Walking the dog

As my profile says a lot of my time is spent walking my dog Alfie. Its a great time to take the camera too, especially if your in the woods. Everyday can be different, with changing light, animals, interesting people, weather, seasons and much more.

Even if you walk the same routes there is plenty to snap away at. The dog himself is a great subject and I've taken hundreds of Alfie. I love trying to capture something a little different with pet shots, something that makes me think about what was going on at the time. In a previous post I talked about perspectives, it applies with pets too. Get down to their level and try a few shots, it really boosts the impact. I generally always wear waterproof trousers so I can kneel (and have been known to lie)

Below are a few images of Alfie from the end of last year. All were taken in the same area and no editing applied.

Here Alfie was searching for a snowball I threw. Needless to say he didn't find it but his expression and face made me smile

This image took a bit of work, mainly with Alfie. I wanted a shot of him running & bouncing through the ferns. I took him into the fern and made him wait whilst I went back to the path. I knelt down low and fixed onto a spot I hoped he would run through. He ran exactly where I hoped and this was the result. 

I like this one, mainly because it makes me smile with all the sticks. Again its very low with lots of foreground. You can make out the ferns in the distance where I took the image above.








We don't all have dogs to walk, but its certainly no reason not to grab the camera and go for a stroll. With the seasons seemingly changing quickly there is plenty of natural opportunities. Best time on a sunny day is just after sunrise, or just before Sunset "The golden hour". This light is soft giving a warm and gentle feel to photographs. The middle of the day is fine but sometimes the sun can be too strong. Currently I don't think we need to worry about the sun coming out and being strong however. Wet days can offer good images too, with water droplets, reflections in puddles, steaming paths after the rain, even people walking along with their umbrella's.

If you have the camera, you have a chance of that great photograph. If its at home then there is no chance.

Happy Snapping

Richard