Out in the California countryside, we are the proud "parents" of nine healthy Newfoundland puppies! My wife Mary is the breeder, but events like this seem to involve anyone who happens to be nearby - especially someone with a camera :-)
I took the accompanying photo the other day when the pups were 1 day old. The litter includes five black (very common) and four gray (very rare) puppies, each weighing 1 1/2 to 2 pounds at birth ... a verrrrry long way from their eventual 100-plus-pound adult size!
For this image, I selected a prop - a BetterPhoto coffee mug, naturally! - plus window light as the light source. A wide aperture (f/4) and high ISO (800) provided a shutter speed fast enough (1/250th second) to easily hand-hold the camera with a 105 macro lens. Of course, it helps to have an expert assistant (my stepdaughter, Kristin), who chose a puppy that was sound asleep - so no squirming, bouncing, squeeking, or squawking! The fact that a gray puppy was selected, instead of a difficult-to-record black one, was no accident either.
With tight close-ups, focusing decisions are crucial. With most pet and people portraits, the eyes have it. But, sleeping aside, these puppies won't open their eyes until they're a few weeks old. Can't beat the nose as a key focal point.
By the way, Newf puppies do seem to look better with age :-) so stay tuned!
Thanks, Kerry Drager
Awwwwwwwww, what a cutie pie!!! I've never seen a gray one before. Mostly black. Just adorable.. Keep them coming!
Posted by: carolyn fletcher | April 29, 2008 at 03:27 AM
Hi Carolyn,
Glad you like the pic! As with you, I had never seen a gray one before either - then, all of a sudden, a week ago, I saw four at once (the pups)!! :-) Gray is a recognized Newf color (although super rare) - in fact, my wife Mary has seen a couple of grays in shows, and one of them was a winner. Thanks for commenting, Carolyn - much appreciated!!
Kerry
Posted by: Kerry Drager | April 29, 2008 at 07:28 AM
Kerry, Congratulations on your new additions! What a wonderful handful.
Picture is great too.
Pat
Posted by: Pat Festino | May 03, 2008 at 05:47 AM
Hi Pat,
Good hearing from you, and thanks for the nice thoughts!!
Kerry
Posted by: Kerry Drager | May 04, 2008 at 12:18 PM