Golden Hour

It's common knowledge, as far as I'm concerned, that the light at the beginning and the end of the day offer the best light for photographing. Since I'm not really a morning person I'm more inclined to take photos at the end of the day. You have to time it carefully because it's quite easy to miss the 'golden hour'. It can make exposures tricky but if you can manage it the fading light can soften the subject, give better highlights, and make silhouettes more striking. 

This is The Boy listening to a dog bark across the water. He's always confused by this because he can't see the dog, and can't get to it, but he knows it's there. I like the little glint in his eye and how the light picked up the detail of his puffy coat since it was a bit chilly out there.

Most of my photos are taken by 'planned chance'. When I have my camera I watch for moments that would frame up nicely and I don't often manipulate the dogs into poses. I like them to just being themselves. To me posed photos always look artificial and too often you lose the personality of the dog by making it feel self-conscious. Boy and Leeloo set themselves up nicely against the sun, water, and grass and although in a perfect photo Leeloo would be in front of Boy, I think this one came out quite well. I especially like how the sun outlines each of the dogs but you can still see detail in their faces.

Something about this photo says 'Baby' to me. Cora stopped for a moment to rest her chin on Boy's back. How darling is she with her sandy little nose, big soft ear and sweet brown eyes? Everything about this photo makes me want to squeeze her.

This shot quickly made it to the top of my all time favorites of photos of Leeloo. I'm not sure if it's the abstract nature, that it's a silhouette, or simply that I adore the subject so much, but there is something here  that strongly appeals to me. If I were to print it I'd clean up the lens flares a little but otherwise it's just as it should be, as is Leeloo.