The Struggles of a Dog-walking Photographer

A great time to take photographs is during my two or three daily dog walks. We normally wander around some of the local parks – as I’ve posted about previously – and today I had the opportunity to test out my new Fuji X-T3 and the 23mm F2 lens. I decided to buy the X-T3 simply because I have been so delighted with my X-T20 that I bought last Christmas, but I find the X-T20 a bit on the small side for comfort. No mistake, it’s a fantastic camera but the X-T3 is a little more advanced and a little larger and heavier. It just feels more solid.

Today Henry and I took a path through the local woods and along the creek; we’ve done this many times before but the changing seasons means there’s always a new angle to old scenes. I set the camera to the Acros + Red Filter simulation with a heavy grain effect to hopefully give me that filmic look. And there was more than enough in terms of subject matter. Bare trees don’t have the visual appeal of a tree in full fall glory, but they have texture and character that lend themselves well to a black and white interpretation. Thinking ahead about the nature of the landscape means that the camera is set and ready to go when it’s needed. By shooting both Raw and Jpeg I give myself the best chance for success, but the Fuji Jpegs are so good these days that I can often throw away the Raw files and save some space.

Once I get past the technical planning I can concentrate on the walk, chatting with my dog – yes, I know, I know – keeping an eye open for something that might make a decent shot and enjoying being outside even if it is below freezing. So why did I put the word ‘struggles’ in the title? Well, time for a mini-rant.

Because as well as the trees, the landscape, the birds and the creek, there is the curse of the modern moron. The litter, pizza boxes and plastic bottles that are the signature of the idiocracy, discarded within yards of a garbage bin. The dog crap left on paths and grass for people to stumble into. And the obnoxious dog owners, the ones who think it’s ok to let their darlings run off their leash when the bylaws are clear to everyone. Probably the same ones who don’t bother picking up after their dogs. The ones who give all dog owners a bad rep. The ones at the top of this piece whose dogs charged out of the woods, completely out of control, with their idiot owners chasing frantically behind them, yelling “They’re friendly”. Some people don’t deserve dogs, and some dogs don’t deserve their people. Maybe I’ll start a gallery of idiots? Maybe there is such a gallery already; after all, as a species we have enough raw material.