I'm still experimenting with the 'social media app' Instagram. I've had this idea for a while to take some nice portraits of dogs (I'm open to cats, too-- I just see more dogs around), so I thought I might find some good subjects at North Hollywood's Whitnall Off-Leash Dog Park. I figured the nice aesthetic touches that the Instagram app adds to photos would make for some beautiful (dog) portraits, if I came across any good moments.
So I went off to get some shots, but boy, was it HOT outside yesterday! It was what people would call a "Dog Day Afternoon." Yes, that's also the title for a classic movie, but this was reminiscent of the typical hot days at the END of Summer! Not the start of Spring!
Dog Day Afternoon. How appropriate.
I gave up trying to get shots when the sun was still high in the sky, and came back to the dog park much later. Closer to sunset, when the heat was less pronounced.
One thing you need when you take a (more or less) 'formal portrait' of a dog, is to keep the dog's attention, even if only for a moment. I've had dogs and love dogs, but right now I don't have a dog... so I forgot that gathering dogs in large groups guarantees you won't have a dog's attention!
Instead, I decided to try my luck grabbing 'candid' shots of the dogs, forgoing trying to pose a dog when there's all these other dogs around. There's just too much fun to be had here for a dog (I'm sure they're thinking). It's like recess on the schoolyard. It's like happy hour at the neighborhood tavern.
Or to give it a different spin, the dog park is your doggie's "social network."
(But without that yucky-tasting computer stuff, of course.)
See MORE of Anthony's PHOTOS HERE (from the Whitnall Dog Park)
If you're on Instagram, see more work here: @buzzpuppy
