How to photograph your pet

When I was a child I wanted to be a veterinarian or zoologist very badly. My love for animals was so great my family ended up taking in pets on account of me. My parents are not exactly animal lovers, so I did not inherit this trait from them. They tend to view animals as animals and not as creatures that can be cuddled with or trained or loved in close proximity.

I continue to love animals and am very passionate about photography. However, taking photos of animals is not always a walk through the park. Often there is constant movement to deal with. Or if I am taking a photo of my sister's dogs they like to lick my face in the process or they will move closer in order to inspect the camera... "Sit still" doesn't always register. So, here are the strategies I use for pet photography:

1.) Take more than one photo. Like maybe 100 at one time in order to get 3 adequate photos.
And (I can not stress this enough):
2.) Get close. How close? Very close. So close you can smell your dogs malodorous breath or you can hear the vibrant purr of your cat. (Interesting enough, these two strategies also apply to taking photos of people.)

Here are a few examples:






Of course, there are other methods for taking amazing pet photos that do not involve close-up photography... but that will have to be another discussion for another time.

Photo break

I'll be Florida for the next few days and don't plan on updating during that time. In the meantime feel free to enjoy photos from a recent walk in the park:



To view the photos in a new window click here.

Michigan is beautiful in the summer months, is it not?

Photo talk

"Excuse me, can I take your picture?"

These can be difficult words for a photographer. Flickr user, stpiduko, has no trouble saying these words. His People I Have Asked photoset is evidence of this. Of course, I wanted to know more and so I enjoyed reading his entry on how he goes about asking people on the street if he can photograph them.

An excerpt from the entry:

Q: Do people ever say ‘No’ ?
A: Success rate is about 90%, never really minded people saying ‘No’, what’s worse is, if I let someone pass that I wanted to photograph but didn’t bother asking.

Do I ever see people on the street I'd like to photograph? Yes. Do I always approach them? No. I went through my flickr photostream and found this photograph of someone I asked:



(Click on image for larger size.)

The young boy was preparing to take my order at a summer ice cream spot. I like that you can tell he takes his job very seriously.

I am currently wondering if I should be branching out and asking more people, "Can I take your picture?" Right now I'm borrowing a simple point-and-shoot camera but when I have a new camera perhaps I will try my hand at being bolder.

Danger at every turn

A part of traveling is spontaneity. One might plan their vacation in full detail right down to a minute-by-minute itinerary but once the vacation is underway plans have a way of shifting. One might decide to take the road less traveled. Or, to simply throw out previous plans and spend the trip in the hotel room watching HBO instead of taking in the Louvre or the Loire Valley.

This last April I visited my sister, Sara, who currently lives in Florida. I made absolutely no plans in advance. It wasn’t until I reached Fort Lauderdale that I began to wonder, “Wait, where is Fort Lauderdale on a Florida map?” This is the answer to that question.

The main reason I didn’t do any planning is that I knew I was visiting Sara, the queen of travel. She would know where to go, what to do, what SPF level of sunscreen I should apply, if we should party in Miami with Gisele (something she has already done at a previous party), and if I should take the advice of our Dad who, when hearing of my trip, took the time to give me an extensive lecture on avoiding stingrays.

Oh, I listened to my Dad’s detailed warning, patiently thinking, This man is crazy, this man is nuts, because, Why not? He loves me. And maybe he seriously believes his daughter is in danger of being stung by a stingray.

I remember going to Yellowstone National Park at 19 years old and calling home to check in with my parents. When my Dad got on the phone all he could talk about was the danger of Grizzly Bears. He was probably certain his carefree daughter would go traipsing through the woods and end up trying to cuddle a Grizzly cub. After all, have you seen how cute bear cubs are? There is a reason why teddybears are so popular.

Although I listened to his stingray lecture I sort of found the whole thing amusing, rather than informative. While on the trip Sara and I spent some time on the beach in Fort Myers. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my Dad had contacted the city prior to my visit, urging them to post this sign:



Okay, so maybe he didn’t contact the city and maybe the sign was already in existence prior to my visit. Maybe stingrays do hang out on Florida beaches, waiting for unsuspecting tourists who don’t have fathers to warn them of disaster. When I look at this photo now all I can do is smile. It reminds me that even when I believe I am being spontaneous, the voice of Dad will be with me.

Florida in photos

All the photos from my Florida trip in April are up on flickr. For some reason uploading the photos took forever. Here are a few of my favorites from the set:







I'll be returning to Florida later this summer. (After all, it's important that someone in my family keeps an eye on my sister, Sara, who moved down there.) I plan on taking more photos on the next trip because, you know, you can never have enough photos of Florida... Maybe by then I'll have a fancy digital SLR camera? A girl can dream, can't she?

Photo update

I've posted the first batch of Florida photos up on flickr.

Trendy subject matter on flickr's Explore page

As a lover of flickr I try to keep an eye on flickr's Explore page. (For best viewing I go to the individual day and browse the photos.) The Explore page is the best of the best. The top 500 photos of the day, even though rankings are always changing. I've checked the Explore page enough times now that I've noticed certain trends in what makes a photo popular. I've put together my list below. Also, I realize there are exceptions to the rule and this list is based on my opinion alone. Anyway, on with the list.

Trendy subject matter on flickr's Explore page:

Landscape, picturesque scene (think lake with mountain in background)

Sunsets/Sunrises/the Moon

Flowers

Sexy/Erotic women (often in very little clothing)

Cute child (often a girl)

Babies

Dogs/Cats (additional points for kittens/puppies)

Birds (usually a close up shot of a single bird taken from a telephoto lens)

Horses

Apple products (often iPods or the newest Apple product of the moment)

And have I ever made it into the top 500? Why, yes, I have. Here are the three photos that have brought me flickr fame:



Interesting enough, the three photos provide support for my list above. Photos of dogs appear to be well received. I used Scout to find the photos of mine that have been on the Explore page.

Preaching on the street

Sometimes when I walk around downtown I notice scribbled messages or posters that broadcast a particular point of view and/or cause. I always wonder who goes to the trouble to make these public announcements. After all, it has to take a certain amount of time and commitment. Individual broadcasting impresses me the most.

So, this is a poster I walk by often and seeing Medusa always makes me smile:



I like the artwork and if you scan the poster you won't be able to find a corporate logo or organization's name attached to it. Maybe this poster was a student's art project? The poster reads: "Beauty must be defined as what we are, or else the concept itself is our enemy."

When the holiday season is over

There is a flickr group devoted to Christmas Tree Carcasses. Whenever I see discarded Christmas trees out at the road I feel a little sad. Maybe this is the reason why I think using real Christmas trees is wrong. I'm not an extreme environmentalist but I do think cutting down real trees for a short one month span is a little wasteful. But more importantly, seeing old Christmas trees out at the road, stripped naked of their holiday decor, is too much for my fragile heartstrings to bear.