The Doggie Derbyby
RalphcoComment by KaDi: Greetings from the Critique Club!
I like the stop action on this sports shot. The image has a photojournalistic feel to it and would make an nice contribution to the local paper. I do agree with those commentors who said they'd like to see more of the handler in the image. It appears that you were shooting under crowded conditions and may have had little room to move one way or the other. I'm guessing that the minor distraction in the lower right corner belongs to something (or someone) that may have gotten in your way. Still, it's important, I think to avoid cutting people in half...and especially here where the main subject is interacting with her.
The setting is clear. The activity needs no further explanation than the photo provides. I like the blurry crowd of on-lookers. I especially like the cut out dogs in the background which echo the subject of the image.
Technically the shot is very well done. I think the color is a tad off...I took it into PhotoShop to check and found the whites could be a little brighter and the colorcast (a faint pink) lifted. It just adds that extra bit of pop to the image.
The dog itself might have had a better moment a fraction of a second later. With the attention of the dog on the trainer his gaze leeads us away from the feat. In a moment he would reach closer to the ground before landing, his tail might have raised a bit and his head turned in the direction of the camera. I know I'm being picky...but this type of situation is where I employ burst-mode to try and get the "decisive moment."
It appears to have been a difficult subject to shoot and I think you did a very good job of it. Fighting wind, clouds, and crowds while trying to capture a fast moving subject can't be a cake walk!
Nicely done!
Photographer found comment helpful.