• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Portrait of my best friend - meet Sasha !!

B

Barry Johnston

New member
Hi Guys, here is my best friend !!

I took these on Saturday (14/07/07) while taking my dog, Sasha for a run. After chasing about 50 kangaroos and running for about an hour, I managed to grab these shots while she had a well earned rest. She had also just had a swim in a small dam nearby, that's why she is so dirty....

She's a Border Collie X 1/16 Blue Heeler.

Canon 1D MkII N - EF 135 f/2

original.jpg


original.jpg


original.jpg



I'll look forward to seeing images of your best friend/s as well !!

Barry.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
M

Michael Fontana

pro member
Hi Barry

yes, Border collies are pretty sensitive dogs, I had one for a while as well, and was amazed, how good he was in moving cattle. He just had it in the blood.........

Does Sasha can bark, or does she's howling? I hat to learn Manuk, so was his name, to bark, as cows aren't impressed by a nonbarking dog! Usually Borders don't bark....

Your request: I haven't any digitalised shot from him, but some b&w-picts, only........sorry
 
M

Michael Fontana

pro member
Nicolas

hmm, I don't know, if they' re really suited for a forum as OPF; I developped the films, no SLR, at about 7'000 feets in a chocolate-box, and dried them in the barn ;-)

Photographically spoken, they' re really nothing special; I took' em just to remember. So, no digi-version of it.....
but I still remember him beeing a good friend, in snow and heat
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Michael Fontana said:
..... but I still remember him beeing a good friend, in snow and heat
Click to expand...

Yes Michael, I do understand this, I guess I know what you're talking about, these kind of sweet souvenirs can't be shared. Keep the good feels for you and please pardon me/forget my request.

Have a great night though…
 
S

StuartRae

New member
Barry,

I have a soft spot for border collies, having had one in my teens (the 60s).

She has such a beautiful face that it's a shame not to see it. There's actually quite a lot of detail in there, even with a JPEG.

With your permission, I'll post a couple of versions using shadow enhancement plugins.

Regards,

Stuart
 
Andrew Rodney

Andrew Rodney

New member
Beautiful dog. I have a border collie as well, she's 14 but hanging in there. But the beauty in the family is this white husky, wolf hybrid (Zia)

Zia.jpg
 
B

Barry Johnston

New member
Hi Andrew,
I found it really difficult to photograph her, because of the intense black and white. It is hard to get any detail out of the dark bits around her eyes.
What a beautiful dog you have.... so nice and clean. My Sasha love to get dirty though, she loves swimming in the dams and also the sea. She is very protective of our family, and would go for anyone that threatened me or my wife. We have a giant kennel on wheels, which my wife drives around in which she never has to lock; nobody ever dares to come near it if she parks anywhere. She is a very smart dog as well and knows each of her toys by name. I think the only thing I'd like to change about her, is she is a bit temperamental (sp?), sometimes she sulks if she doesn't get her own way, for example if she wants to stay in the car, she get moody.

She is not a howler though, she mostly barks or has a very high pitched yelp, enough to shatter a window sometimes.... drives me nuts !! , but I love her to bits....

Barry.
 
Last edited:
R

Ray West

New member
Hi Barry,

I found it really difficult to photograph her, because of the intense black and white.
Click to expand...

Having previously owned gsd's, I find it a problem with our collie cross. Still, they all look the same ;-)

I guess this could be every dog's dream - sheep, field, tree, Bonnie.

tree.jpg



Best wishes,

Ray
 
S

StuartRae

New member
Hi Barry,

Here are my two versions.

The first uses the Shadow Illuminator plugin. Unfortunately it also brightens the background a bit.

original-SI.jpg



The second one uses Light Machine in Virtual Studio mode, which allows me to put a spotlight on Sasha's face and preserve the background.

original-LM.jpg



I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Regards,

Stuart
 
K

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
Eye Color?

Beautiful dogs. All of them - I never really met an ugly dog, have you?

As to the image - I don't know her, but, unless my monitor is a bit off, her eyes are slightly red.
 
S

StuartRae

New member
Hi Kathy,

The Shadow Illuminator version looks fine to me, but I agree that the Light Machine version has slightly red eyes.

Stuart
 
B

Barry Johnston

New member
Sasha ....

Hi Stuart,

Amazing what a good program can do, unfortunately, I don't have Lightbox. I never realized that there was so much detail still preserved in the dark areas around her eyes. I do however prefer the second version with the spotlight around her face, it is a really nice effect, but actually they are both great....

Hello Ray, your Bonnie certainly looks like she is in her element, that's for sure.... which part of Someset are you in, I lived in Weston Super Mare for a while, and still have family there. It's a really beautiful part of the world.....especially around Cheddar Gorge, and Bath.

Hi Kathy, I'm sure that Sasha will appreciate your compliment (I'll tell her), however, I'm not so sure about there not being an ugly dog out there...... I've seen plenty.... ;-)

Barry....
 
Last edited:
A

Angelica Oung

New member
I have to say, I preferred the original with the dark, velvety eyes. The lightened version certainly pops more, but the original just looked more real to me.
 
B

Barry Johnston

New member
B&W

Here is a B&W version, actually I like it a lot....

although I can hear your comments already about the highlights being burnt out a little.....

Have a look anyway.

original.jpg


Barry.
 
Last edited:
S

StuartRae

New member
Barry,

Amazing what a good program can do, unfortunately, I don't have Lightbox.
Click to expand...

Both of the programs I used are Photoshop plugins, which run quite happily in my copy of Photoshop Elements.

Stuart
 
K

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
Ugly?

Sorry, I don't think it's really a dog. But it is happy.

The eyes are the window to the soul; A photographer told me that when I first started. If you can adjust the redness - I like those first shots best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top