Friday, March 12, 2010

Friday's Photolife--a little petting

Health update: Girls=thumbs up, Boys=thumbs down. My husband is still not over what we had last week and earlier this week, and my son, who is over that, broke out in hives for the first time last night. Talk about freaking a mother out! We went to the doctor this morning. He's on benadryl and once that wears off zyrtec. Hopefully we can figure out what caused it.

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled program.

Look at that sweet face. She's the best dog ever. Some might even say an angel dog except she's very stealthy (My daughter calls her a ninja dog. She'll just appear next to you without warning.) and I tend to trip over her.
My daughter actually took this picture. Very nice, eh? She has a good eye, but then again she's an artist. The white in the bottom left corner is her sketch book. She was trying to draw a picture of aforementioned angel dog who wanted to see what she was up to and wouldn't stay posed. Photographs are a much easier way to capture our four-legged friends. Here are a few tips. (Shown above: Get close.)
Take shots of them enjoying a warm spot in the sunshine. It's best if the light is coming from the left or the right with the animal facing the sun. I love this shot because of how the sun makes angel dog's white fur glow and how the puddle of leaves next to her matches her darker fur not to mention her expression of contentment.
Profiles rule. I love them. Try them sometime. They're great for people too.
Get down on the animal's level or even below them. Wild dog was standing atop a retaining wall, and I was on the ground below. He looks very angelic, doesn't he? Let's just say it's a good thing he's cute.
Catch them showing off. (Okay, so not technically a pet, but when I was little I played with them like they were. There were a lot around our house. This was taken at my parents.)
Be patient. I waited a long time for that crazy crab to come out of the hole. Animals are not going to cooperate a lot of the time even an angel dog. (This was my daughter's "pet" at the beach.)
Get them in action and don't be afraid to take a lot of pictures to get one that works. That's how action photography is.
Get shots of people with the pets. (I wanted to include this one of my mother when she was 8 with her dog. When I was younger, it helped me identify with her. That dog was special. He could climb trees.)
People as pets works too.

Application to writing? Don't forget that animals can highlight personality characteristics. How does X treat his pet or some random animal on the street. What is his reaction to a dangerous animal attacking? Is he scared of shellfish or creaped out by cats? It's just a thought. Plus, depending on your genre, animals could be the characters.

17 comments:

Sherrie Petersen said...

That shot looking up at the little white dog in the snow is awesome!

Here's hoping your family gets back to healthy happy days soon!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

I haven't put many animals in my stories. I guess there's all those insects in Monarch...does that count?

Great pics!

Carolyn V. said...

Awww! I love the crab.

Sorry to hear about the illness. I hope you guys feel better soon!

Alyssa said...

Those pictures are great. And you're right, Regal is such a sweetheart. She is one of the few dogs I actually like/feel comfortable around. :) Also, that picture of Grandmama is amazing. I'm also in the process of figuring out when I'll be home for a visit this summer. I'll keep you posted; if y'all are around I'll have to come up for a visit.

And on a more literary note, we recently read The Crossing by McCarthy in one of my classes. It relies heavily on images of wolves and dogs; the story wouldn't be the same without them.

Terra said...

My favorite photo of this group is the one of angel dog with white fur glowing. You got some great portraits here.

sarahjayne smythe said...

How cute is that dog? I love all those pictures. And yay! for the girls feeling better. I hope the boys get there soon.

Yat-Yee said...

So many great pictures that deserve a closer second, and third and fourth, look.

By coincidence, I have been writing a lot about two dogs in my wip. One is the mc's dog, the other one...I don't know, could be just pure indulgence. I was just wondering if I was doing something "easy", ie evoke emotions from my readers by describing sweet doggy antics.

I think I'll just finish writing and then figure out if the doggy passages do indeed play their part without relying too much on the unfair advantage, or if I need to cut them out.

Anne Gallagher said...

I love the pics. I'm a sucker for a pretty horse.

I think I always have an animal/pet in my stories. Makes the character that much more human.

PJ Hoover said...

Lois, you have serious talent at photography. It's really impressive time and time again.

Rena Jones said...

Awesome pictures! I loved them all. I'm like you and will wait forever to get a good shot of something. I've been "left behind" on my trails ... LOL!

Jessie Oliveros said...

Lois, you are so talented. I'm sorry about the sickies at your house. I got rid of Lucky the dog from my original ms. He was kind of annoying, and served no real purpose. However, I am thinking about adding an Iguana. (Nameless so far.)

Tana said...

CAn I have that white poodle? Too cute!! If not, the horse will do. ;)

J.R. Johansson said...

Those are great pet pictures! I'll have to try some of those tips with my new puppy. :)

Jackee said...

You (and your daughter) took all these pictures? Awesome!

My daughter broke into hives after her first ear infection and scared me to death. (We were at an airport headed back from a vacation.)

Now she gets hives after any fever bout. Weird and inexplicable.

Hope you guys get better and I'm so glad I found your blog!

Anonymous said...

The close up picture your daughter took is fabulous - well done to her :0)

Unknown said...

I hope everyone gets better REAL soon. We've been sick here, seems like forever, too. We (I hope) are finally on the mend.
These animal photos are so beautiful. Thank you for the tips. I'm so jealous that you have so many pets! I used to have horses too. Miss them. We only got one puppy here now lol.
Take care & hope you all stay well

Nishant said...

. I guess there's all those insects in Monarch...does that count?
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