A Dog's Perspective - Photo Tip

Sometimes, the key to a great photograph is as simple as a new and different perspective. Thinking outside of the box allows you to grow as a photographer, and playing with the depth of field in your photographs is a great way to achieve this. 

My dog loves to go for rides in our boat, and loves watching us waterski even more. The dog fills the foreground of this photo, becomes the subject and gives the viewer context (his relationship to the skier blurred in the background). 

The fun about playing with depth of field is how the context of the photo changes when the focus is shifted to the skier, leaving the dog blurred. Now, had this blog post been in the back of my mind while shooting, which it wasn't, I would have taken a photo with the skier in focus to compare...

This whole shift in perspective lesson can totally be applied to life, but that's a post for another day!

Happy shooting!

Christmas in July?

I don't know where the concept of "Christmas in July" came from, other than I am pretty sure that retailers are working on their Black Friday advertisements right now.

(You won't be seeing me in any line at the crack of dawn, the stroke after midnight after Thanksgiving or any other God forsaken times, even if it means missing out on slashed prices on socks at Fred Meyer. There is not enough coffee in the world...)

In doing some research however, I discovered that in July of 1944, the U.S. Post Office, Army and Navy - as well as advertising agencies and greeting card companies - started a campaign to promote the early mailing of Christmas cards to troops serving overseas.

Now you know!

To say that the holiday season is right around the corner may seem like a long-shot, but it will be here before we know it. That being said, I want to share a few Christmas additions to my Etsy shop:

Because I am already in the Christmas spirit, enjoy 10-percent off your purchase of individual, sets of 3, 5 and 10 cards for the entire month of July!! It's as simple as entering the coupon code Summer10 at checkout. (This discount does not include custom orders)

I now have "Jingle Bells" stuck in my head...