What could I say about "Honey". She is the most adorable, loving dog that we ever had. When my wife and I decided to get another dog we wanted a short hair, extra calm and friendly dog. Honey meets the friendly criteria but she is a little hyper, a little nutty and long haired. She gives us total unconditional love with absolutely no pre-conditions. She is by far is the smartest dog that I have ever had dealings with. Her mother was a Golden Retriever and her father was we believe a Border Collie. She's five years old and a little gray hair now appears on her chin. She has a tiny white triangle of baby soft fur on her lower chest between her two front legs and little white hairs between her toes. Other then that pitch black. My wife attributes her shinny coat to the fact that we give her one of the best dog food's around. The name being Nutra Natural Choice Large Breed Adult. Even though she is five years old she is still a baby at heart. She steals your slipper, sneakers, hat, or whatever and runs around the house for you to catch her and is such a devil always trying to get in trouble and tormenting us with her childish antics. But that is "Honey" and we would have it no other way. We love her dearly. By the way she is named after my wife's childhood dog when she was in grammar and high school.
One of the tricks of pet photography is to always get down to there level. Some times being in close also works. Well I did both. With a pocket full of treats I placed her on one of her beds. They say when you point a camera at a dog they feel threatened so I let her sniff and investigate the camera to quite her down and sort of squelch any fears. That done I took about thirty shots and had about three keepers. At first I focused on her eyes but then her chin was out of focus. So I stopped down to f/16, focused on her chin and the eyes were in acceptable focus. I could see this pretty good on the rear display by zooming in on her eyes. I had her bed in front of our dark blue sofa so that the background would not be distracting. Over all I think it turned out nicely.
Exif data is as follows: Image taken on January 21, 2009 at 4:21 PM. Nikon D-90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens. Aperture priority, Matrix metering, ISO-200, WB-Auto, 1/60sec. f/16. No exposure or flash compensation.
Enjoy 
Honey looks like a very sweet girl. We are dog lovers here as well with one very spoiled Chocolate Lab. You captured Honey's loving personality beautifully in this picture, Edmund.
ReplyDeleteI love this! She is a Honey!
ReplyDeleteShe looks like a honey too Edmund. I like how you can see her clearly and she still shows up as black. I have a 50mm too and haven't used it too much inside just yet. I am glad to see you can use a high F stop and not too high ISO. I am always pushing the limits on both ends. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy SHE LUVS'YA Eddie, I had a labradour Dingo cross who may have matched her for smarts. we kept her fur shiny with a feed of deepsea fish at least once a week, but I can assure you you have to get well soon cause there is a ton of WALKIES to catch up on.
ReplyDeleteGreat Shot Lovely Honey.
That's a lovely shot, Edmund, and she's a lovely lady. Very nice portrait!
ReplyDeletewow what a precious shot! I am going to use your helpful tips to see if I can get a shot of my crazy new dog! honey is beautiful I'm in NJ maybe she can meet up with my "cash" one day :)
ReplyDeleteShe's a beauty, a great portrait. I've had terrible times trying to shoot black dogs, good job...
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet picture--you've captured her soulful eyes!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful puppy portrait! She is one gorgeous girl!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet looking dog! Nice photo - thanks for the info on how it was shot!
ReplyDeleteHiding so I can't contact you eh Show an email address you coward, and Just wait until I tell Julie you called her Miss Conduct in your last comment on my Lorikeet.
ReplyDeleteYour mate on an island, the worlds biggest.
Honey is a honey....wonderful portrait Eddie!
ReplyDeleteShe is a beautiful "puppie". You can see her lovingness in her adorable face. I love it when they are so playful. A great companion to have. Your photograph is definitely a keeper.
ReplyDeleteAwh ... look at those eyes. It's clear she adores you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great portrait of a very beautiful companion!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful dog, beautiful shot - so difficult to capture their "essence" isn't it, but you have done so here, she looks so gentle and loving.
ReplyDeleteSo glad she is fed such a good diet - it is a bit of a hobby horse of mine - I just don't believe in feeding rubbish to this much loved companions.
Funny seeing this picture, because I associate you with your Element's avatar, another stunning black retriever.
Eddie, she is beautiful and I loved reading your description of her personality. Thanks for sharing the info on how you captured the shot.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous portrait of Honey, Eddie!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely suits her name! And would you look at those eyes!!! She's adorable!!!
ReplyDeleteShe's a beauty, a great portrait.
ReplyDeleteI love it!!!
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