Raven

[KimC]

On May 8th, I left my Corporate job of 29.5 years, as I thought it was time to discover new adventures and passions. I had promised myself, that when left my demanding job, I would get a Standard Poodle. This is Raven, our newest family member. She's 10 weeks old today (and she has been with us a week.) She a bit dirty as we went to the beach today and she rolled around in the sand. This is when we got home and I had not cleaned her up yet :-)

[DEAN01]

Congratulations on pursuing your new adventures and getting Raven, she's adorable.

[IzzieK]

Very nice...you do not have to worry about extra fur on the floor each day...beautiful dog...

[Shadowman]

Nicely capture, enjoy.

[JamesScott86]

Beautiful for sure!

[chauncey]

It would seem Kim that congratulations are in order...first for exiting the "rat race" and, the stellar
portrait of the dog. Exposure/light is virtually perfect for this black critter, as is focus on the eyes.
Cloning away the dandelions would help as they are a distraction.

[KimC]

Thank you Dean, Izzie, John and James. Izzie, no fur on the floor, but her fur picks everything up like a mop :-)

[KimC]

Thank you - I am so happy to be out of the rat race! Learning a lot about photographing black animals. At first I liked the dandelions, but later last night, I thought they were distracting as well. I posted a revised version (Yes, I need to improve my cloning skills).

It would seem Kim that congratulations are in order...first for exiting the "rat race" and, the stellar
portrait of the dog. Exposure/light is virtually perfect for this black critter, as is focus on the eyes.
Cloning away the dandelions would help as they are a distraction.

[Rebel]

Lovely dog Kim

Its a nicely exposed image, I know how difficult it is too photograph black furred animals. I've failed miserably with my 2 black cats many times.

[IzzieK]

You did fine here IMO...

Thank you - I am so happy to be out of the rat race! Learning a lot about photographing black animals. At first I liked the dandelions, but later last night, I thought they were distracting as well. I posted a revised version (Yes, I need to improve my cloning skills).

[Rebel]

Much better without the Dandelions, and nothing wrong with the cloning job as far as I can see.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Kim Raven is a beautiful, lovely dog. The image looks good too, I prefer the cloned version.

[KimC]

Thanks for your comments Matt. I like it without the dandelion as well.

Much better without the Dandelions, and nothing wrong with the cloning job as far as I can see.

[KimC]

Thank you Izzie and Binnur. I prefer the cloned version as well.

You did fine here IMO...

Hi Kim Raven is a beautiful, lovely dog. The image looks good too, I prefer the cloned version.

[rpcrowe]

Absolutely lovely dog! Poodles are exceptionally smart. That is where Goldendoodles get their intelligence. Of course, Golden Retrievers are not exactly dummies either!

[KimC]

Thank you Richard - she's a doll.

Absolutely lovely dog! Poodles are exceptionally smart. That is where Goldendoodles get their intelligence. Of course, Golden Retrievers are not exactly dummies either!

[TrishBJ]

Gorgeous dog and gorgeous image. You'll have a lot of fun photographing her and her antics as she grows up.

[KimC]

Thank you for viewing and commenting Trish. I am looking forward to having a wonderful relationship with her :-)

Gorgeous dog and gorgeous image. You'll have a lot of fun photographing her and her antics as she grows up.

[KimC]

Actually Ernie, she's a dog ;-)

tats not an ravn! tat is an cat! you shood not lie abot you photos

[Loose Canon]

Hi Kim!

Congratulations on May 8th! Wish I could say the same!

And congratulations on Raven as well! She is a total cutie and I know she will have a great life having you as her Human! Love the demure pose you caught her in!

You have nailed a lot of things here in-camera. I’m kind of wanting to see all of Raven here instead of cropped, but who cares what I want anyway! The right third works well with her looking camera left.

But I’m going to have to disagree with most of the opinions on your post production and agree with yours. I’m sorry to have to say that the cloning of the dandelions failed.

There is a “border” around the clone area, and the clone area doesn’t match at all. I’m afraid it is very obvious. It looks to me that you have tried to clone too much area at once and possibly used too hard a brush. There is a repeating pattern and it is easy to see that it came from the immediate left and down a tad from the cloning area. Further, there is a leaf that shows in front of Raven’s shoulder in the cloning area. These are all dead giveaways and very obvious in Raven’s case. The clone, I’m afraid, is much more of a problem than are the dandelions.

Then, there are the spots that are appearing as specular highlights on Raven’s coat. Easily fixed and I would say worth the effort.

Since the shot is cool of her? I would give her some TLC as regards her eye (sharpening for sure, maybe a 5% enlargement) and clean up a bit around that. Maybe a bit of catchlight defining with the one spot to the right of the main catchlight eliminated. She is just like a Human (may already think she is one) and her eyes are the window to her Soul. Just like human portraiture, her eyes will be the key when you are shooting her this tight.

It’s a cool shot Kim, no doubt. In the case of this shot of her it is a matter of post production technique that Raven will have to depend on you to make happen for her!

It seems that the two of you have each started a new road for your lives. And you two are going to do it together! Awesome!

Can’t wait to see it happen!