Katie does not see the resemblance

Between this:

and this:

Image copyright Andrew Chorney

I think I do -- at least as far as the nose goes.

(Top picture: Nikon D300 using the 50mm lens; aperture-priority with aperture set to f/2.8; camera chose shutter speed of 1/60 second at ISO 800; +0.7 exposure compensation; center-weighted metered; auto white balance; normal JPG.)

At times, Katie is regal...

...but this is not one of those times.

Seeing both ears "stand" like that...well, I could not pass that up.

(Shot with the Nikon D300 using the 50mm lens; aperture-priority with aperture set to f/2.8; camera chose shutter speed of 1/30 second at ISO 560; center-weighted metered; auto white balance; normal JPG.)

Simone (2009 - 2012)

Yesterday evening we made a sad trip to our vet's office and had our fourth rat, Simone, put down. A few weeks ago she was found to have a mass around her kidney that was going to take her eventually. After we got the news we resolved that we'd make her final days as comfortable as possible -- that we'd go for quality of life, not quantity.

One thing that Simone's vet suggested we do for her was to take her outside and let her bask in the sunshine. So on a couple of occasions at noon, within the span of a week, I took Simone from her cage, placed her in her pet carrier filled with her bed and fleece, and took her to our backyard. After putting her carrier down I opened the top door so she could stand and look about if she chose to do so. Both days were bright and sunny.

I had attempted to take pictures of all of the rats (we're on our fifth rat, Bailey, now) we've had at one time or another but they never really turned out. But with not knowing how much time we had left (perhaps a week or two) I had to see what I could get.

Here are pictures from the first time she sunbathed on the 13th:

 

And here is one from yesterday:

This is my final picture of her, taken a few hours before she left:

 

You would have no clue that she was so gravely ill.

On both occasions she even jumped on top of the flipped-up door, despite her condition; I had to gently pick her up and place her back inside. We were outside together for almost 15 minutes. I watched her lie down in her bed, getting comfortable but very curious about being outside. For the moments that she was still she seemed to enjoy the warm sunshine..at least, I like to think she did.

Then I took her back inside our house. And hours later she laid herself out on the floor of her cage, her hind feet splayed out to either side. It was time.

Dylan on the beach

Late afternoon is a personal favorite time of day for me to photograph. The light turns golden and gives a warmth to everything it touches, unlike at mid-day when colors are at their brightest and the shadows are deepest.

Late Sunday afternoon the group of us that rented a vacation house at Dewey Beach for the Columbus Day weekend were enjoying our last full day on the beach before heading for home. I spied Dylan sitting on the beach and looking over his shoulder. I took several snaps and hoped I got something decent. This is one of those pictures:

 

After I got home it sat unprocessed for a couple of months. When I finally got around and worked on it I straightened the horizon, cloned away his leash, added a graduated filter along the top to darken the sky a bit, and upped the vibrance and clarity. It wasn't until I looked closer afterwards that I noticed I hadn't even gotten his face in focus. Although this is a wide-angle shot and he isn't too blurry as opposed to the waves behind him, I'm annoyed that I thought I had him in focus but apparently I didn't.

I will get a better picture of you, Dylan. I promise.

(Shot with the Nikon D300 using the 18-200mm zoom at 31mm; shutter-priority with shutter speed set at 1/1000 second; camera set aperture to f/5.6 at ISO 400; matrix-metered; daylight white balance; normal JPG.)

Bootsy on the beach

Bootsy is one of those greys who roos easily. And he makes a nice subject to photograph on a beach at sunrise.

 

Since I wanted to place the sun behind him I had to use flash in order to fill in some shadows. I had the camera set to aperture-priority and the flash to rear-sync to expose the background better, otherwise I was afraid the sky might come out too dark. Memory fails me if I even bothered to look through the viewfinder to frame the shot, but I don't think I did. (Looking through the viewfinder in the sun's direction is a dangerous thing to do.) I suppose it would've been nice if the leash wasn't in the picture, but I'm not about to ask my friend to let Bootsy off-leash. I added a vignette using Lightroom.

Two things are visible that I didn't notice at the time I took the picture: a jet contrail, and a nose droplet.

(Shot with the Nikon D300 using the 18-200mm zoom and the SB-800 flash; lens set at 18mm; aperture-priority with aperture set to f/3.5; camera chose shutter speed of 1/1000 second at ISO 200; normal JPG.)

Katie keeps an eye on things

(Shot with the Nikon D300 using the 50mm lens; aperture-priority with aperture set at f/2; camera chose shutter speed of 1/40 second at ISO 800; center-weighted metering; +2/3 exposure compensation; auto white balance; post-processed using Lightroom; normal JPG.)

The year may change...

...but some things never change: like a good late-afternoon nap.

 

(Shot with the Nikon D300 using the 50mm lens; aperture-priority with aperture set to f/2.8; camera chose shutter speed of 1/50 second at ISO 400; center-weighted metered; auto white balance; normal JPG.)