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No worries :) My guy came from Llachar and I really could not recommend Kelly highly enough. https://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/member.asp?name=LLACHAR

There is no such thing as a mini frenchie and stay well clear of anyway proclaiming to have them. Best to contact the French Bulldog Club of QLD, there's lots of info on their website about health tests etc. They also have fun days and I'd thoroughly recommend going along to one. http://www.qldfrenchbulldogclub.com/

Jimbo is really sweet. I'm surprised he has been overlooked for so long (same with Rocco, actually). Sometimes I'm just astounded by the dogs that get passed over. No they don't! I'm there weekly just doing the regular head shots and mostly they're easy enough (but you do get the ones that are too frightened to look at the camera). So having them offlead, asking them to sit and wait and then adding stuff like flowers and feathers to the equation - well, it becomes quite difficult!

Thanks Mita, that's really lovely of you to say :) SCARs ended up having a pretty decent adoption weekend, so that's good! Unfortunately though, most of the dogs I photographed are still there. It looks like Martha is back too

Yeah that's exactly what it is, she's had it for a while.

Little chook is getting old Her eyes have that milky haze, even without flash.

Sid and Lola had a go yesterday too:

Girlie and Martha have just been adopted, which is lovely. Both have been there for months. Girlie was adopted earlier and returned, so fingers crossed it works out for her this time.

Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge are doing a Valentines Day promo for their staffy crosses (because as usual, there are a heap of them). Anyway, over the past few weeks this is what I've ended up with. Far from perfect, but these are dogs that barely know how to sit - let alone wait while annoy them and expect them to sit still. I'm so used to my own dogs being so compliant, it really takes patience to even get these guys to look in my direction. Studio style images are totally not my thing, but I'm really keen to paint my own backdrop next

Oh, I forgot to say - yes, the humidity in QLD hasn't helped and we have been swimming a bit. But the vet also said, when we get the infection under control, to flush his ears a couple of times a week with white vinegar. He asked if I'd ever used any ear products on him before and I said no (I have the 'if it ain't broke' mentality) and he said that was good, because different products seem to work for different breeds. For eg I can't use Leo/Cleo on Sid - it burns. But apparently not so much for the hairy, floppy eared breeds.

I feel for you. We are going through the same with Sid at the moment. Last week I couldn't get in to see my usual vet, so we saw another and she gave totally different advice to my usual guy (who I saw for a recheck a few days ago). Now we have antibiotics as well as Baytril and a flush to use before hand (first vet said 10 minutes, my vet said a couple of hours). Rods present, just like in your dog. My vet is so surprised at Sid's ear troubles - he even said 'I could lose my keys down here' when examining him this week. Oh and Sid is head tilting again too

That couch!

Reading it back makes it sound like gobbledygook. But I'm glad you can make some sort of sense of it! I always have do learn by doing, rather then reading. Obviously it's geared towards something you have manual control over. Let us know how you go.

Are you finding the tracked focus easier? I only ever use single shot. Nothing I shoot is fast enough for burst mode :laugh:

Yeah it's hard, because once those whites are blown, there ain't no bringing them back! That has a nice dreamy feel though, Annie :) I think with the point and shoots, you have to trick them into doing what you want. In my case the sun was almost gone, so it was easy enough to retain detail in the sky. With the first one, I knew I wanted to have the kids in silhouette, so I shot for that. I did drop the exposure and bring back the blacks in LR though. In my everyday shooting, I tend to underexpose slightly anyway.

A couple more from me :)

Auto is fine! Auto is great! Especially in a camera like this one. I only use aperture priority because I am a damn control freak and I'm so used to having full manual control. Do you have a DSLR? I've never done a course (but courses are good!), I just learnt because the ancient camera I learnt on didn't have an auto mode. Google can tell you pretty much everything anyway :) Aperture really does two main things - determines how much light gets let into the camera and determines how much is in focus. So something like f/2 is fantastic for letting lots of light in when it's dark, but you'll only get a little bit in focus. Something like f/8 will get lots in focus (so good for groups of people or landscapes) but will let less light in, so you would struggle in a darker situation. Shutter speed is easy - fast shutter when there's lots of light (so the image isn't too bright) and for fast moving objects like dogs doing zoomies (something like 1/1000th would be tops). Slower shutters for when it's darker and you need more light. Then of course, you have to find the balance between letting enough light in and not getting any blur. I hate dropping below something like 1/160th - even then you will get blur depending on the subject. ISO is really about how much light you let in again. Super bright outside? ISO 200. Getting dark? ISO 1600. Want to shoot a group of people at sunset? Well, you'd need an aperture of around f5.6, which means less light coming in, so you'd compensate with a higher ISO (maybe 800 or 1600) and a relatively decent shutter speed (although if they're adults you'd expect them to stand still and do as they're told :p) - maybe 1/250th? So all the settings have their own jobs, but they also interact with each other. I tend to shoot the shelter animals at f2.5 because (a) the cattery is dark and (b) the backgrounds aren't the prettiest, so I like to compress (blur) them. I wouldn't do a family shoot at 2.5 though, there's too much room for error. Works with an individual, but not anymore than that as someone will be out of focus. This is: f2.5 1/160th ISO 1600 My house it dark and so I needed to get as much light in as possible. Because they're all on the same focal plane, it isn't too bad. Exactly the same settings, but they're all over the place, so only Sid is in focus: I hope that helps a little bit!

What do you need help with, RSA? It is essentially a point and shoot (with a little bit more manual control if you want it). I tend to use it in aperture priority mode. Like I said though, it's very hit and miss with focus - so I take a lot with a few keepers. If I shot a wedding like that I wouldn't have a job anymore :laugh: I know nothing about Go Pros!

Happy Birthday, Odie! You gorgeous gremlin. Frenchies have the best expressions ever. DD - when I picked Lola up after her soft palate surgery (many years ago), she was in the same position on the vets lap. He looked somewhat sheepish, but said she was very comfy.

It's much easier in a controlled environment, like a beach without waves or a pool.

Annie I get heaps of that! It's really just a fluke getting it right. The other two are great. Nice light :)

You can use rain x! They're already supposed to have it though. I do end up with drops. I just try to remember to give it a shake when I pull it out of the water.

I've got more Late afternoon swims yesterday.

i am kinda hooked on the fish eye option - probably bit bit BLAAAAH but I kinda like it - in moderation of course :laugh: Fisheye option is in the top menu option in Aperture mode - along with reflection and a few others. It hasn't been warm enough really down here to get under the water, and with big dogs that only go in up to their knees I have no idea how to do it. I can't just lift one up like you can with your littlies! Mine doesn't have it, must be because I have the older version. Focus is really hard! I'm experimenting with tracked focus, which is a bit better. It's so hard to see the screen with the sun glare and underwater it's next to impossible unless you have goggles on. Just spray and pray :D Awesome :D He looks like a giant here. Fee Fi Fo Fum :D

Digging for seaweed.