Last Saturday, Tanya and I attended the Seattle Dog Show. Inspired by the dog photography of my friend Tom Guffey, I thought I’d try my hand at shooting some of the show. I came away even more impressed by the work of Tom. Shooting images of flying dogs is tough!
First, it’s dark and using flash is a big no-no. I had my camera set at ISO 3200, using f-stops of f/4 and f/5.6 and shutter speeds between 1/50 and 1/320 seconds. Digital noise was definitely an issue in my images. Secondly, dogs move – especially when flying. When using fairly wide open f-stops, particularly with my 70-200mm zoom which I used at the agility ring, there isn’t much depth of field. It’s tricky getting the focus right. I set my camera to AI Servo focus mode, to track moving subjects; but as I primarily shoot non-moving things, I’m not very experienced with AI Servo. As you might imagine, there were a lot of rejects for every shot that was almost in focus. Even with these tough lighting conditions, it sure was a fun time.
Here’s some of my favorites from the show.
In the agility ring, this guy had no trouble with the jumps.I love the determination on this pug's face. Note the height of the jump was a little less for him.A lot of people think Corgis are cute. This pair is living up to that reputation.Of course, bulldogs are cute too!But, I'm partial to Newfoundlands. This one is a cousin of Tanya's and mine newfie, Carson. And speaking of poor lighting, as I did above, try taking a picture of a black dog in dim light and still get detail!This dog looks like he is having a great time showing off for the crowd.I call this image "Takeoff" for obvious reasons.In the Old English Sheepdog ring.And speaking of sheepdogs, how about this one's hairdo.Back in the agility ring, there are are the posts to run around as well as the jumps.And what would a dog show be without Toto (and Dorothy of course).
