Sparkles
Won 2nd place FtWorth Star Telegrams annual model pet contest.
Sep, 2019Views
176
Likes
Awards
Zenith Award
Spring 21 Award
2020 Choice Award
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Emotions
Impressed
Happy
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 30 rank week 1Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
this was taken in the living room of my house. sparkles was sitting in the desk chair behind my boyfriend. he was on edge of seat because she fails to believe she isn’t a lap dog!!! this was a typical seating arrangement for them though.Time
it was between 9-10pm. that was our nightly routine. after dinner and showers we all kicked back in the living room to watch the news and/or play around on the computer. we were a family of 2 adults and 2 dogs. Sparkles of course. and then we had little Winky. she was my sweet baby girl. my rescued one-eyed Chihuahua. she fit in laps just fine.Lighting
i hate to ruin the “joy” of the picture by saying this, but i had just got my camera as a birthday present. i had no prior experience in photography and i was just playing around with different settings to learn the camera better. i knelt down on knees to get Sparkles’ attention and i didnt think i was actually going to be able to capture her in a good pose, she was a hyper ole thing. but surprisingly she just raised up and right as i clicked the button to take her picture, she yawned. and still to this day it is my favorite capture. such a great picture to be a complete accident. she was a very photogenic dog though.Equipment
my Canon EOS Rebel t3i 600D. lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS ll. i was new to the camera so i know it was set to “scene intelligent auto” mode. Sparkles and the camera deserve all the credit. i just got a very lucky shot. no tripod and no fancy tricks. simply beginners luck.Inspiration
it was just a spur of the moment type deal. this picture has a bit more of a story to it though. the local newspaper, (ft worth star telegram), ran an annual “model pet contest”. they weren’t looking for the youngest pet or the prettiest and cleanest or cutest pet. the contest was in search of the pet that had a heroic type story, a pet all other pets should strive to be. a role model pet for lack of better term. the year before i took this picture i had entered my chihuahua in the contest and her rough start to life story won her the “comeback kid” award and of course her picture & recognition in the paper. so after seeing how great the accidental picture of Sparkles turned out, i entered it in the same contest that year. the final decision came down to her and another large dog. the judges based their final decision on the pet with a story to tell. unfortunately i had to come out and say it was a yawn not a smile and really really perfect timing that brought out this great picture. she ended up with 2nd place, per the judges simply because she had no story to tell.Editing
not at all. the picture is 100% original and unedited in anyway.In my camera bag
extra SD cards, owners manual for camera, lens, charger and batteryFeedback
imperfect images or unplanned ones in my opinion are more natural and they have a realistic effect to them that can help the viewer better relate to your work. i get my best shots when i just go to clicking the capture button. just let the picture make itself.
