Weekly Theme: In the eye of the beholder

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Folks,

Greetings. This is an old one. Our Standard Poodle who we lost to cancer last year looking at me taking a picture of him.



Fairly straight processing to bring the refection out... contrast and detail work. The capture was the tricky part... not looking through the camera.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Hazel Grant]

Apparently, from your comments, you actually planned this shot. Well executed! hard, as you say not to look through the camera and yet 'hit' the eye. I like the blurring of the top hair. I think if it had been as sharp a the lashes, the eye reflection might have been less prominent.

[Dennis Bishop]

I think Hazel is right on with her comments. When first looking at the image, I wondered if you'd staged the shot so the white siding and blue sky were reflected in the eye. With the brown and gray of the rest of the image, they pull the viewer's eye to the eye in the image. It works very well.

Good title, too.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Hazel, Dennis,

Thanks much for your comments. The backstory on this shot... This was taken back in 2007. Though I was fairly new to digital photography, I had just gotten a new NIkon D3 within a month of release and was going crazy over the low noise in the shadows. I had taken a few shots of Cientos (our poodle) a few days earlier and had noticed the clean reflections in the eye. I was experimenting with a macro lens that I borrowed and took this shot, part setup, part serendipity. The sun reflecting off our house seen in the bg provides enough light for me to be seen, the D3's clean shadows allows me to be lifted enough, and Cientos' good nature to pose while I'm in his face with my camera allows for this shot. The blue sky was a bonus ;-).

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Nancy Bell]

I love the clear reflections in the eye, very nicely, and uniquely, showing the connection of your dog his family and home! If you have it, I would allow more of the dog to show.

[Diane Miller]

So cool, and freaky DOF! Never would guess it was a dog.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Michael, I guessed poodle right off the bat - maybe because I shoot a lot of dogs and I recognize the hair in the eye! I really like the concept and how it all ties together, as Nancy said. Very cool!

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Well executed shot. Never thought how hare it would be to get you face in the shot until you mentioned it. Also nice to put a face to the name:)

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Nancy, Diane, Kerry, Jackie,

Thanks much for the comments, much appreciated. Diane, yeah the DOF is unusual. I think the curved surface of the eye changed some of the focus dynamics in the reflection with the reflected eye lashes in sharp focus. Strange.

Cheers,

-Michael-