This is my namesake, 4 Legged James. James is a 5 year old Maine Coon cat that we adopted last year - one of 57 cats rescued from a 'breeder gone bad' here in NY.

Not the sharpest marble in the box, but he IS very sweet. These shots are all done at high ISO (1600) with a 50 F1.8 lens. I have been trying to use less flash in my life. So far I am satisfied. Don't get me wrong, I am sure that my wife is going to post something better soon.






-James

Hi James,

I completely sympathise with using less flash, - one small tip (and I apologise profusely if I'm teaching you to suck eggs) but I think if you used a couple of reflectors you would get a bit of "lift" especially a catch light in the eyes which look a bit flat. I know that this isn't always practical with animals - just a thought thats all.

Hi Pete,

Thank you very much for the response! I have not yet quite learned how to suck an egg. As you can see, most of these shots are 'on the fly.' I see one of my boys (and/or girls) and I take the picture...usually while they are on my lap.

I think that a reflector may be a great idea for an additional light sources in some cases As you can see, the second shot in particular could use from some additional light (however cute it is). I bounce back and forth (pardon the pun) with using flash - but have really been trying to cut it out all together as I find that the pets often have much more sensitive eyes than we do and do NOT light the flash. I have found this to be the case much more so with cats than with dogs.

My wife and I are going to be getting a new dog soon and we are very excited. I may try some more formal work when she arrives. This will be a new experience. I have not had a dog in the house in years.

-JM

Cute Cat and I like the angles you took these from. It is such a breath of fresh air in here to see such high quality animal photos. On a general photo board I am on, it gets frustrating to see snapshots that are just, snapshots with blown highlights and no shadow detail. Or a horse in the middle of the photos just standing looking dumpy with a flymask on.

I have been browsing around and just blown away at the photos from this week!! The dog on the chair is amazing, the cat shots are adorable and well done and the boxer shot is just beautiful.

What kind of dog have you chosen?

Hi Julie,

Thank you very much for the compliments. I feel that my pictures of James are pretty decent, but nothing on the order of some of the shots that have been posted so far in the forum.

We have picked a mixed dog for our new puppy. Her mother was a pedigree Siberian Husky. However, she is of mixed heritage - they believe part Newfoundland. While her size does not indicate as such, she definitely as the look. She is only 35 pounds at 6 months of age. Considering that we nearly adopted a 6 month old Newfoundland dog last week who was 100 pounds, it makes me question that. However, she is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. My wife and I are just busting with pride and cannot wait for her to join out home.

I am very happy to see your enthusiasm for the forum. I hope that others will join us with our love of our pets. I hope that I can learn some more technique as well through this process.

Cheers!
James

I have a husky mutt and he is about the sweetest dog on earth. He sheds like a banshee, but, if you have cats, you already know the drill! Huskies have very little odor. I can't say that Rufus has ever smelled like a dog. He doesn't get a bath very often. At 11 years old, he still doesn't have bad breath. We have never had a dental done either. He does get real bones to chew on though and that makes a huge difference.

I will caution you that huskies are escape artists and MUST run. They can't help it. If they can find a way to escape and run they will. Rufus has been hit by a car this way. Saw an open door and ran right through it. He also used to try and dig under our fence.

Here is Rufus with my son. Not a great picture, but you can see how good he is to allow my son to grab him around the neck while eating a bone

wow... you guys are all making me miss my chocolate labs... sighhhhhh... but wonderful image that make me feel warm at the same time...

JAJ

"if you have cats, you already know the drill"

Yes. My cats follow me wherever I go. I don't even know why I bother with dry cleaning. The moment it comes out of the bag, Cali is on it.

"I will caution you that huskies are escape artists and MUST run. They can't help it. If they can find a way to escape and run they will."

This is one of my two big worries about bringing in a husky. The first was my cats. The second is the flight mechanism. It seems that the shelters are full of huskies that were not able to be contained. It is quite sad, really. I hope my wife and I can keep up;) I am sure it will be fine.

-JM

Nice, James! Also impressive is the ISO 1600 performance. Can see a little noise, but I'm sure my D70 would be worse....

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the comments. ISO 1600 performance on the 20d is definitely a bit better than on the D70. However, it is not significant. I have probably processed 10,000 images from D70s over the last year or so - most of which were at high ISO. The D70 is a wonderful camera - and the color out of camera cannot be beat.

-JM