Who knows what pets are thinking? For dogs it is pretty easy to guess: food, walks, toys, sleeping, and ear scratches. Maybe chase a squirrel. It makes for fun animal photography.
Dog licks her nose
Archive for the ‘Animal Photography’ Category
- 29th June 2010
Thinking of Doggie Treats – Day 299 of 365
written by dav.d- 14th June 2010
Baby Geese at Liberty Park Before the Oil Spill
written by dav.dYou never know when your photography will take on a whole new meaning. On Friday June 11th, 2010 there was an oil spill that leaked into Red Butte Creek and then found its way into the Liberty Park pond. Two days before, on Wednesday, I was there photographing the Canadian Geese and the ducks. So when I saw the news report covering Chevron’s oil spill it sort of hit home.
And this morning on Fox 13 they reported that about 4 of the baby geese that were living in the pond had died from the oil. These are photos I hadn’t published till now. Hopefully they will act as a mini-memorial to nature and the responsibility we have to care for the earth.
Baby Canadian Goose before Friday's Oil Spill
I feel guilty driving a car that uses gasoline. I even commute to Provo 4 days a week to work – so in many respects I feel like I am partly responsible. It is easier to keep the earth clean rather than try and clean it. What can we do in our own lives to conserve?
Baby Canadian Geese at Liberty Park
Before Friday's Oil Spill
Hunting for food
Before Chevron's Oil Spill into Liberty Park's Pond
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- 9th June 2010
Duck, Duck, GOOSE! – Day 279 of 365
written by dav.dHooray for public parks with ponds. I wanted to test out my repaired Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. This lens has been sent to Nikon THREE times for repair – for the same problem. This time they replaced the silent wave motor, the focus ring, and several other components. So far so good.
I was photographing some baby geese at the pond in Liberty Park when this one goose decided to spread its wings and look cool for the camera. So he/she/it gets to be the daily photograph.
Goose spreads his wings
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- 29th May 2010
Animal Headshots – Day 267 of 365
written by dav.dI was fiddling with my camera and trying to get a photo of Annie as she was just hanging out at home (all she does is hang out). And all I got was this headshot which looks like it should be for her doggie passport photo. If the weather were better we could take her to a park and run and then I could do ideal pet photography.
Annie's Headshot
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- 24th May 2010
Western Tanager – Day 263 of 365
written by dav.dI was not planning on bird photography today. In fact I was planning on taking my lens back to the shop to be repaired – which opened up the opportunity to take this photograph. I usually don’t carry my 70-200mm lens around. However, while I was stopping at the bank I noticed 3 of these birds just having a fun time in this red leaf tree.
So I parked my car close by and I was able to get this photograph. I did crop the photo – even 200mm is short for true bird photographers – you often want 600mm-800mm lenses to get you really close. Especially when birds will skip town on a moments notice. And I found out the bird through google and comparing the colors and markings.
Western Tanager
A pretty lucky find and at first I thought some birds had escaped from a pet store since they seem way to colorful for Utah.
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- 22nd April 2010
Golden Retriever is Super Bored – Day 231 of 365
written by dav.dWhile waiting to photograph some roofing shingles I snapped a few photographs of Joaquin the Golden Retriever. I had been playing with him and his favorite toy a worn out tennis ball. Well, he got bored and so I took a few photos as he kept an eye on that tennis ball. If that ball moved he was going to be on top of it like white on rice.
Animal photography is always a bit of a challenge – you can’t keep them still usually and they are easily distracted. So you need a long lens and follow them as they act naturally. I think this is the best way to photograph animals. Granted a 85mm lens prime lens may not work so great because it doesn’t zoom. However, the bokeh and the shallow depth of field on that camera lens is amazing. I am still drooling over the camera – good thing it is water resistant.
Worn tennis ball and a golden retriever
Golden retriever
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- 1st April 2010
Yet More Lensbaby with a Wide Angle – Day 210 of 365
written by dav.dMother nature played a cruel April Fools Day joke. I woke up to find my car covered in 8 inches of show and with 4 inches from the day before there is just a lot of damn snow. And it was freezing – and so I really wasn’t motivated to photograph much and so I unfortunately felt obligated to take some craptactular photographs for the day’s 365 daily photograph project.
But they are with my Canon Lensbaby with the .42 wide angle attachment – which makes a world of difference. I find that the normal Lensbaby is just too narrow and you really really need some wide angle attachments to make it work.
So here is a photo of my evening routine – packing my camera bag and my gym bag. Get that done in the evening so everything is ready in the morning.
Packing my camera bag and gym back
And when I thought that photo was boring I decided to photograph my Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens. I liked the concept of photographing an amazing lens with a Lensbaby (which has nothing but imperfections).
Canon 50mm f/1.2 photographed with a Lensbaby with Wide Angle
And finally I thought I would see how easy it is to photograph a dog with the Lensbaby. It isn’t easy. Since the Lensbaby is manual focus and dogs don’t keep still for too long. The wide angle was also a poor choice because you have to get really close. So animal photography with a Lensbaby only works if the animal is dead or tranquilized.
Annie the dog (is evil)
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- 25th March 2010
Treats for dogs and for dav.d – Day 203 of 365
written by dav.dI have my Canon 5D Mark II back from the repair shop so I can finally use my Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens with the über shallow depth of field. Here you can see that the dogs (Annie and Diego) are barely in focus – just their eyes. This is why I invested in my new Canon gear. It really looks so cool and I want to use this lens on people dang it! Maybe this Saturday.
I photographed the dogs begging for their doggie treats and then I photographed my treat – a V8. I need to eat more fruit and veg and hopefully this will help. And it is low sodium to help control cholesterol and blah blah blah.
Annie begs for a treat
Diego begs for a treat
dav.d's special treat - a V8