Accidental Self Portrait
Posted September 9th, 2007 in [hide]
This self-portrait was entirely unintentional. Molly, the terrier, is a beautiful but uncooperative dog, heading out on an abortive mission through the Cascades. She’s never been a fan of cameras in general, but refused to participate in this “shoot.” Up ’till this moment, she had been hanging carefree out the window, queen of all she saw, but the camera changed everything.
Don’t Try This at Home
At this close range, the “nifty fifty” or 50 mm f/1.4, was ideal. This image is closed down a stop to f/2, creating the soft bokeh surrounding the side-view mirror. The foreground view of Molly’s ear can hardly be distinguished from the bright sky illuminating the road behind us.
Focus is the main challenge; pretend the mirror doesn’t exist, and aim for the reflection. The background will be blurred to some extent by the car’s motion, but a bright background tends to look best when the light is “smeared” through a wide aperture.
Ultrasonic Motors - Silent?
Ultra-sonic [focus] motors, are popular for a number of reasons; one of them is that they’re not supposed to make noise. Nikon calls their version of the same technology “silent-wave focus.” This is obviously important shooting wildlife, but I’ve noticed domestic pets seem bothered by the technology.
Molly, my cat Parsley, and a number of small dogs will act normally if I opt for manual focus, but get up and leave when I use autofocus. While the 50 mm uses micro-USM, the same is true of my 135 mm f/2 L and 300 mm f/4 IS.
This has never been a problem photographing birds, insects, or the occasional real wildlife I get the chance to shoot. But it’s been a consistent issue with pet photography. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this?
Now that dog is camera shy! You can see it in her face. There’s a certain amount of coy.
But I bet she wouldn’t let you take her off your lap!
You must be a dog person, Ernie. No, she absolutely would not give up the lap seat. Best one in the house…