Nikon D40
kit lens @38mm
aperture f4.8
shutter speed 1/40sec
ISO 200
manual
natural light
This is the guard dinosaur that has been in my parents bushes since they moved into the house in 2002. Rex even stayed and guarded the house during the construction that followed my parents house fire.
Technically Rex is a toy from the original Jurassic Park movie. I'm not sure how or why it came about that Rex lives in the bushes but he does. We dress him up for holidays. He's got his very own Santa hat. We leave him dinner. Just last week he had a fork and plate in front of him. He's just like a regular family member.
I set about finding a photo today and thought I would find another animal to photograph. I tried to get my parents grumpy cat Gizmo to participate but she just asked me to speak with her agent. Pretentious little brat.
I looked around for squirrels while I was taking photos outside. All the squirrels in my parents neighborhood must be watching the University of Iowa game (Go Hawkeyes!). Not a single one to be found.
Then walking up to the front door, I spotted Dear Rex. He was a good sport.
Nothing overly complicated in this photograph. I was in spotty shade (from a tree) so I needed to watch my exposure. I didn't want to get 'hot spots' and I didn't want to underexpose all the details in Rex's coloring. Borrowing my brothers CS4 Photoshop, I gave Rex a little tweak to balance him out. I really wanted to play up the dirt and grit he has in his mouth from eating Scott's duck. So I highlighted those areas and gave them a little boost.
A great afternoon spent playing with toys.
Our Wordless Wednesday winner from this week, Myndi, will be posting tomorrow. Watch for it.
Haha great picture! I love how dirty he looks and how crisp he is and your nice blurred background. Rex is awesome!
ReplyDeleteOkay, you crack me up! And I'm really glad he's no longer alive! I clicked on wondering what animal Brandi cornered and caught. AHHH! It's a cement lizard... FUN FUN FUN!
ReplyDeleteI love that you focused on his eye. That's exactly what was needed and you nailed it. Additionally, the background was thrown out of focus sufficiently. I don't have a lot more to say really. Very good work technically and composition wise. I wonder what a vertical aspect would have looked like where his body is the background slowing fading from focus? That's just a different idea artistically but it might be effective. But the angle of his head may not have allowed for a good "birds eye" view. Well done!
ReplyDelete