Thanks for all the coments . . . seems as if the pooch is stealing a lot of
the bokeh show! She was a "rescue" by the local Cocker Spaniel society.
Once we got her on the proper amount of thyroid medication and now have her
allergies under control, she has come back to life and is one terrific dog.
Cannot imagine why someone "dumped" her; she has paid back much, much more
than the medical costs. Seems like I shot the ideal TOPE "Bokeh" photo a
few months too soon!
To answer a few of the questions, there was no flash; it was all natural
light in the afternoon with diffused light pouring in through large west
facing windows. Aperture was not recorded but was wide, most likely f/4,
as the shutter speed was about 1/15th. I was braced in pretzel fashion
snaked around another, similar chair on the other side of the room for the
recliner shot. Because the moderate tele will be used for other things
besides portraits I am very glad I got the 135/2.8. Was thinking it might
double up as a slightly long portrait lens and looks like it holds its own
nicely.
Off topic, but everyone likes good pet portraits. After a few "portrait
sessions" with the dog and cat, I found it's *not* like doing people.
There's no such thing as a formal portrait; they're all candids. You
cannot pose them; they will *not* do a portrait "sitting" for you. Flash
is out unless you use very sophisticated remote lighting; dogs have
terrible "yellow eye" and cat "red eye" makes humans pale by comparison.
My advice: observe behaviors for a while and what triggers them, look for
spots to stage yourself for good shots with available light, and then
preposition yourself with exposure and focus preset as they begin to "do
their thing." Timing is _everything_ along with persistence, patience and
willingness to shoot a good number of frames. What you're not seeing is
the scrap heap on the cutting room floor where timing was off, or movement
put them slightly out of focus (or blurred a slow shutter speed).
[The reclusive cat can be seen here; not nearly soft enough bokeh due to
focal length used but still made big points with them]
http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/johnlind/zeissikon/zeissikongallery/contax11.html
http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/johnlind/zeissikon/zeissikongallery/contax12.html
Thanks,
-- John
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