old dogs and children and watermelon wine
"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary
dime,
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine."
Tom T Hall - Old dogs, children, watermelon wine
Somehow the song just fits. Mind you if my parents didnt like country I guess I wouldnt have thought of the song.. Still..
He's getting a little old now, but you still cant convince Bonaparte that hes not a pup, getting him to pose is hard, this wasnt as crisp as I would have liked, but the black and white seemed to bring out his age more, added some film grain to this as well as a USM and some smoothing, its not perfect but I like it, I deliberately didnt over sharpen, i could go further and then smooth back a touch but im not sure if that wont lose some of this intensity.
Lots of character in his eyes, mind you he thinks hes human, he was my mothers dog and even now still cant work out why she's never come home. How do you tell a dog ? I dont know.
This makes 2 pet photos today, ive been sick and stuck at home so you photograph what's around you I guess.
Comments and faves
Cyron, Augusto Miranda Martins, Harry Willis, Steven Earnshaw, and 39 other people added this photo to their favorites.
pixability (86 months ago | reply)
Such intensity, Great tonal quality here. His eyes are compelling.
Rang Dog Marv [deleted] (86 months ago | reply)
Very nice photo; it's well composed and the B&W highlights the dog's expresssion very well. I'm guessing he would be thinking 'What's this clown doing pointing a camera at my face?'
Cyron (86 months ago | reply)
You know, I'm glad to see you get your mojo back. Your posts in the last month or two have been in a class of their own compared to your earlier uploads. Simply stunning...
monkeyc.net (86 months ago | reply)
Im just enjoying it i guess Cyron, and its getting easier to see the image in my head if that makes sense.
Mind you - his world revolves around food, pats, runs and sleep - im not sure Bone doesnt have the better life
Leviathor (86 months ago | reply)
Ha. Great composition and excellent B&W, John. Consider adding this to Bokeh: Smooth & Silky.
monkeyc.net (86 months ago | reply)
My pleasure :)
leighmcmahon (86 months ago | reply)
That's one unhappy mongrel.
monkeyc.net (86 months ago | reply)
Hey he has papers - hes got a better pedigree than i do :)
NCTaka (86 months ago | reply)
the composing is very good it make the dog face more out standing.... the background also nice, but the dog's face seem have no feeling to me, i dun know but this kind of expression you are very easy to see on the dog's face, but actually dog can have
so many expressions... To me this pic is not very interesting, but the composing are very fine... :)
From the MiRea's Realm Group, you are given a 4/7 ranking.
Xenedis (86 months ago | reply)
You know what they say... never work with children or animals.
The longer focal length works well here. When photographing pets, blurring the background as much as possible is desirable, IMHO.
Kris Kros (86 months ago | reply)
Very impressive, John. So good. Congratulations.
Enrico Delponte (Gundunasu u Zeneize) (86 months ago | reply)
Good work, I hope you took this in colour too, a classical portrait, 6/7 from MiRea's Realm group.
monkeyc.net (86 months ago | reply)
Interesting crop gun, I have a series of shots of him and im thinking of something which splits his face to one side, you get what I mean. The details are often things we miss, just wish the bugger could sit still :)
honey3bun (86 months ago | reply)
Lovely shot, he looks almost sad.
Armando Banfetti (Matteo Mangiarotti) (86 months ago | reply)
classical but impressive.
From the MiRea's Realm Group, you are given a 6/7 ranking.
Augusto Miranda Martins (86 months ago | reply)
Whatta dog's portrait! I like it, old dog's expression.
Chick2006 (86 months ago | reply)
I love the humanlike facial expressions that dogs make!
Green Putty In My Armpit (86 months ago | reply)
Ha! This is a noteworthy pic. The image is sharp, the expression sublime and the textures well exposed. He has a contemplative mood to him. Love it!
From the MiRea's Realm Group, you are given a 7/7 ranking.
Chicago Wedding Photographer, Laurie Peacock (86 months ago | reply)
I wanted to cry after reading your entry. Very powerful dog portrait. I love it so much. From the MiRea's Realm Group, you are given a 6.5/7 ranking.
MiRea (86 months ago | reply)
I see the makings of a great icon here!!!!!!!
Just my opinion, but I think that scowl on Bonaparte's mug, is because he knew you were going to b/w this!!!!!
Sorry to hear you are under the weather, but obviously it hasn't affected your lens eye!!!
I agree with you about the sharpness but that only comes out in the original size, and there is really very little lost.
Well sicko, it's still a great shot despite the b/w, wee detail loss.....
From the MiRea's Realm Group, you are given a 6/7 ranking.
tomato umlaut (86 months ago | reply)
The dog's expression is something to look at. Very expressive. I like the strong focus on the face.
From the MiRea's Realm Group, you are given a 6/7 ranking.
MiRea (86 months ago | reply)
Congratulations!
Ditching the highest and lowest score you get a total of 30.5 out of 35 in the MiRea's Realm Group.
There is no higher place your picture ever wanted to be!
You are invited to post your pic in MiRea's Realm Sanctuary
Bridget Brock [deleted] (86 months ago | reply)
nice portrait! love the B&W
jasperroz (86 months ago | reply)
Great photo. I love it....
... Arjun (86 months ago | reply)
What a strong expression!
B/w was the perfect choice here.
-plasticboy- (86 months ago | reply)
Please consider adding it to the Bokeh: Smooth & Silky pool. Thanks!
btezra [deleted] (86 months ago | reply)
~xlnt tonal impact and definition...I/eye dig the tight framing as well~
aKIRa 17 (86 months ago | reply)
The dog is so serious. I like it.
Violentz (86 months ago | reply)
Quite a scarey fellow!
Roochster (86 months ago | reply)
This picture is very unlike an ordinary,happy,oh-so-cute doggy picture and thats wat makes it so special...Its great!
EssjayNZ (86 months ago | reply)
Nice, haunting capture, he looks to have loads of character.
juttaschnecke (86 months ago | reply)
** This was voted a HUGE HIT from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
bigfacemom1 (86 months ago | reply)
This was voted a hit from Hit, Miss or Maybe
Dale73 (86 months ago | reply)
Fatastic photo, fantastic dog, great character in his face!
Everyone is always suprised at how small our boxer is, i guess she will fill out eventually. (yes a she, must be her funny face had everyone calling her a HE :) here...static.flickr.com/47/143391899_e3f132e342_o.j pg
monkeyc.net (86 months ago | reply)
They do fill out, theyre small pups funnily enough in terms of other breeds - then again this fellow is about 6 years old now and hes a big dog anyway - a lot of power in these but theyre playfull dogs, he thinks hes a puppy dog :)
A n d a r í n (86 months ago | reply)
perfect!
The Wombat~! (86 months ago | reply)
** This was voted a HIT from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
Great shot!
MiRea (86 months ago | reply)
** This was voted a Hit from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
blue4duke [deleted] (85 months ago | reply)
** This was voted a HIT from Hit, Miss or Maybe** love that face!
LaFée (76 months ago | reply)
it's so beautiful!
Kyouta (65 months ago | reply)
Obstinate, wonderful dog
Portrait Artist: Nikky Hughes (63 months ago | reply)
Beautiful black and white, simply amazing. Nice texture and dramatic feel! good work
deannaterrell (62 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Gray Faces, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
There's nothing better than an old boxer!
victoria0805 (61 months ago | reply)
We'd love to have your pet join us at AussieAnimals!!
Hoofbeats and Pawprints Photography (58 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Pets Around the World, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
boxermum7 (56 months ago | reply)
DEFINITELY A BOXER LOVER!
You deserve the Hatty, Duke, Shiloh, Buster, and Bo Award!
From the people at "boxers and people who love them"
www.flickr.com/groups/boxersandpeoplewholovet hem/
Great shot, please join us.
.Monika. (54 months ago | reply)
what a wonderful expression
daniel-jones (50 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Cats and Dogs :), and we'd love to have this added to the group!
paulogabriel (49 months ago | reply)
Hello, there! I'm one of the writers of a design blog called Abduzeedo! I've featured this picture of yours in a post with other 19 beautiful pictures of dogs. Here's the link:
abduzeedo.com/20-beautiful-pictures-dogs
If you're not ok with it, just let me know, and I'll take it off, as you wish.
Keep up the great work!
Cheers
Claudio Gennari ..."Cogli l'attimo ferma il tempo" (45 months ago | reply)
Veramente Bella...i miei complimenti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VeryViVi (39 months ago | reply)
What a face. What a pic. Impact.
SpotPhotography.com.au [deleted] (23 months ago | reply)
sweet pic