A Dog's Best Friend
Taken in March 2016 in Shoreditch, London
Taken in March 2016 in Shoreditch, London
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Aug, 2016Views
392
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Awards
Winner in Me and my pet Photo Challenge
Winner in Mans best friend Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Genius
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RCB1975
November 20, 2016
The winner of my first ever challenge Man's best friend, I chose this as the ultimate winner because above all else it clearly shows the unconditional love between the dog and the man. Excellent!
Eggers
November 20, 2016
Thanks RCB - your comments are really appreciated! Just let me know where I can send the cheque...;-D
PRO+
adavies
June 02, 2017
Lovely image...very compelling! Beautifully captured! If you haven't done so already, please consider joining my Random Acts challenge:)
https:// viewbug.com/challenge/random-acts-photo-challenge-by-adavies
https:// viewbug.com/challenge/random-acts-photo-challenge-by-adavies
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in front of the Tab centre in Shoreditch, London. The Tab Centre is a cafeteria with a kitchen and is used to prepare and serve hot meals for the homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics, the mentally ill and the old and discarded. I helped prepare and serve meals to service users like the one depicted for about 5 years. The Tab Centre is run by the Spitalfields Crypt Trust (www.sct.org.uk) which is dedicated to rebuilding people's lives.Time
The Tab centre opens up around 8ish am so my guess is that is was taken around late morning i.e. 11am.Lighting
There had been a massive property development/construction project which involved the demolition of nearby surrounding buildings and the formation of a piazza like space in front of the Tab centre. This meant that sunlight was now allowed to shine directly onto the Tab centre's facade and onto the white concrete of the piazza. This gave the area a brighter feel.Equipment
I used my Canon EOS 1000D Rebel XS.Inspiration
I must confess that I was, inexplicably, a bit nervous taking pictures of the service users. I felt the pressure of doing 'right by them'. I had previously asked for permission from both the staff and the service users. Initially, some were sceptical and reluctant (including some of the new members of staff who didn't really know me) and then gradually the service users remembered me (a feat in itself) and they allowed me to take their pictures. Understandably, some didn't. The tab centre is an amazing place where volunteers prepare and serve meals to the homeless and I thought it might be a nice idea to promote (again) this charitable endeavour by capturing the brief glimpses into moments of happiness of the service users. And, on a personal note, whilst I was in the full throes of PTSD, I helped prepare and serve hot meals to the less fortunate and the healing that came from this activity helped me on my path to recovery. With specific reference to the photo, I was asked by the subject to take a picture of him and his dog. It is an unofficial traditional for a lot of homeless to have a dog for friendship and protection on the streets. The dogs are remarkably well cared for. And in this case, I hoped to capture their close bond.Editing
Yes. As this was early on in my photographic endeavours, I would normally shoot in jpeg. i did so in this case however I felt it would convey more impact by converting it to B&W. I used a B&W filter provided by the application, 'Intensify' which is part of the MacPhun Creative Kit software suite.In my camera bag
No laughing please: I have the following: Camera & Lens: 1 x Canon EOS 1000D, 1 x Canon EFS 18-55mm lens, 1 x Canon EFS 70-300mm lens Tripod: Velbon EF-61 (grrrrrrrrr) Battery: 2 x Lithium batteries Memory Cards: 2 x memory cards (Eyefi and SanDisk) iPhone accessories including solar charger and Ollo clip (wide angle & fish eye lens) Some manuals, notes, fruit, the same half eaten baguette (which i should really throw out), a bottle of water A lot of luck, hope, inspiration and the occasionally critical eyeFeedback
Important: This is not for the faint hearted. If you have a (good) relationship/connection with a local charity or soup kitchen then it is certainly worth asking permission to document the service users. Of course you have to ask the service users as well and it always helps if they "know" you. If you don't have this sort of connection then, I imagine, it becomes a little problematic as your request might be regarded with suspicion and possibly exploitative. You will have to 'sell' your kindness as best you can in order to convince the gatekeepers. Remember these people (service users) are extremely vulnerable and suspicious of strangers. As always, be prepared for a negative response even if you do know them. If you go into this situation with an open heart (and mind), even if the response goes against you, you at least tried. The upshot is that you'll be prepared/more informed for the next time you ask.
