Douglas Gerdts  


Bess by Douglas Gerdts

October 2024 - Bess

About the Image(s)

I’ve attached a photo of “Bess” (named for Queen Elizabeth II) as she reminds her owner of the queen’s beloved Corgis. Bess is very animated and quite lively and so I crawled on the ground for quite some time while she calmed down and got used to the camera.

I did quite a bit of cropping and also used AI to remove her leash.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
10 comments posted




Sylvia Williams   Sylvia Williams
what a cutie!!! You could hang this on your wall.   Posted: 10/11/2024 14:13:49
Douglas Gerdts   Douglas Gerdts
Thank you!   Posted: 10/12/2024 21:36:00



Sabine Nehls   Sabine Nehls
The effort was worth it, Doug! This has turned out to be a great dog portrait.
I like the shine in the eyes, the typical wet dog snout and the tongue, which is probably on a tooth at the bottom left. I can imagine that Bess is a lively dog.
I like that the focus is not on the whole image. The viewer is focused on the head area.
The blurred background fits perfectly. What a cute dog!   Posted: 10/11/2024 17:18:56
Douglas Gerdts   Douglas Gerdts
Bess is quite lively and I was lucky to catch her in a moment of concentration.   Posted: 10/12/2024 21:36:48



Yvonne Cary Carter   Yvonne Cary Carter
Douglas, I agree with Sylvia, Bess is a cutie! The image framing and soft background brings out her eyes. Great job.   Posted: 10/11/2024 17:19:20
Douglas Gerdts   Douglas Gerdts
Thank you!   Posted: 10/12/2024 21:36:58



Randy Bell   Randy Bell
This is a great photo of a good looking dog. I like the shallow depth of field and that you've taken this down at her level, instead of with you standing (something I do too often). You said you did quite a bit of cropping, my suggestion would be to let the crop out just a little bit to give a little bit more room around the edges of the frame. Either way, I agree that this is something you could hang on your wall.   Posted: 10/11/2024 19:41:01
Douglas Gerdts   Douglas Gerdts
I'm going to play a bit more with original. I recall cropping so tightly because there was a lot of distraction in the background. More than possible that I was too heavy-handed!   Posted: 10/12/2024 21:37:57



Jim Overfield   Jim Overfield
Great pose of the dog with good catchlight in the eyes. Good angle of the camera as well, with a nice soft background. Beautiful color of the fur, and while the shallow dept of field is a nice overall look, the eyes look just a little too soft to me. A very nice photo of a great looking dog.   Posted: 10/13/2024 19:37:45
Jim Overfield   Jim Overfield
Douglas, I used radial masks on both eyes to sharpen a little. What do you think?   Posted: 10/13/2024 19:53:05
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