Eva’s project – December

I’m amazed that 2014 has come to a close, and with it so has Eva’s 52 week project.  52 photos of her, and many more that never made it as official project pictures.  I’m quite pleased with how it turned out and am proud of almost all of the pictures.

December saw more winter shots, and a couple of Christmas themed photos as well.

Week 49 was a dramatic black and white portrait of Eva against the backdrop of  a snow covered toboggan hill in the park.  A little falling snow, blowing ear hair and Eva’s characteristic intensity  finish off the portrait.  This is one of my faves of the project as so much of her personality and beauty is shown here.

Week 50 was an early Christmas portrait with the tree in the background.  A quick photo that I’m not entirely happy with.  I had just upgraded my DSLR camera body and was learning the new controls so the focus and exposure are not what I was looking for.  But, Eva adds her own special take on the portrait showing annoyance with the set-up (most likely centered on the dreaded festive bell collar).  It makes for a bit of an ironic ba-humbug seasonal portrait.

Week 51 turned into something a little special for me.  Another group that I am part of was also doing a ‘tribute/imitation’ theme.  I was very inspired by Liz from Blazingstar kennels and her winter wonderland portrait of her flat coat retriever (linked here).  We had a few days of hoar frost so the trees in the park were beautiful.  I added a few red Christmas decorations and dog biscuits to the tree keeping with twine to add a little seasonal magic just like Liz did.  Then Eva took over with a wistful look as she is smelling the air in the park.  The reality was not so serene as there was heavy construction equipment digging in the park within a hundred feet of us, but that’s part of the magic of photography.  By eliminating the distractions it lets us see something serene and magical.

Week 52 was the last shot of the year, and the 52 week group makes this this traditional “handing over the reins” theme for those photographers who are switching to a different dog in the new year.  Bruno is going to have his own 52 week project next year, so it was only appropriate that I do an action shot of him trying to get the reins (or should I say stuffed reindeer) away from Eva.