A Long Awaited Post

First let me apologize for not blogging for SO long! I have been so busy with school and traveling that I just haven't had chance to sit down and write down my thoughts for you all!

I spent the month of August on the road, visiting 13 states and seeing numerous amazing things! For that month of travel Hobart went off to spend some time with my friend, and veteran puppy raiser, Marty. Unfortunately, his not as pleasant side was revealed and well, things don't look positive for him passing. I can't say I'm surprised. Hobart loves to play and be a dog.

Hobart is still an amazing dog! We considered having him evaluated for early release, but it was decided that it would be better for us to just hold off a few more months (until November) for Hobart to turn-in normally. I'm disappointed for sure, but not all dogs have the same future. We'll see what happens then!

He continues to be my boy and I love him to death!

In regards to the next pup... I'm really busy over the winter since I've chosen to do an intense speech and debate program and we decided it would be better to hold off on getting another pup until I have a little more time on my hands! Around New Year I'm hopefully going to start on puppy #3 and co-raise with my friend, Marty! I'm looking forward to that very much!

Hobart is now 15 months old and is just so grown up! Though, he might not hold up as a Service pup he'll make someone very , very happy!

I'm so sorry for not posting in so long! I'll be back with more soon :)

Hobart and Hobart

one arena for a very cute puppy!

Nebraska

big horn sheep in Utah

Bryce Canyon- Utah

Flagstaff, Arizona!

me (arches- Utah)

utah

Grand Canyon -Arizona

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

best wishes and blessings!
~Elijah & Hobart II

New Camera/ New Photos

 My family just purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T3! I'm totally thrilled to be able to work with the new DSLR!!!!! I was shooting some pictures to test out the camera. So, of course, I got some pictures of Hobart. Fortunately, Hobart hasn't realized that it's a camera yet and poses for it quite nicely :D

Absolutely crystal clear... a picture perfect pup :)

Some interesting lighting.... It should be titled "Hobart Goes to a Scary Movie"...

Here's a shot that I got using a full manual focus. I'm really excited about being able to get creative macro shots like this one.

~Elijah & Hobart II

Hobart photoshoot (Spring 2012)

little pine cones

our ornamental plants begin to come back

I smell something good!

really?

hey ;)

I got out and got a couple good shots of Hobart today! I also got a couple shots of the Ohio plants that are coming to life!

~Elijah & Hobart II

Capturing Moments Forever

Taking photos is one of my favorite things. The art of capturing life through a lens never ceases to amaze me.  I love capturing pictures with different light angles. Light is one of the most amazing things in God's creation. I've failed to become a good dog photographer. I have gotten a couple of good shots, though. Here I want to compare good and bad photos and why it makes a difference to capture good pictures. It's a good thing to think about as an "animal photographer in the making".

BAD-- I used flash without realizing that it would reflect of Dembre's black coat

GOOD-- No flash/ good natural lighting/ good eye light (animated)

OKAY-- good background, bad angle, bad eye light

BETTER-- nice light reflecting in his eyes, not sun patches

OKAY-- Cute moment, not great lighting (but no flash), bad eyelighting

BETTER-- Good light, cut in B/W, good eye light (very animated)

INTERESTING-- Cool lighting (slight lens flare to the right), Cute expression (not an ideal portrait)

GOOD-- I love how you can see my reflection in Hobart's eyes, he's not quite looking at me, though, good composition

BAD-- In some ways "cute", but not a good photo, okay eyelighting and natural light, terrible capture

~Elijah & Hobart II

Hobart II (Misty Morning Photoshoot)

Yesterday morning I was walking Hobart and I thought, "this would be a perfect day for a photoshoot." There was a thick fog and it gave a nice touch! So I grabbed my camera, some treats, and took Hobart out to get some photos! Here are the results!

Elijah & Hobart II

More Pics

Hobart is growing up so quickly. I'm not sure, but I think that he's 11 weeks old today!

He's headed off to the puppy sitter for the weekend, because I'm going to be super busy and won't be home enough to get him out as much as a little puppy needs!

~Elijah & Hobart II

Hobart Photo Shoot

I got a photo shoot of Hobart! I set my camera on a repeated shutter drive mode, which worked pretty well. It was shuttering about every 3/4 of a second so I was able to get a couple good pics :)

We also got to go to my friend's house and let our CCI pups play! It was so cute :)

~Elijah & Hobart