The theme for this week’s 52 week project was Bokeh.

Bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke (ボケ), which means “blur” or “haze”, or boke-aji, the “blur quality.” Bokeh is pronounced BOH-Kə or BOH-kay. Bokeh is defined as “the effect of a soft out-of-focus background that you get when shooting a subject, using a fast lens, at the widest aperture, such as f/2.8 or wider.” Simply put, bokeh is the pleasing or aesthetic quality of out-of-focus blur in a photograph.

I decided that I was going to aim for “sparkly” bokeh that happens at  the wider end of the lens spectrum vs the smooth bokeh from a longer telephoto. Both boys got to play models, while the only tree in the yard acted as the perfect filter for “sparkly” bokeh.

Bender was first, around 4pm.

A couple hours later around 7pm Axle showed off his modeling skills. That drool….

Then…. EEEEEEK! A package arrived on Wednesday, its contents a brand spanking new LENS from Sigma! The 135mm f1.8 lens in fact! Did some tester type shots with Bender and the bokeh – mmmm dreamy! Much different than the “sparkly” bokeh from a wider angle lens.

Next up visit Danyel with Wag To My Heart Serving the Portland Metro area, OR to see how she captured bokeh!

Movement was the theme for this week’s 52 Week Project.

The lake + Axle = movement

We arrived on a fairly warm evening, at the cusp of golden hour. Axle was MEGA excited, he LOVES to swim in the lake and jump off docks. A fresh new tennis ball was brought out and he was in complete heaven. My wonderful boyfriend was happy to help toss the ball in my direction.

Axle is one of the most comical dogs when he shakes off – his ears and jowls go everywhere! Plus water and spit! Haha!

How effective is shaking off while you’re still in the water??

Axle has always jumped off docks. He launches, flys over the water, then completely submerges with a ginormous splash then swims to get the ball. I’ve really wanted to get tighter jumping images – including him jumping over me. I waded into the lake… OH IT’S COLD!!!

A little too much backlight (made it a little hard to focus and track Axle) so I moved to the other corner of the dock, the water still cold, my flip-flops stuck in the muck…

I moved closer to the end of the dock to see if I could get a more underneath image of Axle. Must have been a little too tall or close because Axle put on the brakes very quickly. He didn’t fall off the dock, but did a little jump once he composed himself.

Axle decided he was done with dock jumping for the day, so we played in the shallows.

Next visit Dark Sapphire Pet Photography, Nelson, New Zealand to see how she captured movement!

This week’s theme… colorful. A thought crossed my mind. Color powder like they use for color runs. Found some DIY color powder online, though wasn’t sure I was going to have time to create the powder (plus poor Bender would need a solid bath… granted he is due for one…).

A little stuck on ideas, my boyfriend mentioned I could use one of the bazillion neckties I have for my collars (Atomic Collars – and there’s close to 200 neckties living here). Rooted around in the tie box and pulled out a trio of ties. Not really knowing how to tie a necktie, a google search brought me to Ties.com. There I found the basics, the Trinity Knot and the Eldredge Knot and how to tie each with a crisp clean visual. The trio was tied, but only the Trinity and Eldredge were used.

I wasn’t sure if the neckties would be enough color, so I grabbed a batch of my more colorful scarves. The weather was perfect (the rain FINALLY stopped!), the lighting lovely, and Bender a semi willing participant. We started with a scarf.

Helps if I take the scarf all the way off… though I think its sheer enough that he could see through it…

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Swapped scarves. He reminds me of a high fashion model who always looks stoic…

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Swapped to another scarf. This is a cowl style and was made by my mom. Also, it may help to get the scarf ALL the way around the head (this makes him look like a character in Mortal Kombat!)…

Ahh that is better. Still stoic. And slightly like a hippie…

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Swapped for another scarf. The “potholder” – created by my mom out of vintage acrylic yarn (not soft at all).

Switched out for a necktie tied in a Trinity Knot! I’ve had this tie for a while, it is known as “Wicked Wacky”. Its a bit boggling to look at (would make an epic collar!). Bender looks like such a dad…

Then swapped for this necktie (its unnamed currently) tied in a messy Eldredge Knot.

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The new high fashion way to wear your dog collar. Bender showing off a giant Girlie Dots collar and a blue one from his personal collection (both made by me). He’s so en vogue!

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Whew! A pause from all the colorful modeling to scan for neighborhood critters – rabbits, squirrels and birds oh my!

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That was short lived… return to the scarves!

Bender really does have ears! One trick that works is tossing (or faux tossing) a treat to get his focus. It also can lend towards some AMAZING “treat” face images… 

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Swap back to the original scarf. Did I mention that this scarf is HUGE? I could pretty much wear it as a dress and it would cover from my bust to my knees! Once again, Bender rocked his stoic high fashion model look…

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Next up visit Jessica Wasik with Bark & Gold Photography, celebrating the joy and love between Pittsburgh pets and their people to see what she found to fit the colorful theme!

 

The rainiest forecasted week just happened to have the theme of sunsets for the 52 Week Project.  This could get interesting…

The theme was announced Thursday. Thursday night was clear, with low slung clouds that hugged the horizon. Bender, the only eager about the walk not the modeling, trotted along with me to the neighboring school. There is a huge field area behind the school that gives a relatively broad expanse of sky.

There was a filtering of light between one of the houses that I set Bender into. A few feet from him and slightly angled at him was my lovely flash, mounted to a quick release plate and set upon my tripod. Way too much light…

Kind of makes Bender look like fashion model…

Adjustments were made. Not enough light. Too much light. Angled light. Faced the light full on, a harsh shadow from Bender (need to soften the light…). It was cold, my model less than interested in staying in the relatively same spot. The clouds of the sunset low slung and hidden. UUUUGGGHHH! The results are… alright.

We packed up and headed home deeming the attempt a bust. Friday rolled around with no sign of the rain. I had been out doing product shots for Atomic Collars (my dog collar business) when I noticed the light had started to trend into the golden hour and the clouds were plump and moody, perfect carriers for the pinks and oranges of sunset.

Bender was volunteered again, as was my flash. This time the tripod was left home. We dashed right out of town to a large open area that faced west. Still struggled with the flash (too much light or not enough) and my unwilling model was more unwilling since there was a chill breeze and he was freezing his little buns off. (Ears? Ha! I have none! I’m going to pout too…)

The sunset wasn’t quite as spectacular as I hoped, but there was a lovely pinkish hue that tinted the cloud’s undersides. And the textures of the clouds themselves was stunning!

Next up visit Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati and the San Francisco Bay Area to see if she was able to capture a stunning sunset!