Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8
f/1.8
1/100 sec
ISO 400
While I applaud your ability to improvise and manage to sleep absolutely anywhere, Phillip, seriously. There are pillows around, just grab one and use that. The leg of that Ikea chair doesn’t look all that comfortable.
Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7
f/1.7
1/8000 sec
ISO 125
We recently took Phillip on a bit of a mini-adventure. Well, to be fair, Tiff was the one that decided, given that she said: “I don’t think Phillip is getting enough intellectual stimulation”. Now, although golden retrievers are generally known to be fairly lazy, I think Phillip takes it to a whole new level. He likes to lie on his side pretty much all day and you can literally push him along the ground without him reacting.
So! We walked him down to the nearest playground (yes, human playground). There’s something you need to know about him, though. He is a very, very curious dog, so it’s pretty much impossible for him to walk in a straight line. His walking path is basically about as straight as a drunken ant… not that I’ve ever really seen a drunken ant, but I imagine it wouldn’t really walk straight. So here he is, stopping to sniff at something for about the 200th time this walk.
Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8
f/1.8
1/500 sec
ISO 200
So Phillip does this thing that is simultaneously adorable and a little annoying. Golden Retrievers are very smart, you see, and he’s learned that if he picks up random objects in his mouth, Humans will come running towards him. I’m pretty sure he thinks it’s a really fun game, so he does it whenever he feels like he’s not getting enough attention. Sometimes it’s a stuffed toy, sometimes it’s a mat (as above), but usually it’s a shoe. I’m pretty sure that this is some sort of accidental form of classical conditioning that he’s wisely learned over his years on Earth.
Except.. I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s Pavlov and we’re his dogs, not the other way around:
Okay Humans, whenever I pick something up, you come running. Reeeady…. GO!
Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7
f/1.7
1/5000 sec
So Phillip seemed like he was getting restless, so we took him for a walk to the local park. Alternatively, Tiff seemed to think he needed some more intellectual stimulation. As soon as I pulled out my camera to try and take some pictures, his interest piqued! It’s not as if he hasn’t seen my camera before, so maybe he was feeling like a bit of a poser that day.
SMC Pentax 50mm legacy lens (adapted)
f/1.4
1/160 sec
ISO 250
“Why must life be so hard?!”
I love this photo to bits; it’s such a precious moment! I love it when dogs do humanoid things, like yawn and sneeze. I do wonder though… you know how people say yawns are contagious? Do you think it works between dogs and humans as well? Hmmmmmm I think I read a study that suggested yes, but I can’t remember. Anyway, like I’ve said before, Phillip here will be heavily featured on this blog, on account of him being the cutest dog ever.
On a more serious note, this photo was taken with a gem of a lens that I found in my dad’s old collection. It’s a K-Mount SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.4, and it looks like it’s packing some serious optics. With an effective focal length of 100mm and an aperture that wide, it gives some super creamy bokeh that just ooooooozes. All it took was a cheap K-mount micro four-thirds adapter off eBay and I was up and running. It is a fully manual affair, like all adapted mounts, but that’s half the fun!
blinded by light 