Procedure
Throw the pine cone, then giggle as does some really silly things to try and grab it.
Observations
Dogs do some rather odd things to pick up something thats been intentionally thrown to the ground. This is certainly no exception. I like this shot because it allows us to again look at the muscles in the dog and how they move and shift under his skin. Its also a rather amusing shot, for obvious reasons. King, while huge, is still very much a puppy and the awkwardness that comes with that territory is evident in nearly everything this dog does. However, at the same time there is a certain amount of elegance to the whole thing, though perhaps that stems more from the slow motion and less from the dog.
Today we look at a shot of King running after fetching a stick.
Materials
King and a stick.
Procedure
Throw the stick, then hope that he actually brings it back to you.
Observations
This is another shot that emphasizes that birds are not the only animals that fly. Sure, it isn’t exactly flight but the dog does manage to catch a fair amount of air as he is bolting through the frame. Though that is one thing I’ve noticed about this dog, he spends as much time in the air as he does on the ground. I’ll try and capture him jumping around some time, it is amazing to watch in person, I can only imagine what it must look like in slow motion.
Here is another shot of King, this time we get to see him drying himself off.
Materials
A hyper-active boxer-lab puppy.
Procedure
Observe.
Results
A very wet and happy dog…as well as a neat clip.
Observations
This is just fascinating. I had initially thought that this would not be the most interesting shot seeing as king has short hair and all that, I’m glad I was wrong. His jowls in particular surprised me. I expected some movement but I didn’t expect them to flap up into his eyes. It is just amazing to see how much motion there is in all of this. The water itself is interesting but it is quite overpowered by the movement of his skin.
Sorry for the delayed post, this was a very busy day. This is my father in law’s dog, he’s about as bright as a box of rocks, but is a very sweet dog. Luckily for us he will also chase anything, anywhere. On a more serious note, this is one of the many excellent uses of slow motion cameras, bio-mechanics. Anytime you really want to study the way bodies or body parts work, slow motion is hands down the best way to do it. A camera like the GigaView works wonderfully for this purpose.
Materials
A hyper-active boxer-lab puppy.
Procedure
Toss a pine cone.
Results
A very wet and happy dog…as well as a neat clip.
Observations
Watching King in motion is just awesome, especially the muscles bunching up as he springs forward. It is neat to see how much area he clears in so little time. We’ll have more shots of king in the future.
Today our presence is graced by the company of Flash and Forrest, two of Matt’s dogs that came to visit us while we were in the process of shooting.
Materials
One large dog.
One small, very floppy dog.
Procedure
Call them
Result
Floppy dog!
Observations
I love this shot. The contrast between the two dogs is fascinating. The floppiness of Flash is just great to watch, I fully plan on getting some more shots of the this dog. The little things that are happening as these dogs are running is also quite interesting, the licking of their noses as they run, the placement of the feet. Forrest is an interesting study in this if you pay close attention. Forrest runs with only three legs, one leg having been injured several years ago. As you are looking at him, the right hand, rear leg is the injured foot. As you watch you will notice it never touches the ground. Flash manages to catch air a few times as he is running along, I think this may be because of his ears, but I could be wrong. Another interesting thing to point out is the way the paws splay prior to hitting the ground and how they expand when weight is applied. Very neat stuff imho.
