Fall Dahlias

We took a minute this week to stop and get some photos with the dahlias.

WW: Jump

Jump! 

Jump higher!

Gorgeous trail below us at Beazell Forest

Beazell Forest Hike in the Fall

Beazell Forest is one of our favorite places to go to hike. Previously, we've normally aimed for weekdays to avoid people, but my new job and the early setting sun makes that impossible. Instead, we aimed for a cloudy and on-and-off rainy weekend day and lucked out, meeting only two couples hiking and both within the first few minutes. We had the place to ourselves the rest of the time.

Our bridge photo we need to get every time

Recall over the bridge

Exploring the ferns and trees

Choosing the path

Natural material steps and archway

Sniffing her way along a log

Tippy toes

"Wait, what was that?!"

In an effort to post more often, I may do more posts like this, with plenty of photos and short captions, rather than longer ones with lots of writing.

Fall in Oregon

The fall colors are appearing on the trees this week. Oregon doesn't tend to get the brilliant colors that some places enjoy in the fall, and windstorms (like the one happening right now) tend to rip what color we do have off of the trees before we have a chance to enjoy it much. I spent yesterday afternoon taking a few pictures of Ptera and the fall leaves in town before they are gone.

You can see the raindrops in this photo as well. Fall here means rain.

I realized while doing this shoot that Ptera thinks "wait" means "sit and wait" so didn't get many photos of her standing, or doing anything other than sitting. Something to work on.

Getting cold toward the end of our wet walk around town.

WW: Fall Flowers

Standing in the dahlias

Fall Flowers

I have been getting pictures of the dogs with seasonal flowers whenever the opportunity presents itself. In late September, I drove by an awesome field of sunflowers and planned a trip back there later that week for pictures.

Wearing her new fancy collar

This field of sunflowers was more like a narrow strip of them, but it was enough for photos. The day was cloudy with on and off rain and tiny blips of sun.

The wind was blowing pretty good for part of it too

This blue stool has long been one of my favorite props for photos. Especially with things like sunflowers, even relatively large dogs will be much lower than the picture-perfect end of the plant. This stool is tall enough to place the dogs in a much better position for photos. Plus, I just love the color and look of the stool.

With grey rain clouds in the sky

Koira doesn't like posing for pictures near roads. I can't find places like this without driving my them, most of the time. The stool helps keep Koira in one place while I set up for a photo, and treats help her feel a little better about the situation.

Big smile

Panting from nerves and smiling look surprisingly similar, especially if you can get the ears forward. Really, though, if Koira is too nervous about this kind of thing, there is nothing I can say or do to get her to stay on a stool (or anything) and no treat that will be worth eating- and most of all, no way to get her to look at the camera and put her ears up. As long as she is doing all of those things, and we stop before she stops, I figure we're doing okay.

Awkward sibling photo

Your mom made you pose awkwardly with your siblings, right?

"Whatcha doin' up there?"

I hope everyone's fall is going well so far. I am trying to get back into the swing of regularly blogging, but with a ton of agility photos to edit that I am already behind on, a new full time job, flyball class and practice, and trying to get ready for winter (which means stacking firewood, making sure the area around the stove is cleared out and safe, weatherproofing doors and windows, and tons more), I am not sure how often I will be making it to the blog. I feel sad every time a favorite blog disappears from the internet, though, and it seems to be happening like crazy this year, with people leaving with announcements, just disappearing, or simply going from posting regularly to once a month or less, so I hope I won't become one of the many who disappear.

Wordless Wednesday: Posing together

Pretty pups

Timed release

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Color

I found some awesome fall color despite most of the trees being stripped bare from the wind, and had to take the opportunity to take some photos of the dogs.

I'm lucky that my dogs are generally good at posing and figure out the game pretty quick. But that doesn't mean I don't get some hilarious outtakes sometimes.

Skeptical dogs are skeptical

They do know how to pose for a pretty photo, though.

Posing like pros

Wordless Wednesday: A Hint of Fall

Fun with Photos

I shared this photo of Pallo last week on Wordless Wednesday.

This also happens to be my current background photo on my computer. And my current favorite photo of Pallo. To me, the colors just blend so nicely. The depth of field means that Pallo's eyes are totally sharp and in focus while the leaves are a pleasant blurred background. It somehow makes him stand out while blending in, all at the same time.

And, I can't stop messing with the photo.

This is what it looked like straight out of camera (ooc).

It was a good photo. The focus and depth of field are obvious and really play their part. But, it is in no way as striking as the version posted above. The colors are dull and it just seems like its missing something. It is a good picture, but not a great one.

My latest version of this picture is this:

This version might not be some people's favorite. It is a more creative interpretation than the original edit posted above, for sure. Most of the time, my goal is to take the best possible photo in camera, and then enhance it in post processing to make it look just as amazing on the screen (or in print) as it did in person. This version is something a bit different. The colors are vibrant still, but the blacks are muted, giving the whole photo a matte look. I think this look works great on this photo. Pallo's eyes and nose seem to stand out even more. His body seems to pop from the leaves a bit more as well. 

I'm sure I will come up with some other edits. I never can leave my favorite photos alone. At least, not until I get new favorites!

Black and White Sunday: Halloween

Sometimes, you just find the perfect graffiti for the moment

Family Portraits

Over time, I have come to really value photographs. I think it is pretty obvious on the blog. Blogging has been a huge part of my motivation to document the ups and downs and the various parts of the lives of my dogs. Looking back over photos from previous years, I also go back over the memories from that time. Photos are memories, preserved for all time.

What I don't have, though, are photos of me with my dogs. Or at least, I don't have many of them. This is something I would like to remedy. I have been working on slowly getting into the pictures more often, through the use of creative angles and self timers.

I can get my feet into the photo pretty easily by using a wider lens (Canon 28mm 2.8 lens) and shooting straight down.

Looking up

The self timer lets me get more creative with it. I still like the shots that just include my feet:

At my feet

Our feet together

But with the self timer, I can even get some shots of me and my dogs actually interacting, even if the results aren't always exactly what I was going for when I set out.

Getting kisses

All of those are photos I have shared before, and all of them are ones I cherish. But I simply couldn't figure out how to get a posed family portrait by myself. Luckily, I have some great friends. With an offer on Facebook of doing a photoshoot for a friend willing to help me out, one of my friends volunteered. She mostly takes pictures with her cell phone and has no experience with DSLR cameras. It really didn't end up mattering. We met out at the park. I set up the camera in Manual, choosing the right ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for the location, and I explained to her how to make sure the focus point was over my face. She was quick to get the hand of it and even had a natural eye for avoiding things like cars in the background. I am absolutely thrilled with the results.

Fall family portrait

All of this is to say, you don't need to hire an expensive professional to get pictures of your family. Sometimes, hiring a professional is absolutely the best option. You are pretty much guaranteed to end up with a product that you love. But we can't all haul professional photographers around with us all the time. You can capture so many moments so many ways. I get a lot of photos of my dogs alone, or just the two of them together, and there are many great memories with those photos. As I have been exploring ways to add myself into the photos I take, I manage to build more memories, and show the love and bond I have with my dogs.

While I value in the extreme the quality of the photos I take and have, I also value the moments. Sometimes, a quick cell phone picture is all you can manage to take- but for the right moment, it is way better to grab what you can than to have nothing at all.

Happy Halloween

Pallo in his tux

Pallo as a squirrel

Koira in her tutu

Both dogs dressed up together

Wordless Wednesday: Blending In