urban settings, so you do have to get closer if your focus is simply the animal.  In this case, I did want a full photo of this beautiful, and relatively new, science center.  However, below I brought this down to perspective for Billie, which brought us a little bit closer.

I used a 24-70mm lens, which accounts for the angle and the distortion you see.  But in this case, I thought it all helped to give a different perspective on the subjects (the building and Billie).

I like the Wyalusing photo much better, showcasing that suburban setting, but it really all depends on what you want and what your eye sees at the time.  Urban can be fun, but I am generally not looking for an urban location, unless a client lives in the city and wants to specifically highlight where they live. 

For more urban settings, the blog circle awaits. Start here with St. Cloud MN dog photographer, Cahlean Klenke of  About A Dog Photography.  Look for the links at the bottom of each blog, which will take you to the next one.

I am off to the Professional Photographers of Pennsylvania INSPIRE Conference this weekend, and I am looking forward to continue to enhance my photographic education!  It's always a fun time with my fellow PA photographer friends! I hope your weekend is full of urban conquests!  Enjoy!