Jim great idea blending images. Imagine how difficult it is just having one at the pose you want .... two must be nearly impossible. Imagine if both are made under the same light the results will be good !!! PS work looks fine !!!
excellent cleanup Jim....might "pop" it a bit more and even open the shadows a bit.
I'm at lunch and just played for fun/challenge....also sharpened selectively and
actually softened the eyes a bit and darkended the pupil.............beautiful canines
I failed to mention that these are rescue dogs and that the photos are going on an adoption site to help find a new home (hopefully together) for these two.
I think you did pretty darn good Jim! Remember who will be looking at this, not a bunch of nerds like us but people with probably no cameras and a life! *lol*
A cheaper solution is to get DxO Optics or PTLens (http://epaperpress.com/ptlens/index.html) and let them correct the distortion. Both do a great job. Probably DxO Optics is easier to use but PTLens is easy to get correction settings for a particular lens if it's not a popular one. If you're using something like the 18-200 VR for this kind of photo, DxO will rescue you.
You can't please everyone Jim! I think it's a great capture, but then I'm a real pushover when it comes to Labradors. I've had three in the last 30 years. I'll post an image of my aging black lab soon. :)
Simply beautiful and those eyes tell it all. Thanks for sharing these wonderful images with us Jim !!! I admire your interest in these awesome creatures !!