Friday, June 28, 2013

Project 52: Over Post Processing

This week the theme is Over Post Processing:
"Many of us strive to make our photos look natural, but for this week, I'd like to you to do the opposite, and go crazy with the post processing. A photo that is pretty obviously edited. Think creative, stylistic or artistic."


This is a processing method I like to do sometimes, and when I do I often add elements into the background. In this case I liked the negative space so I have not done that. Obviously I did a fair amount of work on this but his eyes really are that colour. Striking, aren't they?!

Project 52 is a group project. Please visit all the other talented pet photographers, starting with Stacey Gammon Pet Photography, New Jersey, by following the links at the bottom of our posts.

Tracy Sutherland Photography specializes in timeless classic representations of the pets that enrich our lives. Tracy lives in Sea to Sky country north of Vancouver, BC, Canada, and works in Whistler, Squamish, and Vancouver.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Project 52: Body Parts ~ Pet Photography

We had fairly basic instructions this week:
"This week theme will be Various Body Parts of your pets, for example, pricked ears, innocent or big round eyes, curly or flurry tails and etc. Have fun!"

"Have fun" she said, and fun we had.


And, just for (more) fun, here are some ferret toes. Ferret toes and little girl hands, which aren't really as dirty as they look.


Project 52 is a group project. Please visit all the other talented pet photographers, starting with Kelly Coyle (Sweet Silver Photography, Nashville, Tennessee), by following the links at the bottom of our posts.

Tracy Sutherland Photography specializes in timeless classic representations of the pets that enrich our lives. Tracy lives in Sea to Sky country north of Vancouver, BC, Canada, and works in Whistler, Squamish, and Vancouver.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Project 52 - Negative Space

This week the theme for P52 is Negative Space. I use a lot of negative space in my photography, so this was a relatively easy week for me. Caiman and I went out into our back yard yesterday and just hung around for a while.

Close up photo of dog showing one eye with negative space

In this next photo Caiman proves that you are never too old to play with a stuffed hedgehog, especially if it has pink toes and squeaks loudly when stepped on. I was experimenting with the processing in this one and the colours ended up differently than my norm, but I think I like them like this.

Portrait of Caiman lying in the back yard

And, finally, a shot taken yesterday that was not specifically for this post. It fits the theme though! These three were part of a much larger flock of geese, and I like the rhythm to the way they are turning their heads.

Canada geese swimming

Project 52 is a group project. Please visit all the other talented pet photographers, starting with Melbourne Pet Photographer, by following the links at the bottom of our posts.

Tracy Sutherland Photography specializes in timeless classic representations of the pets that enrich our lives. Tracy lives in Sea to Sky country north of Vancouver, BC, Canada, and works in Whistler, Squamish, and Vancouver.

Friday, June 7, 2013

P52 - Blur

This week the theme for P52 is Blur.
"As pet photographers, two of the most important things we strive for is sharp focus of our subjects and overall clarity of the image. Therefore we sometimes forget that blur can be beautiful. Blur adds expression and artistry to our images. So let's experiment with blur this week! Whether in the foreground, in the background or all throughout image, let's unfocus ourselves from sharpness."

It seemed to me to be a good time to experiment with the Brenizer Method, which uses multiple images stitched together in Photoshop to simulate a wider aperture than the camera lens actually has. In other words, it allows for more blur in the image than would usually occur. There was a learning curve for me - this was not my first attempt - but I ironed out the worst of the problems. This isn't something I expect to use often but I am glad that I tried it out.

Portrait of a brown dog in front of yellow flowers

Project 52 is a group project. Please visit all the other talented pet photographers, starting with Barking Lab Studio, NJ dog photography, by following the links at the bottom of our posts.

Tracy Sutherland Photography specializes in timeless classic representations of the pets that enrich our lives. Tracy lives in Sea to Sky country north of Vancouver, BC, Canada, and works in Whistler, Squamish, and Vancouver.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

creativeLIVE workshop in Seattle

The week before last I was in Seattle for 4 nights. Two of the days I participated in Arica Dorff's Pet Photography Workshop at creativeLIVE, and the third day I played tourist.

This was my second time at creativeLIVE. I enjoyed myself greatly both times. There is something special about spending such a concentrated period of time with people who share my enthusiasms. My fellow students at the workshops and I will stay in touch and continue to encourage and support one another.

Here we all are after the second day. This photo was taken with Karen's camera.

Group photo taken with Karen's camera

From left to right: Me, Darcy, Melissa, Rebecca, Paula, Arica, Christiana, Karen, and Heidi.

On the sightseeing day we managed to fit in many of Seattle's tourist landmarks including the Space Needle, Pike's Market, and a view of downtown from the hillside. My absolute favourite part was the Chihuly glass exhibit at the base of the Space Needle. I would happily go again - it was easily the best $19 I spent that day. My photos don't show the scale of the work. These pieces are enormous.

Photograph of glass art
Photograph of glass art
Photograph of glass art
Photograph of glass art