People & vizslas (mostly vizslas)
Focused Sunlight
I took this photo in the entryway to my Cambridge home in July 2020. The mid-afternoon light that angles downward comes from a single skylight. The light bounced off the white wall and created a nice fill to dog’s face — it was this focused sunlight that I was hoping to capture, all while retaining the very high contrast between the dark oak floors, the bright white walls, and the deep shadows.
I was walking to the kitchen when I saw the serendipitous composition. I grabbed my camera (then, a Fuji X-E1) and shot handheld using my 18-55mm Fuji lens (55mm), f/11, 1/60 shutter and ISO 200.
In post-processing, I purposefully crushed the background blacks to simplify the composition and draw the eye to the light and leading lines. I used a bit of sharpening to accentuate the contours in the fur, slightly reduced the saturation of the greens, blues and cyans, and cropped it to a square image.
The subject is our 1½ year old vizsla named Winona. She is — how do I put this? — a handful, and typically not as “focused” as in this photo.
Winona at Watch
Dogs are social creatures. Vizslas are very social dogs. Winona is a very, very social vizsla. In this image, Winona watches for the arrival of her best canine friend Coco.
I took this photograph January 2021 at Winthrop House on Harvard’s campus. At the time, Massachusetts was experiencing a surge in the COVID pandemic, with 6,000 new infections and 80 deaths per day. We were all huddled at home. Harvard Square, where we live, was eerily quiet. The students were gone. Many shops and restaurants were closed. The streets were empty.
Straining through wrought iron bars, Winona here peers out, mournful yet alert awaiting her friend for a rare but cherished off-leash romp during this time of social isolation. Winona’s separation from and longing to see Coco is the same thing I’ve frequently felt during this awful year.
In my photography, I aim – not always successfully – for simplicity and clarity. Often I restrict an image’s color palette in an effort to reduce visual distraction. Here, the camera focuses on Winona’s face and paw, while the heavy iron bars blur and recede to the right. Blacks, oranges, and muted pinks and reds dominate this early-morning shot.
I also like this photo because it highlights Winona’s velvety ears. They are spectacular.
Lording it over
Sniffing
After the rain
Late afternoon sunning
Ice is mysterious
Writer at work
Bookish girl
Street chess hand
Coffee talk