Merrylog

One of the fun – if challenging – things about this new camera, particularly the 1.4 lens, is trying to determine which parts of the photo I want to keep in focus. Part of my brain just thinks Merry’s sweet face should always be in focus, but the other part does want to experiment. This is the result – as always, the princess is couched on her Chinese Box Bed, one of her (and my) favorite beds of all time.

And a question: is everyone still finding the techno-geeky details on mouseover useful? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, hold your mouse over the Merrylog photo for a moment – a little box will pop up with the details of how this photo was shot. Let me know in the comments, please – thanks!

Take one itchy pug. Add one new, much faster camera. Mix. Yield: Finally getting the shot you’ve never been able to capture before!

Update: the trick is all in the focusing. If you have a point-and-shoot or even a hybrid camera (one that isn’t a full SLR but has some of its bells and whistles), odds are the face scratch, the yawn, and other lickety-split puggy actions are going to be darned near impossible to catch. The reason is that those cameras just take, frankly, forever to focus – up to 10 seconds sometimes, even with my old, reasonably expensive Canon G5! By the time you’ve focused, the moment is long gone. The reason I’m able to capture these moments now is I finally gave in and got the full digital SLR – the kind with removable lenses, and a wicked fast autofocus. The kind that let you focus, and then hold down the button and it just keeps clicking off frames of photos (like the sounds you hear at a professional photo shoot). This camera’s been a revelation to me. If you’re looking for a lower-end Canon digital SLR, the Digital Rebel is a pretty popular choice for amateur photographers – but still expect to pay between $600-1200, depending on what lens(es) you choose. The camera in the link above has a good all-purpose lens that will give a decent range for someone used to a point-and-shoot.

Merry has one of the flattest pug faces I know. She does actually have a nose, but it’s completely flat and just meets up with her face folds. You’d think with such a flattened face that she’d be more at risk for breathing problems, but she really hasn’t ever had any. She does snore, occasionally, but not nearly as loudly as other pugs I know of. :)

The princess was stretched out on her favorite blanket again. I couldn’t resist – I grabbed one of her tiaras (yes, she has several), plopped it on her head, and she deigned to open her eyes long enough to give me this look before falling back asleep. (How dare I disturb the rest of a princess?)

Look at that grin. How can you not love a pug so darned happy to be alive? Babygirl, I love you to bits.

Looking fabulous on what, I hope, is the last day of winter (it’s supposed to go up to 65 degrees Fahrenheit tomorow!). Coat by DogChewz NYC; collar from Haute Dog Boutique.

Merry loves having the freedom to run outside with the ball – and no matter how many times we take her out to play, she’s always gleeful and manic and so bursting with joy you can almost taste it.

Side note to our readers: you’ve likely already heard about the pet food recall that affects dozens of brands, but in case you haven’t, please go here to learn more and keep your little ones safe.

There haven’t been too many backyard playing pics this year, because our silly condo building keeps having work done back there and shutting off our access to it. :) The princess and I snuck back there on the weekend, though, for a brief bit of play!

The princess is a goofball. If I don’t kick the ball for her right away when we’re playing fetch/soccer, she howls. Over and over. Till I admonish her, or till I throw the ball, whichever comes first. :)

Action shot! The princess routinely grabs her ball between her teeth and shakes her head violently back and forth – so much so you can hear the sound two rooms away. I love how you can actually see in this photo how “stretched out” this makes the ball during mid-swing.

As always, techno-photo-geeky details on mouseover.