Friday, January 07, 2011

Catching some air time


BZ Training, a blog with a pair of beautiful goldens stopped by the other day and asked how I got my action shots.


I wish I could pat myself on the back and say that it was talent, skill, craft, flair, expertise and that I was just one hot photographer.


But the reality is, I have playful greyhounds, take a million pictures and usually I can count on one out of that million looking good.


Here are my secrets.


Most digital cameras today have a sports setting. The camera will do whatever it has to to give you a fast shutter speed. That stops the action.


In most cases if you keep the shutter button depressed, the camera will take bursts of photos in a sequence. These seven images were all taken between 1:40:38 and 1:40:40.

Karen threw the ball, I followed Cinderella with my lens and never released the shutter for the seven images.


That is the other secret. It takes two of us, one to throw the toy and me to try and anticipate what is going to happen. Separately, most of these pictures probably wouldn't have made the cut, but as a sequence they tell the story.

Now it's time to read some other stories. Please join us for the Saturday Pet Blog Hop.

The Pet Blog Hop hosted by Life with Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. Many, many thanks to the hosts, the Pet Blog Hop rocks.

Please join us, the rules are simple:
  1. Follow your three hosts
  2. Check out some of the our fellow bloggers, leave them a comment and tell them you are visiting from the Pet Blog hop
  3. Add your blog to the Linky
  4. Copy and paste the html code into your html editor



14 comments:

Carol's Critter Corner said...

They are great shots, you are better than you think, this coming from a photographer myself. Keep up the great work!

houndstooth said...

You forgot to add that you have incredible models! :P I agree, having two people often helps a lot! And I love the sports setting.

Lindy said...

Fantastic images! I use sport setting on my camera, but haven't mastered it nearly as well as you.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my post about Sophie. Hope you have a great weekend. =)

The Barn Door said...

I especially love the shadow under the dog in the first picture! Great job!!

BZ Dogs said...

Hmmm... Sports Setting (looks doubtful). I know my little point-n-shoot can do bursts, but haven't played with it.

I think I'll put my money on "talent, skill, craft, flair, expertise and that [your are] just one hot photographer"!

Thanks for the tips, will see what I can do!

Elaine Pritchard said...

So Cinderella WILL go to the ball.

I think your shots are amazing and you are far too modest.

Always love stopping by to see your latest pictures.

Love and licks Winnie x

The Joke Puppy said...

Hello Blog Hop pal, Your little beauty looks amazingly graceful in full flight, all four paws off the ground. However, you do it, you have talent with your camera. Keep sharing.

Jans Funny Farm said...

We came by from the blog hop. Great action shots!

Kristin G. said...

I always enjoy your photos! Sports mode is my friend too. :)

Anonymous said...

Those are great pictures. Mama uses the same settings, but it seems like whenever she does that I just stop whatever it is I am doing. I think she has a hundred pictures of me staring at her. LOL! I can't help it. It's fun to tease Mama. She caught me doing something the other day though. She took a movie. I think she's going to make another dog movie of me. She's not done yet. It will take a while.

I always love looking at your pictures.

Your pal,

Opie

Anonymous said...

I found you through the hop...Love your pictures and beautiful pups..we are new followers.

Sage said...

Those are amazing shots! I agree--you have to shoot a lot to get a few good ones. I have a "Kids & Pets" setting on my camera, which I assume is similar to a "sports" setting.

Stellaluna said...

The human can't find the sport ption on her camera (even if she switch the language to English to find the exact translation) but maybe it is because it is too old (it's like from 2005, the year I was born!), she will buy a newer one soon so she can take great pics like you!

PS: I found you on the blog hop and added you to my list of blogs!

Anonymous said...

I don't know what it is about greyhounds, but they are consistently one of the most photogenic breeds. They are just so dynamic in pictures. What a fantastic blog! I'll have to make this a regular stop!