Grace

This is Grace our pet dog, in the "Please Give Me The Cheese"

position. My wife is out of the shot holding her favourite titbit in an effort

to keep her still while I took the shot. Grace adopted us when we visited

a rescue centre a few months ago, we since found out that she is

a "Lancashire Heeler" a comparitively rare breed of dog. But she's just

Grace to us, a lovely natured dog and a lot of fun. Your thoughts and

comments are always welcome. Thank You.

what a great portrait (and black and white is perfect!); well done!  regards from Canada.  cb  :-)

Very beautiful shot with great light and B&W tonality.Thanks for sharing.

My best regards.

Kallol

 

Really beautiful work with impressive lighting, Alf!

 

Grace seems very 'gracefu'l to me, & especially in her 'cheese position'...  :-)  A beautiful dog, and as others pointed out, the (subdued) light & B&W tones were very nicely handled by you, Alf.  I like the format too, although I wonder what an elongated vertical format would look like as well here..? But you can always save that for a future Grace frontal portrait, as she looks like serious photo-model material to me in any case... :-) Best regards to you, Marjolein

A beautiful portrait...I love the richness of the blacks here.

Grace is such a cutie and a very lucky lady to have been adopted into a "cheesy" home!  A wonderful portrait...  Mike

Outstanding!! I love it.

Cheers

Alf,

 First of all Grace is beautiful.  Wonderful portrait with beautiful processing & details.  A image to put in the scrapbook.  Thanks for sharing.  Take care, Patsy

I love the way she emerges from the darkness.   She's really beautiful.  HEr ears are cute, and I love the softened effect of them -- keeping the focus on her eyes and nose as center points.  She has a sweet expression -- so hopeful.  I like that bit of white hairs under her chin-- something ... a little imperfection that helps turn her into perfection like a beauty mark...  Interesting choice to negate her body/neck in that way/ it's successful.  i love the way you write she adopted you guys.  I had the same experience with a dog adopting me a dog shelter -- they make for the best dogs-- wonderful .  i wish you guys so much fun.  Love the b&w.  It's an endearing portrait, but, I think if it were enlarged, I might wish to see the whole dog

Wonderful shot 7/7. Love the BW tones and clarity. Super DOF. Beautiful pet - we miss our dog who entertained us for 12 years. Dave

Great portrait of this gentle soul.  Great tonal range and excellent B&W conversion.  I love the highlights in her hair and catch light in her eyes.  Nice separation with the background.  Great pose and expression (even begging  she looks dignified).  Regards - michel

This is really a portrait, portrait of a dog though, but has all the needed characteristics of a good portrait! Lovely doggy!

Best regards Alf!

PDE

Alf,

For some reason, pet photography has never really interested me... but this is a spectacular photo!

Regards,

Charlie

Wonderful canine portrait and works beautifully in mono.

Regards...........John

I agree, nice pet portrait.  In the spirit of offering a technique to 'improve' this type of shot I suggest a second, off camera flash on the left & behind Grace.  This would put a defining highlight on her face, separating her from the black background.  Dark fur is tough to get details from but you've done well here thanks to the bit of gray on her.  Whatever, a fine result for the family album.  Best, LM. 

Alf, She looks like a wonderful companion, and treats always get their undivided attention. I like the way the light falls off from the neck, though this is probably due to the change of color in the coat. The trace of light behind her is effective in reducing what could have been a stark black background. The highlight in the eye and on the nose and mouth is nicely done. 

CHARLES

Many thanks for your interest and positive feedback, much appreciated. Its the first time I've tried something like this so I'm very pleased with the response.

Best Regards

Alf

KALLOL R

Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

RUUD

Many thanks for your posiitve feedback, the lighting was just from the kitchen window, nothing elaborate.

Best Regards

Alf

MARJOLEIN

Grace is anything but "graceful"  she is a muck magnet and nothing like a lady : - )  But she puts on a good act when she wants something. The lighting was just the natural light from the kitchen window, but when I processed the shot in lightroom I played about with the vignette effects and finally decided that this dark one worked ok. As for the format, well it started off as landscape orientation and I cropped it, I did consider the vertical format you suggested but every time I looked through the viewfinder I could see my wifes hand holding the cheese: - )  I will try a more frontal portrait with the vertical format you suggest, if I can get her to sit still again of course. 

Sincere Thanks and Best Regards

Alf

JIM

ManY thanks for your interest and kind words, I'm very flattered you like this, as I know you have produced some stunning portraits of Beau & Annie

Kind Regards

Alf

MIKE

We are definately the lucky ones being adopted by such a "cheesy" dog.  Theres never a dull moment when she's about, she keeps us laughing and everyone loves her.  I'm really glad you liked this one Mike and  sincere thanks for your comments, much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

ALBERTO

Who could resist that face eh! : - )  i'm really glad you like dit my friend, many thanks for stopping by.

Best Regards

Alf

PATSY

Yes I agree, definately one for the family album I think, Many thanks for your positive feedback and kind words.

Best Regards

Alf

DONNA

I'm a bit biased, but I have to agree she really is beautiful : - ) The photo was taken with an aperture of f4 and as such had a relatively shallow depth of field, making the ears appear soft and as you coreectly observed keeping the focus on the eyes (which was my focus point) and nose which fell into the same focal plane.

She is such a character, we never stop laughing when she's about. She has now almost perfected her latest trick, she throws her toys, and we go fetch : -)

I have tried to capture her as the "whole dog" but to date, none have done her justice. But I'm sure its just a matter of time before I do catch her right.

Sincere thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations Donna, much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

DAVE

Sincere thanks for your thoughtful comments and positive feedback, very much appreciated! I know just what you mean about missing your dog, 12 years is a long time, and the bonds that we form with our pets are very strong. They can never be replaced as each one has thier own character and unique relationship with their owner, but from a personal perspective, there is some consolation in knowing I provided everythng I could for my last dog, and that gave me heart to try and do the same for another dog that didn't have a home. We did get lucky with Grace though : - )

Best Regards

Alf

MICHEL

I'm very flattered ref: - the B & W comments in particular, it's something I've struggled with in the past, but I have now figured another way of processing them using channels, and it seems more successful.

As for Grace, she is quite gentle, I can take anything from her mouth, hide chews etc I don't quite know how she managed to look "dignified" I think it mght have been intent concentration : - )

Sincere thanks for your observations and invaluable feedback!

Best Regards

Alf

PIERRE

I did a portrait of the wife too, but she didn't have a wet nose or hairy ears so this one won : - )

Many Thanks Pierre always good to hear from you.

Best Regards

Alf

CHARLIE

I have to admit, pet photography has never really interested me a great deal either. This is really my first serious attempt, and I'm very pleased you liked it. 

Many Thanks and Kind Regards

Alf

TINA

Thanks for your positive feedback, much appreciated.

Alf

JOHN

I've always struggled with B & W but recently started processing them a a different way and so far, they look ok.  Glad you liked this one John.

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards

Alf

LEN

Don't start getting all technical on me, I can barely point the camera in the right direction and you want me to try a "second flash"  : - )

Seriously though I do appreciate the suggestion, as this is my first attempt at a portrait of any kind. Just to let you know how this one was done.  The light was from the window to the right and above of Grace and from the doorway behind me. It was quite well illuminated so I didn't use a flash of any kind. When I processed the RAW file in lightroom, I chose a dark vignette and then selectively darkened the area around her face. Then unsharp mask to finish off.

Sincere Thanks and Best Regards

Alf

TONY

She is a delight.......well unless she's ate spicy food...but we won't go there :- ) 

The original shot was quite bright, but selective darkening and a dark vignette left the trace of light behind her that you refer to.  You are quite accurate in your assessment regarding her coat, it does indeed darken to black from her neck down. Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful observations Tony.

Best Regards

Alf

 

Alf you are just getting better and better - superb shot and very good processing. You might say, She is all about GRACE with a sparkle of expectation in her eyes. All the very best.

Hi Alf

 

Grace is beautiful and you have captured the "cheese" position suberbly, I love the B & W ,an exquisite portrait....would have rated it 7....well done!

 

Regards Jacqueline

ALF!

What a beauty! love from first sight.

What do you mean a red card? the pitch is hers.

Take care,

Dror

I love your landscapes, but who can resist this one? Just amazing. And not to loose her, she goes to my favourits. Thanks ,Tamara

A lovely capture of Grace, Alf. Knowing how much you and your wife love her, and how you have spoken of her, it further enhances her 'adoring' face. Even while she was patiently waiting for a treat, I think she is quite engrossed in the one who is offering the treat.

Beautiful soft lighting and the vigenette worked out perfectly. The thought went through my mind a few days ago, after I had looked again at the captures of her that you had sent to me 'I wonder why Alf doesn't post a few photos of Grace?'. And remarkably, here she is. This one would look excellent framed. She is such an important member of your family, and entered your world at just the right moment.

Sincere thoughts and regards, Gail

 

so much so that good pictures of people could be said to be, "Canopomorphic."  That's why we love them.  Great picture.  best, jamie

Lovely shot! Best regards, Ilkka