Dog Days of Summer

Tyson and I had some fun the other day playing around with my new strobes.
Tyson, a miniature pinscher, is often my model when I get a new piece of gear.

This is my dog, Tyson. He is a miniature pinscher and usually ends up being my model when I need to practice photographing something. This day, he was helping me test out my new strobes. I bought two Alien Bees B-400 flash units in a package the company calls the DigiBee. They are great because they are relatively inexpensive, very light and compact, and easy to set up and use. I bought them because I am doing more studio work now to compliment my natural light work. There’s a lot of creative freedom a photographer can explore when using artificial light solely or even when combined with natural light.

Speaking of photographing dogs and combining both artificial and natural light, I have been asked to photograph several hundred dogs later this fall in Austin for the Austin Dog Alliance’s “Cute Pooch Calendar”. They plan to have plenty of costumes and props for dogs and their owners to use, but participants can also bring their own. The idea is that the Austin Dog Alliance will choose the cutest pooch for each of the twelve months of the year and feature the best picture of that dog for their respective month. They plan to sell the calendars, with all of the proceeds going back to help the programs of the Austin Dog Alliance. The great thing about the calendar is that they will contain a coupon or two each month for local pet related products and services, so the cost of the calendar is virtually nothing. What a great deal!

I will blog more about this event as details become available. If you are interested, please check back here or contact the Austin Dog Alliance for more information.