Final Series for PHO 101-2002
This final series is dedicated to my dogs, Odin (black) and Loki (blonde). I chose this as my final project because, throughout the semester, I found myself naturally gravitating toward photographing them. I titled the series “We Are Not the Same” because, while they share similarities, they each have their own distinct personalities, likes, dislikes, and needs—something I wanted to highlight through my work.
Over the past four months, I ended up capturing more than 400 photos of them, both planned and spontaneous. I focused on their naturally goofy moments, loving interactions, and everything that makes them unique. My goal was to give viewers a glimpse into their different personalities, and I chose to present the photos in black-and-white using Adobe Monochrome to create a cohesive, unified series. As playful and funny as it sounds, it’s the love, respect, and bond between us that truly holds this series together. After all, as the saying goes, “Dogs are man’s best friend.”
For this series, I used a mix of my iPhone 14 Pro Max and my Canon EOS Rebel SL3. When using my iPhone, I utilized the Adobe Lightroom app to take and edit the photos. The Canon was equipped with a wide-angle telephoto lens (28mm to 80mm), allowing me to capture both wide shots and detailed moments. Both devices helped me document the random and planned moments throughout the Fall 2024 semester. I didn’t feel the need to meticulously plan every shot. Instead, I preferred to let the moments unfold naturally, always staying ready to capture whatever came my way. With my dogs, they listen, but it’s the unexpected, spontaneous moments that truly bring out their personalities.
“MACO Odi”
This is a MACO close-up of Odin. I learned this technique through my ‘Technical Project’ that I thought would work great as a starter photo. I thought it would be fun to get up close and personal and show his cute little face. I did some texture increasing to bring out his fur more and his whiskers.
“MACRO Lazy Pup”
This is also a MACRO close-up of Loki being lazy as usual LOL. Also, thought this was a good starter image to have him full focus as the main subject. Of the two dogs he rather relax and lay around all day. You can get him to be active and playful, but it is more on his own time and decision. I also increased some of the texture and clarity to bring out his fur and the texture in his little nose.
“Attached Pup”
This is how Odin normally is around me. He loves to cuddle up when he’s not wanting to play. He puts his little head under my chin and wants to be held. Sometimes he will fall asleep in my arms, or he will lay there for a few then start licking my face to get up to play fetch with him LOL. He is like the son I never had, such a sweetheart.
“Rest rest”
So this a photo of Loki in his natural everyday habitat LOL. When he is resting, he normally does not let me do this or he will start growling at me. I included this photo because this a rare day where he let me give him kisses and hugs and did not mind it. I think this photo worked well because him and I have a different type of bond than Odin and I have. In here you see him laying down wanting his own space, whereas in the previous photo with Odin he rather lay on me. The ball in the photo is Odin’s favorite ball to play catch with, but Loki periodically will take it away from Odin and hide it next to him since he knows Odin won’t mess with him LOL. I did globalized edits to this photo.
“Always Watching”
I took this photo of Odin staring at me through the Livingroom window from outside on top of the hot tub. I chose to make it squared to put him more in focus so that nothing else unnecessary was in the photo. I played with adjusting the texture and clarity to make him stand out more and the wall in the background. I used masking on the background and Odin so that I could do selective edits to enhance each individually. He literally is always watching my every move which I don’t mind because he is just curious and make sure I don’t leave.
“Loki Doesn’t Like Anyone”
This photo was hard to capture because this huge dog is only in the backyard at certain times during the day, he’s not there at night when I normally have time to walk my dogs. I also did not discover this random phenomenon until a month before it was taken. So normally we walk our normal paved walk, and this dog will hear or smell my dogs nearby and peak his head up the wall to see what is going on. Both of my dogs get excited and start barking, but Loki will sometimes try to climb up the wall to attack him, I guess? LOL. Finally, one day I had my phone with me to capture this random moment. It happened to be perfect timing, and the iPhone did well in capturing this fast action moment. I cropped the photo to square so that it could make the focus more on the dogs. I did selective edits to the wall, the dogs, the house, and the clouds so I could play with making each element come together.
“Before I Go”
In this photo I was getting ready to go out to an event at the Palms Casino. Every time I leave in general, I make sure to always give both dogs a hug and kiss. Odin always want him and I to place our heads together and pet him before I go. I thought this was a good picture to show how close we are and how I can tell he is telling me non-verbally that he will miss me when I am gone. I did globalized edits to the photo to edit us both overall. I did add light texture and clarity to the photo so that I could bring out both of our natural features. I also enjoyed being able to see my cross necklace in the photo that stands as a symbol of faith that I will make it back home safe to him.
“Silly Troublemaker”
I wanted to end my series with this random moment I was happy to capture on my day off. That day I had just finished the half-gallon milk carton and put it in the small recycling bin in the kitchen. I was editing photos on my iPad, letting my food settle when I heard one of the dogs biting and messing with something. To my surprise Loki had found the empty milk carton and was playing with it. I tried to take it away from him, but he ran way outside to keep messing with it. I thought it was so funny because I never seen him do this before. My phone was completely dead, and my Canon camera was upstairs, so I just grabbed my iPad and started taking photos of him running around with it. There are some annoying pidgins around the neighborhood that shed their feathers around and that day it was windy and must have blown a bunch of it in the backyard, so I just left it in the photo to add to the random moment. I picked this photo as the last part of the series to show how important it is to take as much random photos as you can because you never know what you might end up using in a series, portfolio, etc.
