Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Bits and Bytes

Fluffy Tail
Peek-a-Boo



Dog Blog Post #2353



Just A Little Bit of Zachary is in focus here.


Photography Assignment


Our Daily Challenge - Jan 30, 2017 - "Just A Little Bit"

Daily Dog Challenge 1918. "Backward"

I typically focus on the front end.


Other Interpretations



Bit of a Byte
Bit of a Byte


Software pun... eight bits in a byte, and all.


Turkey Legs
Turkey Legs


How Zachary can find that comfortable is a mystery to all.

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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Monday, January 30, 2017

Zachary and the Dragon

Zachary and the Dragon
Zachary the Dragon Whisper



Dog Blog Post #2352


Imported, Foreign or Exotic

A Dragon is exotic, isn't it?

This little guy was rare impulse buy from over 20 years ago.

Technically a bookend, although I've never used him that way, he perched atop my monitor for years until displays became too narrow to hold him safely.

He now sits on an index card box next to my keyboard.

Admittedly, he probably thinks it's a demotion, but I no longer have to worry about him crashing down on my fingers.

Yes, he did that once, and left a rather sizable dent in my keyboard in the progress.

I've long since forgotten how much I paid for him (although he must not have been cheap as I only bought one instead of a typical pair) but hardly a day goes by when I don't look at him and smile.

Oh, and he's made in China - where the best Dragons come from, of course.

Photography Assignment


Our Daily Challenge - Jan 29, 2017 - "Imported, Foreign or Exotic"

Daily Dog Challenge 1917. "Unusual"

Well, how often do YOU see a Dog in chainmail confronting a Dragon?



Zachary and the Dragon
Zachary the Unimpressed



Zachary and the Dragon
Zachary In Color



Dramatic Dragon


Dragon
Fun with Lighting



Dragon
Fun with a Macro Lens

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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Mr. Steady

Mr. Steady
Henry: (drum roll)



Hungry Henry
Henry - gulp!



Dog Blog Post #2351


Cookies, balancing on the Step, Edge, Ledge of Henry's very Straight muzzle.

This trick uses Henry's natural patience and steadiness to greatest advantage.

In fact, his limitations in balancing come down to the flatness of the Cookies used and my ability to make a stable stack.

While his skill in this is undisputed, I give him extra Brownie Points today as these are quite possibly his favorite Cookies*.

They are usually reserved as the boys' final reward when shoots are all over, since the Cookies are crumbly and bit greasy - not something I want on my hands when I'm fiddling with the camera.

However, they are square, generally flat, and I thought they would create a nice Straight or Narrow column.

Henry's posture isn't half-bad, either. :)

Photography Assignment


Our Daily Challenge - Jan 29, 2017 - "Step, Edge, Ledge"

Daily Dog Challenge 1916. "Straight"

117 Pictures in 2017 - #74. Straight or Narrow

The Less Said The Better...


Zachary has many, many talents.

Happy Zachary
Zachary: "How hard can that be?"



Mr. Unsteady
Mr. Unsteady


Balancing Cookies on his nose isn't one of them.

(Look at the angle of his muzzle. Those Cookies didn't have a chance.)

* Blue Buffalo Trail Treats

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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year
Year of the (baby) Rooster



Chinese New Year
Henry: "But I thought every year is the year of the Dog."

It is sweetie.

At our house, it most certainly is.

Dog Blog Post #2350



2017 is the Chinese year of the Rooster.

Since we ring in the New Year with baby New Year, Zachary decided to welcome the Chinese New Year with a baby rooster.

Work with me here!

The collar is new - created today from start to finish as prop #3 for 2017 (superseding the not-yet-finished microphone)

It's a real collar, in the sense that it is firmly stitched together and designed to be used over and over again.

It's a wire-edged ribbon (purchased after Christmas) stitched along the top edge to a backing of slightly narrower white felt. The gold ribbon was then stitched around the edge.

I imagined it being like a robe, hence the overlap in front.

It took me just over four hours, and I'm going to label it a success at this point, although in the future I would try to avoid wired ribbons as they "dent" too easily.

Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge 1915. "Chinese New Year"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 28, 2017 - "Begins with A"

Asian?
Atop? (chicken atop the petals)
Arbitrary? (the pink petals. The Party City decorations had them, but I haven't a clue their significance, if any)
Awful? (the lighting)

Behind the Scenes



Making of Robe Collar
Felt Backing


I ended up cutting the back seam and adding another inch (visible below).

Making of Robe Collar
Almost done!



Completed Robe Collar
Completed "Robe" Collar


I learned a lot making this.

I learned that ribbon/felt collars are much lighter than the plastic mesh ones I'm used to and thus need to be a bit longer as they aren't heavy enough to mash down the boy's ruff.

I learned to curve the ribbon in the direction the final collar will lay when stitching the backing felt on, else the felt will wrinkle and you have to resew it (sigh).

Or cut a 1/4" out of the felt where it puckers worst and stitch it back together again.

(I actually did a bit of both to fix the problem.)

I learned it was insanely easy to create and I look forward to creating many more!


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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Friday, January 27, 2017

Sit-N-Stare

Little Sit-n-Stare
Henry: "More Cookies, please."



Dog Blog Post #2349



Henry hasn't changed a bit from the day we brought him home at ~8 weeks old.

Here's his first "training" video of that day:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC84NJIVUgw&t=41s

... where I was mostly teaching "sit-n-stare". We joke that he learned it so well, that he decided he didn't need to learn anything else.

Truthfully, he might be on to something.

To this day, it is his default behavior - the first thing he tries when he doesn't know what else to do.

Look at that face. How can I resist?

Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge 1914. "The Look of Love"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 27, 2017 - "Friday I'm In Love"


Historical Document



Little Sit-n-Stare
Little Henry ~9 weeks old


... from the blog post: The Past Few Days


Big Sit-N-Stare


Little Sit-n-Stare
Big Henry



See... I told you he hasn't changed.

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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Water Play

Mr. Henry
Henry the Ready

(A shoot right up Henry's alley)

Water Play
(plop)

(Quite the height on that splash)

Water Play
(splash)

(That one wasn't bad either)

Water Play
(bubble bubble bubble)


(Look carefully at this cropped shot, above, and admire the bow wave about to crest the bowl and inundate the floor.

Henry obviously has no problem plunging his muzzle deep into the bowl to get the Cookie.

I'm a split-second from reaching into the bowl and pulling his muzzle out, to somewhat limit the damage.)

Water Play
(drip drip drip)


To keep my Henry from downing the bowl (or drinking all the water to rescue the Cookie -- yes, he's tried that approach before) I retrieved it for him.


Dog Blog Post #2348


Oh, the things we do for our art.

This is a Cookie taking a plunge into a bowl of water.

I'm quite amazed at how the water droplets went, and how much water managed to get all over the floor.

You would have thought I was working with a ten gallon bucket.


Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge 1913. "Water"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 26, 2017 - "Favorite Drink"

Well, their ONLY drink. Although after I finished this shoot, and the subsequent mopping u up of the floor, I was ready for an Irish Coffee.

Water Play

p.s. Uh, no. Zachary didn't get water play. I'm sure he would have been marvelous at it, but I wasn't about to clean up the floor.

Again.


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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Quality Control

Quality Control
Zachary: "Hmm..."



Quality Control
Zachary: "This one's good."



Quality Control
Henry: "I concur."

Well, that's a relief.

Dog Blog Post #2347


The boys take their Lacrosse Balls VERY seriously.

Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge 1912. "Experiment"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 25, 2017 - "Science"

100x - 9 : Quality Control

Quality Control
Henry was unimpressed with the shower cap



Yesterday...


Was all snuggled under the blanket with a dog or two on the sofa. And while I can upload pictures to Flickr from there, trying to write a blog posting is... not really worth the effort. :)

Henry and Mousie
Henry and Mousie



Playing with a new (thank you, Hubby!) detachable lens for my iPhone.

Alas, I didn't quite get it on exactly straight, creating a bit of shadowing on one side, so you get a vertical crop.

Daily Dog Challenge 1911. "Pastel"

After yesterday's hand wringing about not being able to find anything of a "surprising color", what's the first thing I found in Henry's box of Puppy Toys?

Yup. A blue mouse.

117 Pictures in 2017: #11. "Childish Delights"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 24, 2017 - "Lighter"

Certainly lighter than my typical black background shots!

7 Days of Photography: Imitations - Texture

Henry and Mousie
The above, with an artsy "oil painting" filter applied in PicArt on my iPad



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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Monday, January 23, 2017

When The Prop Bin Fails

Little Witch
Zachary and the Little Witch


Little Witch
Henry (thinking) : "This is so lame."


And Henry would be correct.

Dog Blog Post #2346


You can learn a lot about yourself taking pictures.

Today I learned that I apparently don't like things that have "surprising color".

There were no purple stuffed dogs on my shelves. No pink kitty cats on the pillows.

Nope, I scoured the house from top to bottom, including braving Son's room, and this little green witch was the ONLY thing I found.

So, I throw myself on the mercy of the photograph group to find some compassion for a soul who surrounds themselves with naturalistic blandness.

Unless you think a purple fedora counts as surprising!

Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge 1910. "Vivid"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 23, 2017 - "Surprising Color"


Completely Unrelated


For the 7 Days of Shooting - "Imitation - Macro" topic...

Woven Stitch
Knit Woven Stitch


Woven Stitch
Looks like a basket weave - but isn't


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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, January 22, 2017

ACME Portable Hole

ACME Portable Hole
Henry: "Hmmm"



ACME Portable Hole
Zachary: "Hmmmm"



ACME Portable Hole
Henry: (silence)



Dog Blog Post #2345


I wonder what their plans are for it?

Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge 1909. "Spot"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 22, 2017 - "This Unique Place"

Isn't a Portable Hole a rather unique place?

117 Pictures in 2017 - "Artificial"

7 Days of Shooting - Imitations: Geometry Sunday

Obviously, there isn't a real hole in my kitchen floor.

At least, I hope there isn't.

Boys!

ACME Portable Hole
Zachary: "Oh, Hi Mom."


Editor's Note: Yes, the hole is genuine, in the sense that it is a physical item sitting on my kitchen floor. It's just not very holey.

It is, in fact, the second prop I've made this year (the first being The Frost King's crown).

I'm hoping to create a prop a week this year. We'll see how that goes.

As we are starting week four and I just made prop number two, tonight, it seems I'm off to a shaky start.

However, as this took me 10 minutes, with a pencil, a bit of string, a large sheet of construction paper, and some scissors, perhaps there's hope, yet.


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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, January 21, 2017

TV Spokesdogs?

I have no idea what the boys were thinking today.

The entire shoot looked just like this...

TV Spokesdogs?
"Thank you for your support."


... except the first shot (below).

Dog Blog Post #2344


Does anyone else think "Bartles and Jaymes" when they look at this?

Does anyone else REMEMBER Bartles and Jaymes 1980's commercials?

"Thank you for your support."

Oh dear, I'm dating myself.

Or maybe the American Gothic painting by Grant Wood. You know, the one with farm couple in front of the house and the man is holding a pitch fork?

Photography Assignment


Daily Dog Challenge 1908. "Unwanted"

117 Pictures in 2017 - #97. "Unwanted"

An empty bag.

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 20, 2017 - "Out with the old... In with the New"

The First Shot


Here's the first shot, snapped as a lighting check as I had my back to them and was walking over to check the flash.

Horror Story
"Empty!"


I swear Zachary looks horrified the bag is empty and Henry appears to have fainted.

FWIW: Good thing I checked the lighting. It came out a bit dark for my tastes (the near-white bag throwing off the sensor) so I upped the lighting a bit for the rest of the shoot

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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Friday, January 20, 2017

Online Shopping

Online Shopping
Henry... in serious trouble



Dog Blog Post #2343


He is so busted.

Daily Dog Challenge 1907. "What's Your Angle?"

Photography Assignment


Our Daily Challenge - Jan 20, 2017 - "TGIF"

117 Pictures in 2017: #48. "Break The Rules"

7 Days of Shooting: The Weekly Grocery Shop - Focus Friday

Also Rans


Online Shopping
Doubling down?



Online Shopping
Not you, too, Zachary!



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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Camouflage

Mr. Zachary
Mr. Zachary



Mr. Zachary
Here's looking at you, Kid



Zachary will turn nine in March.

Although he may look distinguished on the outside, he's still just a Goofy Golden on the inside.


Mr. Henry
The Kid...



Mr. Henry
... doing what he does best.


Henry doesn't even pretend to be a grown up.

Dog Blog Post #2342



Yes, my dogs match my blankets.

They also blend quite well with the hardwood floors, the carpets, and the cabinets.

Makes it harder to see the dog hair that way.


Photography Assignment



Daily Dog Challenge 1906. "Camouflage"

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 19, 2017 - "From Ground Level"

Anyone Seen Henry?
Do you see a tail?



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© 2017 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved