POINTER CLUB of CANADA NEWSLETTER - Winter/Spring 2009
Winter/Spring Newsletter 2009
![HOLLY
Our feature story to kick off a new year of pointer news is all about Holly! (Pictured above) Her list of accomplishments is staggering, and she is co-owned by PCC member Helyne Medeiros! Holly is now enjoying retirement, but hopefully we will see her in a ring again soon, perhaps at the next American Pointer Club Specialty. Check out her list of achievements:
THE TOP SPORTING DOG OF ALL TIME
THE TOP WINNING POINTER IN BREED HISTORY
2008 Purina Pro Plan Show Dog of the Year Award, winning the most Best in Show's All Breeds in 2008
All time top winning Sporting Dog in 1 year (Best in Show's, Group First's and points accumulated)
Best In Show at the AKC Eukanuba National Championship 2008 (Televised on Animal Planet & the Discover Channel)
Best In Show at the 2008 National Dog Show (Televised on NBC Thanksgiving Day)
117 All Breed Best In Shows since September 2007
America's # 1 Sporting Dog
Best Of Breed & Group 2 at Westminster KC 2008
# 1 Pointer All Systems 2007 & 2008
Best In Specialty Show at the 2007 & 2008 American Pointer Club National Specialties
Best In Specialty Show at the 2007 PANE Specialty, 2007 PCOCNJ March Specialty, 2008 March PCOCNJ Specialty, and 2008 PCOCNJ Sept Specialty
First time Holly was shown since she finished she was Best In Specialty Show, Group 3 and Best In Sweepstakes at the PCOCNJ Specialty
Holly finished her American Championship undefeated at all breed shows from the regular classes in 4 shows with another Best Of Breed for a major from the puppy class to finish
2006 PCPC National Specialty BIS, BP, WB, BOW & BOS from the puppy class for a 5 point major
First Show: Best of Breed and a Group 3 from the 6 - 9 puppy class
You can visit Holly's photo Album at www.seasydepointers.com
TAKING PICTURES OF DOGS
BY ANDREW HAY
Now that the weather has started to turn, I’ve seen more and more cameras start to come out of drawers and closets. I took mine out March 1st and -- with Fiona's (our 10 year old Pointer) help -- thought that I'd take a few snaps up at the in-laws' farm. When Gen reminded me that we were overdue for a PCC newsletter, I made a few notes of techniques that have helped to yield better dog photos in the past.
Tip #1: Don't take all pictures from a height of 5'6", and in landscape mode. This makes me think of a "tourist snap", where it's a pleasant enough reminder of what was going on that day, but the picture itself usually isn't very engaging. [See picture #1 below]
Probably 90% of pictures look like this. It's just how we're used to seeing the world, but doesn't usually give any interesting insight into the subject. It also (generally) results in a picture of the top of your dog (you're looking down on her, which diminishes the animal's pose). Shooting at eye-level with the dog (crouch) or even shooting up (lie down) can give more interesting results.
So try portrait orientation every now and then, and crouch down to give some sense of connection with the subject. [#2]
Tip #2: A picture is more interesting with a story behind it, but that doesn't mean that you have to get the entire story into the frame -- you can hint at what's going on and the viewer’s brain will fill in the gaps -- so don’t be afraid of a tighter crop! Although this next one shows a nicely self-stacked bitch, there's really nothing exciting or interesting to it. [#3]
A tighter crop that engages the animal's eyes is often a nicer portrait [#4]. It depends on your intent, of course -- if you're looking to show a stacked animal you might like the previous one -- but which would you prefer on your wall? Ok, so perhaps you don't want the goofy tongue rolling expression on your wall -- but try a tighter crop of your own animal next time and see which one you find more engaging. You'll find that your brain just naturally "fills in" the missing part of the left ear, and haunches, so it was okay to crop them out so as to focus attention on the animal's eyes.
Tip #3: Getting the right part of the picture in focus influences the way that a viewer looks at your picture. Generally, you don't want "the whole picture" in focus -- you only want the “subject” in focus. This is especially true for portraits -- remember those blurry felt background when you'd get the photos done at Sears?? That was just to fill in the gaps of the frame and not distract the viewer from the subject.
You can get a tighter focus (narrower depth of field) by shooting with a wider aperture. Using F/2.8 to F/4 is usually a nice way to get a pleasant blurred background and keep the viewers' attention to the point that you put into focus ... which is hopefully your dog! If you're shooting a landscape and want to show the animal flushing game, with the game and the tall grass also in focus, you might want a smaller aperture to help use a wider field of view and more complex scene (say F/5.6 to F/11).
Even though this one doesn't show the dog's face, or even her full frame, it does have a nicely blurred background, which helps to set the subject apart from the rest of the frame. [#5 shot during the summer, while chasing tennis balls in the park] Or looking back to #4 above, eyes (and tongue!) are in focus, with the haunches starting to go out of focus and the grass and far background just providing a nice soft setting that doesn’t distract from the subject.
Wrap up: Final set of tips (no photos for these): just take a lot of pictures; get help; and critically review your own work:
- Dogs, like kids, don't sit still for long, and so the more you take, the more likely you're going to capture that one perfect moment. It's also helpful to have your dog accustomed to having her picture taken -- she gets used to staying, waiting for you to release her.
- Sometimes a helper (the dog's owner, a friend with a squeaky toy, etc.) will be helpful to get the animal's attention and head movement right. This is harder to do on your own while looking through the camera! Watch for a “catch light” in the dog’s eyes, and having an assistant get the head right can help.
- Take lots of pictures and critically review them. It's a good way to improve your skills. Figuring out what angles and lighting look best for your animal and get used to looking at the background. There will often be distracting things that you only notice after the fact. One classic faux-pas occurs when taking a portrait with a tree in the background. Is the tree directly behind the subject's head? Does it look like there's a tree growing out of the subject's head? Critically studying your own work and getting used to those kinds of "it's great except for" will help you subconsciously look for those kinds of good settings in the future, and avoid the tree-out-of-the-head settings.
I was listening to a National Geographic photographer speak about his volume of work. He claimed that of every 10,000 photos that he took, 9,900 were immediately discarded, leaving 100 to be thoughtfully considered. Of those 100, only 1 would make it into print. I don’t know about you, but I’m no National Geographic photographer ... I had better get back out there and work on getting my set of 10,000 photos ...

Canadian National Specialty Show
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Arena Jean-Guy Talbot, 245 de Grandmont, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
Judges:
REGULAR/NON-REGULAR
Ms. Charlotte Clem McGowan
15 Sargent Park
Newton, MA 02458
SWEEPSTAKES
M. Murray Spearin
571 Cresswell Road
Little Britain, ON K0M 2C0
SHOW SECRETARY
Pascale Pontois
1890 Rg des Chutes, Ste-Ursule, QC
J0K 3M0 (819) 228-3159
Email: pontois@infoteck.qc.ca
CANDID PHOTOS
Short Story:
I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY
SUBMITTED BY DEANNA ROSS
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I
had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for
companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do
everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved.
At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.
TREASURER’S REPORT
PCC cash in the bank as of 31 Dec 2008 was $2,452.28; a slight increase of $92.65 from 2007.
The financial success of the PCC is influenced by the single largest activity of the year: the National Specialty. In 2008, I'm pleased to report that this event nearly broke-even on a stand alone basis!
The 2008 National had a "net cost" (costs less revenues specifically associated with the event) of $118.69. This is an improvement from 2007, which had a net cost of $556.25 after including an additional $80 cost (shown below) that was recorded in 2008.
There were three reasons for the improvement:
1. Event-specific fund raising was much stronger this year. This included member-driven activities such as the silent auction, pig roast, and even gingerbread cookie sales.
2. A stronger entry at the National and additional Regional specialty entries.
3. Costs associated with the 2008 National were lower.
Offsetting the cost of the National, as well as supporting other club costs (see schedule below), membership dues of $389.97 were received during the year.
We are grateful for your ongoing support -- both through membership dues, donations and through the time and activities that to help sustain the PCC!
And on that note, I am pleased to report that 2008 Membership is up! We have 19 members (plus some of their families) this year, an increase from 13 members in 2007.](17_Winter_Spring_Newsletter_2009_files/shapeimage_2.png)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
NSBIS, MBIS & MBISS Ch. Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry
Sire: MNSBIS, MBIS & BISS Am. & Can. Ch. Bee Serious Lord Jim, JH
Dam: MBIS Ch. Cookieland Life Of Leisure
Bred by Cheryl Laduc & A Walker & A Cantor
Owned by Sean McCarthy & Tammy McCarthy & Helyne Medieros
Am/Can Ch. Perryglens Byetheway I’m Bob winning his Group 4th at the Best of the Best (top left);
Seasyde Classical Royal Flush owned by Julie Kempster checking out the counter (top right);
Seasyde Classical Royal Flush does a mean treadmill (bottom right);
A Pack of Perryglen Pointers Pose Patiently with Picturesque Perfection (bottom left).
That concludes our Winter/Spring edition of the newsletter. Remember to email me all submissions, photos and brags that you would like to see in upcoming issues: gen@pawsandeffects.com
-Genevieve
