Shoot Two Work Record

Planning

I will take my images using my Nikon D5300 DSLR Camera and will adjust the setting for each specific situation to suit the shot I am taking. The shoot will take place at Mutts in Distress in Little Hallingbury in Hertfordshire. I aim to focus of taking photographs in the paddock, the centres grounds and in the kennel blocks and runs. During this shoot I aim to show a different side to the work that is done at Mutts In Distress. This side being the intensely physical work and the training of the dogs. This work is also some of the most rewarding work as you get to be very close with the dogs and hopefully I will capture the giving and receiving of affection from the dogs.

I also plan on arriving very early in the morning so that I can capture images of the staff arriving at Mutts for work with the sun just rising and casting long shadows. This will illustrate to the viewers the early start and the long working day the staff have at the Centre. I plan on taking this image in the entrance lane into Mutts as it is straight and has a wooden fence running alongside it which casts a long shadow in the early sun. This shadow leads the viewer along the lane into the centre. I captured an image of this in practice shoot 7, and thought that it was really effective, so I plan on capturing another similar image with a few slight changes.    

What I hope to achieve

In the early morning, I hope to photograph an image of workers walking up the driveway entrance with long shadows from the rising sun. Then later when the other volunteers, Paula and Julia, arrive, I will focus on them and their work as it is very different to the work that I photographed in the first shoot. They exercise the dogs in the paddock, and take dogs for walks. 

In the paddock I hope to capture the training of the dogs. This may include:

• paw/sit/beg
• learning how to walk on a lead
• getting nervous or distrusting dogs to become more confident around humans. 

I also hope to show the fun that the volunteers have at the shelter. The volunteers have a lot of fun with the dogs, especially in the paddock as often the dogs will ask for a cuddle and they will ask you to play with them. 

The dogs at the shelter are very loveable and because of this, it is very easy to form an attachment to them and you do love these dogs. This love I hope to capture as I have many emotional bonds with these dogs and I find it the most wonderful thing about volunteering. I may capture it by a close up image of a dog and volunteer looking in each other's eyes. 

I want to also show the volunteers running about and playing with the dogs, showing the physical exertion. Another convenient thing to capture would be the process of getting the dogs out of their kennels into the paddock. 

Generally in comparison to the first shoot, I want to capture images that show how rewarding the work is here. Again, I aim for all my photos to look at least somewhat natural. These images are a lot easier to relate to. 

What I achieved

Although I arrived early in the morning the weather was not suitable to capture the image I wanted with the workers arriving and casting long shadows. The morning sky was too overcast with clouds so that the sun was not bright enough to create distinct shadows. It was only later in the day the cloudy went away and the sun came out and by then it was too late to capture the image I wanted.

This is an image of Julia tricking one of the puppies- Mick- into coming close to her to get a treat, and while he is near she is giving him a kiss. Mick is a nervous dog around people and flinches easily and so this is Paula trying to get him used to people giving him affection. Mick was in a kill shelter in Romania and he was then thankfully moved to a much nicer shelter. Then tragically this shelter burnt down and then Mutts decided to take him and three others. During his time in Romania it is thought that he lost his tail due to the cold weather causing frostbite. The pups are adorable and the natural relaxed sitting position of Julia with one of the pups having willingly partly crawled onto her lap shows a natural pose that is believable and uplifting.  The image conveys the affectionate bond that exists between Julia and the pup.  It is the gesture and the pose in the image that conveys to the viewer the depth  of the bond. Julia is looking directly at Mick while she gives him a kiss, conveying the strength of the love that Julia has for Mick. 

During my research I discovered a Russian photographer called Elena Shumilova who I felt captured heart-warming images of her children and the pets they have on their farm.  These images convey the depth of the bond between the children and the animals they love. I wanted to capture images like Shumilova’s that conveyed this bond and looked very natural and effortless. I wanted to convey the love and affection the volunteers have for the animals in my images and I believe I did that quite well.

During all of my practice shoots that have taken place in the paddock I have taken images of the volunteers and dogs formed in various natural poses. I have also captured these images with and without eye contact and various facial expressions. Looking back at these images I have analysed them to see which ones worked best to convey the loving bond. This was how I was able to make the above image more effective at showing and provoking emotion.   





In this image, Carol is giving the dog Hades a big hug. I feel this photo shows Shumilova's ideas as it shows a great deal of emotion and love. Carol has both arms wrapped around him as though she never wants to let him go, and she has her eyes closed, wanting to savour the moment. Hades is also returning the hug with his head leaning into her neck as if he understands her emotions, which he probably does as he has just as much love and affection for her as she does for him. This pose is quite a natural pose, and neither of them are looking in my direction implying that they haven't seen me yet. This makes this hug look very genuine, and will encourage the viewer to connect more with the emotions in the photograph. 



In this image I have captured a freeze frame image showing Paula playing with Digby in the paddock. Paula is just about to throw a ball for Digby to fetch and he is in a poised position starting to run anticipating having to fetch it. The image captures the motion of the dog as he waits excitedly for the ball to be thrown. It also captures the eye contact between Paula and Digby as they look affectionately at each other. Their facial expressions illustrate the fun that they are having playing together. The image also has a candid appeal allowing viewer’s to connect with the subjects and feel more involved in the activity and the emotions being experienced. It captures the emotion of the fun the dog is having as it enjoys the freedom of running about and interacting with someone who cares for him.  This image was inspired by Graeme Williams ‘Two dogs’ series of work, where the images he captured were bursting with emotion, showing the fun the dogs were having leaping in the air as they ran about on the beach. Like William’s I wanted to capture both the emotions of the subjects as well as the motion of the activity using freeze frame. This helps to visually illustrate the fun in the activity taking place and allow the viewer to connect more with the feelings there. 
 

In trying to find the best image to capture the emotion and fun that the volunteers and the dogs have together, I have tried various freeze frame images with different dogs and volunteers and different activities. I took these images in the practice shoots that took place in the paddock as the dogs were able to run freely there and I wanted my images to be natural and not posed for. To improve this image I would focus in more on the subjects and so fill the frame more giving it a more intimate feel. However I was in the adjacent paddock at the time, so the photograph was taken through a fence. 

This image was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bressson who created the decisive moment, where a photo has been taken with the perfect timing. Many other photographers use this, for example Graeme Williams and Raghubir Singh. I took this image through a gap created between the trunk of an old tree and the ladder up to a tree house. It gives the image a more covert feeling as if the subjects were completely unaware of being photographed and gives it a more genuine feel.  The texture of the old tree also adds interest to the image as well as the perception of age and strength which will hopefully be associated with the work that takes place at the centre, implying that it is based on knowledge acquired over many years. The gap also creates a focal point centred on the kennel block runs where a worker is walking along checking the dogs are well as she passes by. I waited until the worker had reached the centre of the framed area before taking the image and in this way the viewer’s attention will be directed to them first.  Then their attention will naturally be drawn to the horizontal lines of the roof and floor of the kennel block. These horizontal lines will convey feeling of calm and peace to the viewer and as their eye is drawn along these lines their attention will be interrupted by the vertical lines coming from the walls and doors of 

the individual kennel runs. At each of these interruption points a dog is visible in their runs. The viewer can then see each of the dogs in turn as they look along the block. This is how people looking to give a home to the dogs first view the dogs available for adoption. It will give the viewer an idea of how this process works at the centre. It may also make them sad to see the homeless dogs just waiting patiently for someone to fall in love with them. 

This photograph shows Carol, Julia and Paula with the three puppies, Mick, Tom and Oscar, on leads taking them over to the paddock to let them play. I liked this image as it has captured the subjects as they form two geometric triangular shapes using implied lines and this adds interest to the image. The first triangle is formed by the three volunteers as they take the puppies out for a walk on the lead. The second triangle is the one formed by the three pups, which is contained within the one formed by the volunteers. This leads the viewer’s eye from one triangle to the next. The viewer then can see the puppies are excited and are pulling the workers forward in the direction they want to go which is probably not where they should be going. All three of the dog walkers are looking at the puppies drawing the viewer’s attention there. But the pups are looking at the two workers talking together and standing near a door. They look like they want to go over and investigate and this directing the viewer’s attention there and makes them wonder what they could be talking about and this creates intrigue. 

This image was not posed for and just occurred naturally during the second shoot, so I captured it but have had no opportunity to develop this image further to improve it.  To do this may have distracted from the image by taking away some of its candid appearance. It was taken when I was capturing images to show the effort the workers put in exercising the dogs.