Just Zebedee

I only took photos of one subject today... if you don't like dogs, unlucky! ;-)









And now I'll reveal the reason for the content/relieved face in the first photo: he was having a poo.

Badger

We had a photo shoot with Badger today. Badger is starring in a dog training/dog behaviour DVD that is going to come out soon, and needed some action shots done.



The title is going to be "Barking mad, or just barking?" Hence the barking photos:









There were other dogs walking in the area, as usual. This Weimeraner was quite the comic.






More of Badger in action.

Archie

We met a lovely labradoodle called Archie at Birling Gap this morning. We were going to go to Beachy Head, but stopped before that because I spotted this guy on the wire:



And here is Zebedee and Archie having a play down on the beach.









Archie was very good at playing with Zebedee, but of course he was the bigger and more dominant one. Here he is rolling Zeb like a cartwheel. Just because he can.






My happy little doggie... :)




Some other creatures we saw:

A wagtail



I don't know whether these are goats or sheep. They were in the nearby Sheep Center. So, err.. perhaps they are sheep.

All is OK

Yesterday I felt like this:



Having analysed it today, I realised that it was a combination of four of five different things that had come to a stress point in my mind. I felt the lowest since my recovery from severe clinical depression a few years ago, and hence was very scared of that dark, dark place. But, with the help of caring friends, and me being very aware of my change in mood and working towards healthier thoughts, my bout of depression didn't last for more than one day. Plus, after all, it is kind of difficult to be down when you have this silly guy around:









Yeah, try not to see the funny and bright side of life when you watch Zebedee play and be happy as a Larry. I challenge you.

Then there's the beauty of nature.



And funny tiny things like this:



...who is THIS small (compared to the HUGE springer puppy):



So, I can see beauty again. All is well.

Therapeutic tulips?

I've been feeling like crap today. I bought some flowers in an attempt to cheer me up.

Juliet

We had a little portrait lighting practise session with Juliet today, trying out "butterfly lighting".



Hm, maybe this one is actually somewhere between short and butterfly lighting. Not sure. Interesting to use different lighting techniques, nevertheless.

Flash at Friston Forest

Practised flash use at Friston Forest today.






Don't know how Miles managed to get such a crazy photo of me...

Hounds of Love

For one of my birthday celebrations this week, we went to see a Kate Bush tribute band The Hounds of Love tonight in Brighton. Before the gig I asked the band whether I could shoot it for them, and as they said yes, I got myself a Photographer Pass from the venue, and so it turned into a birthday present of working as a gig photographer. Excellent stuff.












A bit of 80's style editing...















Kate Bush is such a unique artist - a genius in my world - that I didn't expect much from a tribute band to be honest, but Josie Mills surprised me with her fabulous, beautiful voice and excellently sung Kate Bush songs. If you missed it above, here is another link to the band's MySpace page.

Mountain dog

Just a few snaps of Zedebee by the sea on the cliffs of Newhaven.






He found a dead seagull and wouldn't give it up. No matter how hard I tried... I tried being the good cop, the bad cop, the owner that leaves in a huff and abandons their misbehaving dog... He ate the bird. And threw it up a few hours later all over the carpet upstairs. Nice.

Lightsphere

I spent all Saturday at the SWPP show in London and learned a lot, I think. I listened to Gary Fong's talk at first, then Bjorn Thomassen who talked mainly about his young female portfolio work, then made a couple of mistakes with my choices of talks, but all was not lost, as in this conference it was perfectly OK to leave one room if it wasn't what you expected, and enter another. I only caught a bit of the end of Tim Mayer's talk, but I'm glad I didn't miss it altogether! This man knows what he is talking about! In the half hour I learned more about portrait lighting than ever before. Here are just a couple of snaps taken during his demonstration.





I bought Gary Fong's Lightspere flash diffuser, and tested it on my faithful model last night while Miles cooked our dinner. Here he is relaxing on the rug while keeping an eye on the chopping board.



I think I like the Lightsphere, and I think it probably was worth the money. Certainly seems like a lot better flash diffuser than the standard little "sock" that you put over the flash head.

Another shot of Zebedee, this morning in Stanmer Park. I tried to look for a nice spot for a portrait and thought I found one, but Z wasn't cooperating at all. He simply wouldn't 'stay' in the spot I chose, and legged it as soon as I got a couple of meters away from him and prepared to take the shot. So, at the end, I had to take it at close range, without stepping back.... and of course you can't see any of the nice, mossy background that I liked. Must practise dog model manipulation more. ö