I love pushing limits.
When I officially started on my dog photography journey, launching the first iteration of my business in 2017, I went looking for other photographers to inspire me.
I found Kaylee Greer of Dog Breath Photography and was immediately drawn to her wide-angle images, vibrant colors and bold contrast.
Kaylee, whom I’m now fortunate to call a friend, lives at 11mm, as wide as a Canon lens will take her.
At the time, I had a crop-sensor camera (a Nikon D200, if you can believe it) and a Tamron 10-24. My 10mm pretty much tightened up to 15mm on that camera, and stayed there when I grew up a little and bought my D500.
It’s an f/3.5-4.5, though, so it isn’t always as fast as I want it to be. I bought the Sigma 12-24 when I stepped up my game again and went full frame with the D750. But it’s an f/4.5-6.5.
I can hear Kaylee now … what does it matter if you’re using off-camera flash. I mean, that woman doesn’t just live at 11mm. She also lives at f/16.
Off-camera flash at the shelter is tough when you don’t have an assistant and Kaylee’s partner Sam is by her side at every shoot.
I’m a solo show, and the assistants I get are the dog walkers at the shelter. They’re some of the friendliest, most helpful people I know but I only get one at a time usually and they’re usually busy holding the dog.
Another point of frustration is that, since going mirrorless with the Nikon Z9, the widest full-frame wide I can get is a 14mm lens. BALLS! (Nikon, are you listening? Get me a 10mm!)
But I wanted to have some fun last week at the Companions Animal Center. So I pulled the ol’ 12-24 out of storage and screwed it into my lens adaptor.
It was a cloudy day with nice flat light but bright enough to handle an f/4.5 lens with a shutter speed fast enough to stop a dog in his tracks.
Like Bosco.
This sweet, gentle boy carries so much of his personality in his eyes and his nose that I knew he would do justice to a full-out 12 mm.
He didn’t disappoint.
Bosco is 6 years old and a pitbull mix. He loves to run and jump and play and he is full of curiosity. Like any good boy, he loves to hang out with girl dogs and he already knows quite a few commands.
He does need a lot of space to run and jump and play, though, so a human with a big yard is ideal for him.
Bring Bosco home
If you just fell head over heels in love with Bosco and you're interested in bringing him home, contact the Companions Animal Center in Hayden, Idaho, at:
(208) 772-4019