Thursday, December 8, 2011

Berry and Ziva

Friends of mine from Massachusetts asked me to photograph their two hounds, Berry and Ziva, on Sunday morning. I had met Berry and Ziva at Dewey the year before, and at that time they were accompanied by a third greyhound (Marco). Marco was not doing well, so my friends asked me to stop by their motel room and try to get a few pictures of him. I was more than happy to do so, and I thought I got a few that they would be happy with.

Marco passed over the course of the year, and when Dewey came around they wanted Berry and Ziva photographed. For whatever reason Berry was harder for me than Ziva. I just couldn't seem to get an angle that I liked for Berry. More of a problem about me than about Berry, really. But here are a couple that I was okay with:

Berry

Berry 

Ziva was much easier for me. I suppose being younger and more energetic worked in my favor. She would go zip! to the right of my viewfinder, then turn around and go zip! in the opposite direction:

Martha and Ziva 

But she would pause long enough for me to get a head shot or two:

Ziva 

Ziva 

Ziva's furry neck reminds me very much of Nik's, as does her color.

Surprisingly there were few people out on the beach that Sunday morning. But that completely changed before my final session that afternoon.

(Shot with the Nikon D300 using the 18-200mm zoom and SB-800 flash; program mode; camera chose 1/250 second at apertures ranging from f/13 to f/18; ISO 200; daylight white balance; slow-sync; shot in RAW.)

7 comments:

  1. They're both gorgeous! We have a friend here with a Greyhound named Ziva, and she's a very furry dark brindle, too. I really love that first shot of Berry the best! That pose really shows off her neck.

    If I were going to ask for a good lens for Christmas, what's one that you really recommend?

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  2. Funny how some dogs are just harder to photograph for whatever reason. Makes you appreciate it when you finally get a decent shot.

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  3. carrie, what lenses do you have now?

    gyeong, i just wasn't "feeling it". i couldn't get a good angle on berry. i had no imagination at all.

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  4. Right now I have a 55-200mm and an 18-55mm and that's it!

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  5. Love the b&w photos!
    Michelle

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  6. carrie, right now you have all the lenses you need for 95% of your situations. the only thing i think you lack is a fast prime lens. a fast prime lens (like the nikon 35mm f/1.8 af-s or the 50mm f/1.8 af-s) will allow you to shoot indoors without flash and at lower ISOs (higher ISOs introduce more electronic "noise" in pictures, although newer DSLRs are better at keeping it at bay). just a suggestion -- your mileage may vary.

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  7. Thank you! I knew you'd have something good to suggest! :)

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