Photo copyright Kyle Erwin
Anyone can be a successful photographer, as long as they have a creative mind, the right eye to see something spectacular, and decent quality gear to assist. The image here is a photograph of a normally hyper 10-month-old Golden Retriever named Kane. Since he is still a puppy, he is often extremely hyper and never slows down. I wanted to take this picture to show the true tranquility behind just about every dog. If you have ever had a dog or been around one you know their favorite game, fetch. I took this photograph shortly after countless hours of fetch when Kane finally decided to take a rest.
I love shooting wildlife and landscapes but fun photos are also of interest. I have never really tried to photograph my pets so I thought I would give it a try. Lucky for me, I happened to be at a right place at the right time with my camera out. I think the look of exhaustion really gives to this photograph, along with the tennis ball so the audience can really get a feel of what made him so tired. Golden Retrievers are often great family dogs and long companions of their owners, which is another message that I was trying to portray throughout this photograph. I think the fact that he is laying down, and looking directly at me gives the message of trust and love throughout our relationship.
I shot this photograph mid-afternoon with a Nikon D7000, with a 55-300mm lens at about 100mm. The exposure settings were 1/125 shutter speed with an aperture of f/5.6 and finally the ISO was set at 250. I feel having such a tight frame added to the picture, which is why it is so close up. During post processing I toned down the highlights and brought up the shadows in Lightroom.
About the Photographer:
My name is Kyle Erwin and I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I became interested in photography at the age of 13, and have really enjoyed photography as a side hobby. My favorite subjects to shoot are landscapes and wildlife. I attend Northern Arizona University and am double majoring in biomedical sciences and psychology with a double minor as well in photography and chemistry. I hope to have photography as a side job in the future, and also run my own website, erwinphotography.org. My long term goal for my future is being involved in the pharmaceutical field after college and med school.
To read more about the Northern Arizona University “Behind the Image: Guest Blogger” project on our blog, please read the introduction at youcansleepwhenyouredead.com/wordpress/4th-annual-northern-arizona-university-behind-the-image-guest-blogger-project. Please take a minute to leave your thoughts and constructive comments in the Comment section below – Kyle would love to hear from you!