Dog Photo Competition 4 2012 : Entry Number 230

this image was a very early favorite in this competition for me, and has remained a strong leader throughout ... not just for its rich tones, well-handled depth of field, and framing, but because it represents the essence of "dog" ... dirty snout, stick, rocks, leaves, outdoors, nose pointed at his owner's (photographer's) legs. to me, it doesn't get more "doggy" than this. i'm wondering if the tones are leaning a little on the magenta side here (one of my own bad habits) and whether just a little more depth could be added to your shadows. but i absolutely love this. ~ illona

Thank you for this honor for my photo of one of my dogs, Gertie. I had been attempting to photograph my dogs by an old stone wall at our lake cottage in the Adirondacks..but as usual they had other plans. So I quickly snapped this right before I put the camera away. I just looked down and liked the angle. Taken with a Nikon D90 and a 50 mm 1.4 lens. I adjusted exposure, highlights, and shadows in Lightroom. I am Maureen Jordan, an aspiring pet photographer.