Pet Photographers Worldwide

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Take me home

It takes a very special person to give a dog a home.

Bandit, Buddy, Cooper, Perky, Rosie and Tashy can be adopted at the Australian Working Dog Rescue.

[Edit to add link to the Australian Working Dog Rescue facebook page.]


Bandit, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Buddy, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Cooper, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Perky, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Rosie, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Tashy, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.

You've got to love this one — stumped.


Buddy, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.

More in this slideshow,

Monday, May 24, 2010

Mr Big strikes again

I must admit it's quite confusing for us humans when names of cats these days  include 'bigs', 'big', 'big ears', 'mr big', 'big' — everything or whatever.

Mr Big got his name not because of Sex and the City, but because he is a big cat. He's nearly 6kg and only 1 year and 3 months old.


Mr Big, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Mr Big, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Mr Big, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.


Mr Big, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Picking on Wiggley

I'd like a challenge — especially working with uncooperative animals.  

Wiggley, one of the two guinea pigs of mine, isn't exactly the perfect pet model. He runs about, faces his butt to the camera, pays more attention to the grass, poops, and does almost everything else but model for the camera.

I shot these one late afternoon. I backlite the subject, I set my white balance to 'daylight', spot metered Wiggley and shot in burstable mode because I didn't just want a silhouette but details of his face (silhouette shots wouldn't be attractive for guinea pigs as you'll just see a blob, especially with Wiggley). No flash was applied.

In post production, I lifted the contrast and mid-tones, and added black points, vibrancy and vignette — very minimal adjustments needed if you shoot it right from the start. Still, I would like to make my images the best that they can be.


Wiggley, a slightly 'dreamy' image.



Sunday, May 9, 2010

Prints and packaging

I must say I'm very happy with Bronco's 8x12" print and softcover album. I haven't got my monitor calibrator yet so I had to test-run the prints first to make sure what was printed was what I saw on my screen. The technician at the professional photo lab was very helpful in getting the colours right.

It pays to get someone to print your photos accurately - it's what professional photographers do: solve your colour and printing problems.

I am a perfectionist; I can't sleep unless I get it right!

To do justice to these beautiful prints, I decided to give DIY packaging a go - when I was growing up, I used to package gifts, cards and what-not for family and friends. I very much enjoy matching colours and materials.

For this project I chose an orange/tan, brown and olive green theme to compliment the colours of my business logo.

Bronco's owner is happy with the end-result. I'd be thrilled if someone gifted me these.




Monday, May 3, 2010

PF

I forgot to post about my other cat, PF, no really, who could have forgotten about PF — he's the sweetest little critter unless he is in one of his mental ADHD modes. (Don't ask me how we got to call him PF — it's a long story for another day)

When his mental ADHD mode sets in, he can 'talk' for ages. Unfortunately, I don't know enough of the 'weow' language to understand him.

I reckon he complains a lot.

He complains during the day.
PF the black cat talking during the day
PF, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.

And he complains during the night.
PF the black cat talking during the night
PF, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.

PF isn't shy to remind me over and over.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

More of Wiggley

Remember WiggleyWiggley is one of the two guinea pigs I adopted four years ago.

In case you didn't know, he's a crested guinea pig, a short haired guinea pig with a single rosette, ie swirl on his forehead. (I doubt Wiggley's an "American crested" or a "English crested", the two conventional crested breeds but he's got a swirl and that's good enough for me!) More on Wiggley's swirl later.


Wiggley, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.

Anyway, as part of my regular practise shoot, I decided to give Wiggley an instant make-over or slim-over I should say — look, no bulging tummy!

(I deliberately placed Wiggley next to the wall as I didn't want a 'dreamy' sort of background. The two images were taken in reflected sunlight through the sliding glass door.)

wiggley the guinea pig entering the frame
Wiggley, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.
Headshot
ISO 100 | f/1.2 | 1/50

wiggley the guinea pig leaving the frame
Wiggley, originally uploaded by twoguineapigs pet photography.
Buttshot
ISO 100 | f/1.2 | 1/50