DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
Enchanted Pup
Enchanted Pup
togtog


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Hidden Gem -- 1,000th Challenge! (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
Location: Living room
Date: Sep 28, 2008
Aperture: f/5.3
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/200
Galleries: Portraiture, Animals
Date Uploaded: Mar 10, 2009

 My niece's pet chihuahua wearing a witches hat for Halloween.

It was difficult to pick a "best" image for this challenge, what is best, the photo requiring the most technical skill, the most luck, the most meaning, the most pop, or the photo having the most emotional impact to the photographer.

I decided to go with technical skill (hah) vs the others. I am not emotionally attached to this photo like I would be to others however emotion to me does not mean best.

I also had the difficult choice of a color, black and white, or sepia look. My choice is obvious here, however I am unsure of how that will benefit or harm my reception of this entry. The original background was bright red, and while I could alter the color of the background it seemed to distract.

With all the smooth gradients in the dogs fur I decided a sepia tone would look best. I over processed the red in the image to add the weathered look to the background.

Another choice was border or not. In the past I have favored borders but it seems that the majority of people dislike borders and it would mean less image within the 720 rule so no borders.

No telling how this will do, I imagine not well given people have picked their very best of their lifetime but just being part of the 1000th challenge is reward enough in this case.

So without further ado Happy 1,000th Challenge DPC! May we have 1,000, and 10,000, 100,000, and countless more! Good luck to everyone!

Post Challenge---

I didn't do as well as I would have liked but did better than I had expected. Ironically I had originally picked a nice sunset/sunrise picture for my entry but figured that DPC was more sick of sunrises than cute little dogs, haha (looking at second and third place). Oh well haha.

Here is the crop only version of the same shot...


Thanks to everyone who commented and voted!

Statistics
Place: 763 out of 1129
Avg (all users): 5.2470
Avg (commenters): 5.9200
Avg (participants): 5.2270
Avg (non-participants): 5.3600
Views since voting: 986
Views during voting: 650
Votes: 498
Comments: 57
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 03/21/2009 02:52:15 PM
Love your choice of processing on this shot. What a very cute pup!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/21/2009 02:20:33 PM
Thank you all so much for your comments, I feel very touched. I will try to address a few points quickly...

Her name is Squirt.
The background noise was intentional, don't ask me why I just liked it. :)
The original title was going to be "Wicked Woof of the West" but I wasn't sure my niece would like her pup called wicked. :)
Squirt is a generally nervous looking little pup which is the look some of you are trying to describe, her large eyes play part of that. She didn't seem to notice the hat at all.
I actually did apply the burn tool to the eye to make the pupil stand out more, but maybe it could have used a little more. :)
I have included a color copy in the images description for all of you.
Thanks again and Cheers!
 Comments Made During the Challenge
03/17/2009 09:09:38 PM
Take him home to keep. Nice texture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/17/2009 10:11:20 AM
This guy is adorable, but I'm certain if he's happy or disgusted :)
Love the treatment...+1
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/17/2009 02:28:55 AM
Good shot. I like the expression on the dogs face.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/17/2009 01:13:52 AM
How cute.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/16/2009 01:05:50 AM
Haha - so cute!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/16/2009 12:27:53 AM
Doesn't look happy. Does he bite?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2009 04:39:48 PM
Reminds me of those "just for fun" greeting cards you see in coffee shops. Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2009 02:33:13 PM
;)) soo cute but too grainy for me , so i give 4 sorry ;)

brano ;D
 03/15/2009 12:08:49 PM
great humour, toning works well
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2009 12:03:59 PM
ha! thats aweosme! funy little dog, love the hat. could use some burn on the eye, to make the pupil stand out more
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2009 10:17:12 AM
Ha, very cute!! This could be a greeting card.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2009 07:32:15 AM
very cute image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 10:18:49 PM
Cute pup. How did you get him to tolerate the hat?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 10:04:51 PM
The dog is adorable, but I don't think I like the background choice here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 09:29:03 PM
Love the hat. Great expression on the pooch.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 05:52:38 PM
nice use of grain and sepia
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 04:08:58 PM
This is so ridiculous that I can't help but love it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 12:44:51 PM
I like the color treatment here, but the image feels a little over sharpened.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 09:45:04 AM
Looks like the newest Harry Potter cast memeber. Nice tones.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 09:29:42 AM
Delightful portrait. Lovely. Nice processing and sepia conversion. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2009 05:21:02 AM
nice details, 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 08:12:51 PM
You're not gonna make me wear that hat again are you? Fun shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 07:33:52 PM
Looks like he is off to wizard school.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 07:26:36 PM
Oh, I thought she melted away completely! Very cute, but needs a bit of separation from the background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 03:02:54 PM
Darling portrait!! Very nice detail. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 12:44:29 PM
Cute doggie shot, I like the tones
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 12:19:17 PM
hmmm, just doesn't engage me like some others...sorry
 03/13/2009 12:04:46 PM
Hairy Pawter?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 09:16:25 AM
Great looking pup. I love the hat! Nice color tone.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 06:40:19 AM
wow -:) nice tone
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2009 03:13:07 AM
Very cute. He looks like a little wizzard.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 11:11:26 PM
Made me smile! This is among the challenge's best.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 09:07:38 PM
ah too cute, nice sepia tones
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 05:47:18 PM
Interesting pet portrait. Halloween, I presume. I like the sepia toning, but the graininess of the background couples with the low gran of the subject gives this one an unpleasant halo look to me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 03:12:09 PM
great processing and composition, i really like this
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 03:09:18 PM
Very funny!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 12:49:10 PM
cute pet portrait
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 10:18:00 AM
How cute.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 09:41:34 AM
He looks a little bewildered!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 08:46:22 AM
:)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2009 07:00:56 AM
Cute pet portrait. I like the gritty feel to it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 11:39:00 PM
I rarely LOL at photos, but your's gave me quite a chuckle (and I needed it too!) so for that.. 7 :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 08:07:33 PM
Wonderful pet portrait. The brown tones just seem to "work." His expression seems somehow serious and composed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 06:51:32 PM
Cute photo... I think it could be improved by having a better separation between the pup and the background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 06:28:04 PM
delightful dog... I wish the BG were softer or blurred.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 06:03:00 PM
Maybe your ISO was set too high, I'm not sure, but this photo is very noisy. Cute puppy =)
 03/11/2009 04:30:10 PM
Very cute although pup doesn't look to happy!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 03:16:51 PM
Harry Pupper! Very cute, nice pose though the lighting is a bit flat.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 12:55:43 PM
Such a cutie! Nice capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 12:20:27 PM
A little wizard huh? Cute image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 09:32:20 AM
not seperated enough from the background
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 09:24:42 AM
So cute and I do like the sepia.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 08:10:01 AM
colors blend that bit to much

nice detail all over from eyes to hairs and ears
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 03:55:23 AM
he would go great with harry potter :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2009 01:53:12 AM
lovely -9
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/12/2025 02:22:50 AM EDT.