Turn-Over Rate

Since I have been at the animal center I  have been very impressed with the turn-over rate. Every time I visit the Wake County Animal Center it appears to be all new animals. It is not very often that I see a dog that I photographed or walked passed that is still there the next day I go back. This week when I returned on Tuesday, Sunshine Sparkles was the only dog I photographed who was still there since last Thursday. However, when I returned to photograph her on Thursday she had been adopted! That only furthered my excitement about how quickly most of these dogs are being adopted.

Sunshine Sparkles (88661)

When I returned this week to take pictures I was extremely surprised to see sunshine sparkles of all the dogs still at the center. She was a very sweet little girl who was approximately 9 months old. She was still on the small side of a medium size dog but appeared to be very healthy. Her coat was extremely soft and I loved the white accents above her eyes, they really helped convey communication with me. The only reason I could think of for her not being adopted right away is that she would get excited and jump a little. However compared to a lot of other dogs I have photographed she was not nearly as bad about jumping.

Areas of Improvement

For this posts assignment I was asked to post a photograph from last week that I did not previously post. The photograph that I have chosen is a picture that I love because I remember the interaction, however I do not feel like the photograph captured it as well as I wanted it to.

Sweeden (88663) Adopted! 

In this photograph I feel like the strengths were: her eyes, her smile, and the shallow depth of field. I love the expression on her face and the glisten in her eyes. Sweeden loved to be called sweetie or baby girl. I remember in this picture I called her one of the two which I think really attributed to the happy look on her face. Although I personally like this picture of her because of the memory of taking it, I know that it is not a flattering picture of her. The lighting washed out the left side of her face, she is looking to my left (so her eyes were not on the camera), and also due to the angle to the picture the viewer cannot see her entire body/coloring. For this weeks set of photographs I need to really focus on the angle in which I take the picture of the animals.

Animal Photographs for the Week

Below I have posted the 11 edited photographs I have taken for this week. It was a lot of hard work not only taking the photographs but editing them as well. Now that I am getting the hang of editing, it is actually quite fun! I cannot wait to become faster at the entire processes as well as learning more techniques. 

Pepper (88368) Adopted! 

Honey Bear (88320) Adopted!

Mocha Freeze (87911) Adopted! 

Baby (58412)

Chocolate Chip (88666) Adopted! 

Deloris (88618)

Domino (88609)

Mimi (88433) 

Phillip (88651) 

Sunshine Sparkles (88661)

Sweeden (88663) Adopted!

First Week Recap

This week was my first full week in the Wake County Animal Center. It appears that all of the animals come into the center in one of three ways: animal control, surrender by owner/care taker, or stranger turning in a stray. No matter how they are brought in it is heart breaking. It is so easy to form an opinion about the people surrendering these animals, however we do not know the entire story so we must stay neutral. We are here to help take a great picture of these animals to help find them a new loving home.

Phillip (88433)

This is a photograph of a very playful kitten named Phillip! I chose this picture out of all of my photographs mostly because I love the way he is positioned with his head tilted almost following the curve of the circle. In this photograph I made a dodge layer and on top of this layer I lightened his ears, nose, and white patches in his fur. I then used the lasso tool to capture just Phillip and then blur the background so the picture just focuses on him.

Meta-data

Meta-data is information that can be attached to our photographs. It could be something as simple as the date the picture was taken to our name or contact information. This will be very useful for us since we are making our photographs for the internet. By embedding our information in the photographs we can prove ownership of them. Learning about this technique was very interesting to me! I semi knew that this was possible but I had no idea how much information we could attach to them. Out off all the information we can attach I think being able to embed my name in the photograph will be the most important for me. Even if my pictures just look like any photograph to a viewer, I take pride in every photograph I take and edit.

Baby (58412)

In order to capture this picture I had to use action shot on my camera. I then had to go through the entire series of photographs to find the one I felt portrayed her the best. She was a sweet but hyper dog so action shot was almost necessary. Right as we would get her to sit down she would stand up or move before my camera could snap. This image catches her tail in mid wag but at almost a perfect position and also in mid panting which makes her look like she is smiling. I can't wait to master the other functions that my camera can do!

Dogs Decoded

For my class we were asked to watch the documentary, Dogs Decoded. Just reading the title of the documentary I was not really sure what to expect. However after viewing it, I am very intrigued with their discoveries. Dogs pick up on not only our hand movements/gestures, but they can also read gestures from our eyes. For example instead of a human pointing with their hand, if they move their eyes in the direction they would have pointed the dog can read it and understand it. The scientist hypothesize that due to the almond shape of the human eye and a white sclera allows the dogs to see the direction of the eye movement   It was also noted that although dogs can communicated with humans through eye contact, they do not do this with any other specie. The most interesting thing that was discussed in the documentary was the movement in eyes. They explain that humans that a natural left side tendency, focusing on the right side of someones face. So to test the dogs they placed a camera focusing on their face and presented the dogs with a slideshow of pictures of objects, other dogs, and human faces. When the dogs looked at objects and other dogs the looked right or left randomly for each image (no consistency). However, every time a human face is displayed, they always look left (to the right side of the face) just like a human naturally does. From my personal experience with dogs, these results do not surprise me; if anything the results make me even more excited to interact with my dogs and see these forms of communication. In addition to my personal pets, I look forward to seeing these patterns in the animals at the center. I already noticed today when I went to visit Sweeden (a new female Pit Bull) trying to communicate with me not only with body language but eye contact as well. 

Baby (58412) Accessed on 5-24-2013
This photograph belongs to the Wake County Animal Center

Baby is a beautiful black and white female Pit Bull. She is two years old and has been in the shelter for 122 days. The photograph above is the current photograph posted for her, however she has 16 other beautiful pictures on her profile as well.

Baby (58412) DeckerSh

Although the photograph I have taken and edited does not look nearly as high quality as her current photograph, it portrays her in a different atmosphere. I had a volunteer assist me in taking her outside to photograph her. In this image she is wagging her tail and has what appears to be a smile on her face. The initial photograph that appears for her on the centers website (the one posted above) she is laying down and has a sad look on her face and it also makes her look older than she really is. Although it is a gorgeous picture of her, some viewers may not look further at her profile and see a happy picture of her. With this photograph I have taken, I really hope it is a new fresh picture that will help her get adopted!

Dissecting the Photographs

Unless otherwise noted, the animal photo examples in this blog were taken 

from the Wake County Animal Shelter’s adoption gallery, visited on 5/22/13. They 

remain the property of the Wake County Animal Shelter. 

http://services.wakegov.com/adoption gallery/

Prince (85133)

While scrolling through the adoption list on the Wake County Animal Center's website, I came across numerous dogs that melted my heart. However this picture in particular of Prince stopped me in my tracks. His eyes and the positioning of his head i brilliant, really bringing to life the personality of this dog to the viewer. The photographer who took this photograph used a shallow depth of field but did not distort or blur the background very much. It appears that a little bit of dodge layering was used to lighten not only the reflection in his eyes but also the mounds or tops of his wrinkles. Although in class we discuss being at the dogs level to really capture them, I really like the slight height to this picture. It is not too high and it makes it feel like the viewer is looking down to the dog as if it was already their pet.

Pepper (88363)

This is a photograph of Pepper that I took and posted last week. I have now added the following: a dodge layer to the image, lightened his eye, lightened his ears, lightened the white of his fur ever so slightly (at 6%), balanced the colors, adjusted the exposure, adjusted the vignette slightly, and blurred the background focusing just on Pepper. Although this edited photograph that I have produced has not been submitted to the animal center yet, I am happy to announce that Pepper arrived last Thursday and has already been adopted! I cannot wait to have my photographs uploaded and see how much of an impact they make.  

Day One Taking Photographs

The fist time getting in the cages with the dogs was a fast learning curve. It was a lot different then getting in a small area with my own dog (all 125lbs of her). These dogs wanted out of the cages so bad it was hard to hold some of them back long enough to get in or out of the cage. However once I was in the cage it was one of the most rewarding feelings. They were so excited to get petted and more than willing to give kisses!

Pepper was so excited he wanted to be in the camera :-)

Pepper was one of my favorites for the day! It was obvious he had been to puppy classes because he was very responsive to commands used in puppy classes. He was a BIG baby, very cute, and very loving. I would love to adopt him!

At the Wake County Animal Center dog adoptions cost $45 and an additional $50 spay/neuter fee. Cats have a $15 adoption fee and a $30 spay/neuter fee. These fees cover the following: DA2PPV (for dogs) FVRCP (for cats), heart worm test (for dogs), FIV/FELU (for cats), flea/tick treatment, microchip, and rabies vaccine. Taking all of that into account, the cost to adopt an animal from the Wake County Animal Center seems very practical and makes perfect sense! 

While I was there I was responsible for asking two different questions of my own creation. The first question I asked Ricci (our volunteer coordinator) what the most rewarding part of his job was, and his response actually stund me. I assumed the response would be seeing the animals get adopted. I was very wrong, his response was doing rabies cliniques. He said that doing these clinics he can help so many more animals in the community than just the ones coming in the shelter as well as educate the public. 

The second question I asked a family in the lobby looking to adopt a small dog. I asked the mom if before coming to the center if they had looked at the Wake County Animal Center's website. She responded by saying that they had not looked online first, they just decided to come in. This slightly surprised me because personally I viewed the website and available animals before I came to the center to adopt. Although it is small, it is a way to research before disappointing any of the animals. 

Through this class I know want to inform the public of the online album for two reasons. One: so people know that the cite exists and they can see all of the animals without going anywhere. But the second reason is my fellow classmates and I will be working very to take these photos as well as edit them so the viewers can have the best image of the animals as possible. 

Visiting during orientation

Having visited the Wake County Animal Center before, I assumed that I would be prepared for anything when I walked in the center. Unfortunately I was wrong and taken aback a little bit. As soon as we walked in the door there was a lobby full of animals. At first I was excited because I assumed they were all being adopted and going home, but that was not the case. Most of the animals that were in the lobby were either strays that people were bringing in or their owners were surrendering them. Through this class and orientation and the animal center we have learned that no matter how easy it is to judge or formulate your own opinion about someone who is bringing in an animal, we have had an eye opening discussion that we cannot do this. We do not know every persons living situation or even what they have going on in their lives, so we cannot judge them. Personally I would NEVER be able to surrender any of my pets or even future pets. They are a part of the family.

A Hopeful Cat 

The first room we entered in the center was the cat room. This room was relatively quiet with minimal smell. Most of the cats came to the front of their cages wanting to be petted. Rubbing their faces on the cage, sticking their paws out of the cage to touch us. Cats seem to be more independent than dogs in the way that they are semi content being in their cages. However some of them, like the one in the photograph above, are not as thrilled. Some of the cats it was easy to see sadness in their eyes. This was heart breaking!

A Hopeful Dog 

The next part of the tour during orientation we went to the dog kennels. This was probably the most heartbreaking portion of the tour because I absolutely love dogs! As soon as I crossed the threshold the barking was so loud it was almost deafening and the smell of feces (which is inevitable with that many animals) was overwhelming. The dogs who were barking were either the excited outgoing dogs or ones who were defending their home much like if they were in a house. However as we walked through the kennels, occasionally there would be dogs that you could just see the fear in their eyes. Some of them would walk to the back of their cages, or even not make eye contact with humans. I could not imagine being in their place, being a dog who came from a home to being in a cage in a room full of other dogs who bark almost constantly. On top of that having people come by and look at you or even pet you but not take you with them. This is a life altering event for them and they have no control over it.

After the visit on orientation day I am even more determined to take advantage of this class and help save these animals lives! I can only do so much to help them, but I will do everything that I am able to do to help. Not only will I try and produce the best photographs that I can, I will spend time giving the animals attention, and I will help inform the public about the center.

For the Duration of this class I will being taking my photos with a Nikon Coolpix P80. This is a digital point and shoot camera that has an 18x optical zoom and an ISO of 6400. This camera is heavier than a traditional point and shoot camera but not as heavy as a DSLR. The Nikon Coolpix P80 takes better pictures than a traditional point and shoot with an ISO of 6400 and 10.1 mega-pixels. One downfall to using this camera with animals is that there is a delay between taking a photo, the time it takes the camera to save the picture, and the time it is ready to take another picture. This could pose an issue with hyperactive dogs and trying to get a really good picture of them.

The photo above is an unedited picture of my Great Dance Gracie taken with the Nikon Coolpics P80. Although she loves to pose for picture unlike a lot of dogs I will be encountering, the camera does a great job of capturing the light on her face without washing her out. I cannot wait to learn how to correctly edit these photographs and all of the incredible techniques photographers use. 

About Me

My name is Shelby Decker. I am an Exercise and Sports Science major with a concentration in Health/Wellness at Meredith College graduating in 2014.

I have taken a few online courses before but never one that I am this excited about. I am taking this course to fulfill my general education art requirement as well as further my passion for photography. This course, photography for the web, is not only designed to teach us how to edit the photos we will be taking but also to help save the lives of many animals. After reading the course description and finding out that we would be going to the animal shelter and taking photos of animals I was ecstatic! Not only do I love taking photographs but I absolutely love animals.

 I have always enjoyed taking pictures and editing them. It is very intriguing that we can control the product produced by changing the angle, lighting, and distance. Through the help of this course, I am excited to learn how to edit these photos in even more detail using software. On the first day of class we discussed dept of field. Dept of field is the sharpness of an object from the closes point in the photo to the furthest. This technique is something I have noticed in pictures but never knew the technical name for it. Although I am anticipating a lot of time and hard work needed to produce these photographs, I am very excited to get started and help save these animals with my work. I have a very hectic schedule, however with this course being a hybrid course it allows for a lot of wiggle room to go visit the shelter when I have time available as well as time to edit the photos.

I cannot wait to start working with the animals and taking their pictures. It will take everything in me not to bring home another dog during this class. I have always loved animals and my family has rescued quite a few dogs. Unfortunately most of ours came from really bad previous homes. So the dogs needed extra love and attention which we were more than willing to give them. As of right now we have a Border Collie and a full blood Great Dane. I look forward to having the opportunity to help the animals in the shelter receive homes that they deserve much like my family has done in the past. 

 A picture is indeed worth a thousand words, however for these animals it will be worth more than that. These pictures can give them the chance to have a happy home with a loving family.