Jaunty January

This picture means a lot to me and it is currently still one of my favourites. Not just because it’s a nice action shot, the fresh snow on Aramis’ nose or the happiness on his face.

It’s the way it came into being.

I’m recovering from a back injury at the moment and this is one of the first pictures I took during a first, very tentative and short, excursion outside. I was in a lot of pain and I had rarely had to work so hard to get a shot, but I feel that it was well worth it. Everything worked out beautifully in this moment to allow Aramis and me to create this nice picture.

The whole of January saw a lot of snow and I tried to make the best out of it, photography-wise. After taking the picture above I knew it ‘worked’, but did not quite understand why until a friend pointed out that it was the triangular logs in the background mirroring the shape of Aramis’ ears!

Mr Majestic.
Arguing.

In January, Aramis has also made new friends. This is Lea, his latest acquaintance.

Fetch!
Stealing kisses.

In January, I took several pictures which I liked very much. The one below is one of them. Would you agree? I like the blueish hue, the snowflakes (until I found out that there are ways to add them to a picture artificially, using an overlay, which feels like cheating to me) and Aramis’ calm, but dignified demeanour.

One of my books said you should try to avoid taking pictures of dogs that are wet – unless they are in the water, of course. The snow was heavy and the air full of moisture that day, however, and we had been out for quite a while before I started shooting. While I guess the author might have a point, in this picture it is precisely the wet, straggly wool around Aramis’s neck, which protects him from the cold, that creates a nice contrast in texture and colour.

I took the picture below on a perfectly crisp, but sunny winter morning. The cold, blueish tones of the snowy background contrast Aramis’s warm, orange coat to which the soft sunset light adds an even stronger glow.


I like Aramis’ spring in his step in the picture below. It looks as if he was dancing:


I took the next picture in the woods and am quite pleased with the contrast of the dark firs in the background and the orange tones in the front. Overall I feel that my pictures are still often too dark, and I might have to work on that when editing them.

I’ll finish this January portfolio with yet another image of Aramis with one of his friends. Bonnie (quite unmistakably) is a Shar Pei cross from a shelter in Spain. She’s agile, playful and very friendly with other dogs. Aramis has taken quite a liking to her and they can often be seen tearing across the fields together.

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