How NOT to photograph a dog

I have a bone to pick today.

It has to do with dogs and photography...surprise, surprise!

Have you ever seen photos of the winning dogs at a field trial or dog show?

Field photos are invariably of a group of tired, mud-spattered handlers and judges lined up in front of a win-blown banner for the Choke 'N Puke Dog Biscuit Company or something. For some reason the handlers insist on trying to "stack" the dog to look like an American Pointer on point....high head and tail. It ends up looking like the dog is about to be examined by an ear, nose and throat surgeon on one end and a proctolgist on the other. And it seems that the photo is always taken while the dogs fidget, the handlers chat and the wind catches the banner just right, warping it to look like it reads "Midwestern...Dog...Puke...Championship".

Show photos are usually done by a "pro" with all the fancy lights and cameras. Yet no matter how good the gear or the photographer the pictures are always the same: a proud-as-a-peacock handler wearing the latest in really loud fashions (preferable with cleavage till tuesday) strangling a dog that looks for all the world like it is about to choke and puke.

And don't even get me started on those poor, humilated dress-up dogs of William Wigman. The artist-turned-marketing machine has churned out thousands of cutesy photos of dogs as Sesame Street meat-puppets and in so doing has accomplished two things: he has become very wealthy and, in my humble opinion, he has done more damage to the breed than rabies.

Why did this fellow, a pretty decent artist, and for all I know a nice guy, have to choose the Weimaraner? Why couldn't he turn his attention to a breed that is already screwed? Aren't there any cute tea-cup poodles out there that are actually bred to be dressed up as Cinderella?

Good ol Willy chose the Weimaraner because "they are pointing dogs so they are used to standing still for long periods of time". I kid you not. He actually said that (or something to that effect). Anyone with a Weimaraner, especially if the dog came from one of the many puppy mills out there serving the market Wigman helps to perpetuate, will tell you that their Weimaraner would rather spin and spazz than actually stand still for more than a quarter of a second. OR at least until the prozac kicks in... on both ends of the leash.

Now I must admit that I kinda like some of the photos. Certainly the ones where the dogs are "au natural" are pleasing to look at (the dress up ones are just plain wrong). Lord knows I take lots of photos of my dogs and I even sell the prints to collectors. No, it is not really the photos that bug me. What really gets me is the Wigman effect on the breed as a whole.

No one knows just how many Weimaraners are in shelters and in the hands of overworked rescue committee members right now, today, as a direct result of cheap Weim merchandise being pumped out by the Wigman International Corporation 24/7.

But I bet that if we did know the real number and the real damage done to the breed it would be enough to make more than a few people choke and puke.

UPDATE:

The satirical post above was recently dredged up in a thread on Reddit and now that I re-read it, I can see where some of the negative comments sent my way may be justified. It seems that my critique of William Wegman's work featuring Weimaraners may have been a bit over the top and has touched a nerve or two.

One poster in particular seems to disagree with me. He/she wrote that my criticism of Wegman was "entirely unsupported and unfair". And he/she is partially right. I have no published, peer reviewed statistics to support my position that Wegman's work has greatly increased the popularity of the Weimaraner (especially among non-hunters). So yes, what I wrote was unsupported, but not entirely. You see, I've been in the breed long enough to know more than just a few people who chose the Weimaraner specifically because of Wegman's work. Fortunately, for most of those people, things worked out. They got decent dogs from decent breeders. But anecdotal evidence of things 'not working out' is easy to come by. Contact just about any Weim rescue group and ask them about why they are so often overwhelmed with discarded dogs. I am pretty sure they will tell you that among other reasons (divorce, moving etc.) a lot of Weims are discarded because they were purchased on a whim and after a while things just 'didn't work out'. And then ask yourself, what could inspire such a whim? My guess is that seeing Weims dressed and acting like humans on TV or in a book or poster etc. has lead to more than just a few families jumping on the Weim bandwagon...and then bailing when they realize that their dog is a dog, a high energy, super smart, dog... and nothing like the dress-up toy they saw on Sesame Street.

When I dress up my Weims, it's camo neoprene!

So my main criticism of the work of William Wegman, regardless of its artistic merit, is that it has almost certainly contributed to a massive increase in the popularity of Weimaraners over the last 20 years or so. And any massive, sudden increase in the popularity of any breed is almost never a good thing. Just ask the Dalmation folks what happened after 101 Dalmations came out. When a breed becomes massively popular, for whatever reason, things almost always go sideways, fast. They sure did for the Weim (for the second time in its history in the US). From just a hand full of pups whelped in the US in the late 40s,  there are now probably more than 10 thousand Weims pups whelped in the US every year. Some are from good breeders and they end up in good homes. But many others aren't and don't. Puppy mills love the breed because they know they can sell Weims as fast as they can produce them, at steep prices.

Blaze orange is also a Weim friendly colour

Now, I could go on and on about other problems in the breed such as health issues, lack of hunting abilities etc. that can also be linked to an increase in popularity, but there is an important point that I probably should have made more clearly in the original post. So let me just say, for the record, that the contribution made by Wegman to the massive increase in the popularity of the Weimaraner was almost certainly an unintentional consequence of an artist just doing what artists do. Wegman makes a very good living by creating appealing works of art. And good on him! I hope Mr. Wegman, who by all accounts is a fine fellow, continues to make art and continues to enjoy the fruits of his labour for many years to come. But that does not change the fact that when it comes to dog breeds, the actions of well-known figures in the art world, politics, show business etc. can lead to significant problems. And sadly, the well-known figure is very often completely unaware of the problem. Clearly Wegman loves his dogs and I am sure they have a great life. But does he know how much his work has contributed to the popularity of the breed? Does he know how many problems the breed now faces due to such huge popularity?

One final note. I don't mind criticism. I have a thick skin. I can take a shot, deserved or not. So bring it on. But here's a pro tip: if you want to call someone out on Reddit for making "entirely unsupported and unfair" accusations, you might want to avoid writing, in the very same thread, things like "Craig is also a libellous prick." and "This guy is such an asshole.. he calls himself a photographer too, eh! He's just some guy with a camera compared to Wegman." Otherwise the whole "libellous prick" thing becomes rather self-referential, no?

Artist's rendering of a Reddit discussion about Weimaraners

Couch potatos

My last post...actually more of a rant... may have left the impression that the only thing a weim should do is hunt. While I do believe that a weim, or any gun dog for that matter, should be allowed to do what every gene in its body tells it to do, I also believe that they should be made a full fledged member of the family and treated with the respect and care they deserve.

In reality, things around our home usually go beyond just treating the dogs well. Ya, we spoil the heck out of them.

Officially they are not allowed on the furniture....ya right.

Officially, they must obey all of our commands.....ya right.

Officially, our dogs are hunting companions whose principle role is to find, point and retrieve birds. And this they do very well....for about 4 months of the year. The rest of the time, especially during the marathon winters we have around here, they tend to morph into couch potatos and do their best to bend all the rules we set down.



And we would never have it any other way.

The Rarest of the Rare

Well I got up this morning and tripped over the damn dog laying on the floor next to the bed.

Then I burned the porridge.

So now I am in a pissy mood and ready to vent a bit. Please read the following rant with this in mind. It is only my opinion, your mileage may vary. Please comment as you wish, no need to pull any punches.



For much of the past decade I have been studying and photographing a group of dog breeds known as the "Versatiles". They are gundogs from continental Europe that have been developed over the last century or two to hunt, point and retrieve feather and fur on land and water. Some, like the Brittany and German Shorthaired Pointer are quite common in Europe and in North America. Others are quite rare. The breed known as the Pont Audemer Spaniel for example used to be fairly well known in the Normandy area of France. However two world wars decimated the population. There are now only about 350 "Ponto's" in the entire world. One of them is lying at my feet as I type this. Currently my wife and I are involved in an effort to restore the breed. It will not be easy.

Our other dogs are Weimaraners. They too are very, very rare.

Rare? How's that? Every year there are more than 10 thousand Weimaraners born in North America alone!



Oh, did I mention that our Weimaraners hunt? Yes indeed, they are among the 1% of the breed that actually do what they were bred to do. I would estimate that among the nearly 100 thousand Weimaraners in North America right now, only a few hundred see any action in the field. So you see, they are actually as rare as hen's teeth.

But what about the other 99%?

Well, It seems that popularity has its price. For the Weimaraner, the cost has been its soul. Once a magnificent grey ghost, shining in the fields and forest in pursuit of game, the breed has now been relegated to playing second banana to a freaking sock-puppet on a children's t.v. program.

What the hell happened?



Thanks to the show ring and a marketing steamroller featuring photos of humiliated Weimaraners dressed up in ridiculous costumes on the cover of books, calendars, cards, mousepads, etc. etc . ad nauseum, the Weimaraner has become the breed of choice for the latte swilling crowd at Starbucks, impetuous puppy buyers looking for a cute grey play toy to give the kids for Christmas, style-conscious yuppies trying to one-up the neighbors and, worst of all, puppy mills.

The last place you are likely to find a Weim is in the home of a hunter. And that is why I classify hunting Weimaraners among the rarest of the rare. They are a tiny minority in a very popular breed....a small pearl in a big oyster.

Now, I should point out that I have no bone to pick with those that choose not to hunt with their Weimaraners. As long as the dogs are given the chance to lead an active healthy life, I wish them all the best. I have also come to terms with that fact that the majority of Weimaraner breeders do not select for field ability. As long as they do their best to breed healthy, mentally stable companion dogs and advertise them as such, I see no problem.

I do however take issue with breeders who claim field ability in dogs that are from completly unproven lines. Breeders who do not hunt, who do not test or trial their dogs have NO right to any claim of field ablilty in their line. How can they possibly know how the pups they produce will perform in the field if they have never even seen the parents performing in the field themselves? How could they possibly know what kind of range, pace, drive, nose, pointing ability, cooperation, retrieve, water work or stamina the dogs will have if they have never observed what is in the parents in the first place?



Be honest. If you have no idea what kind of field ability is in your line, admit it. Tell any prospective buyer that you breed (hopefully) healthy, good looking, great-with-kids weims, but please do everyone a favour and state clearly that as far as hunting ability is concerned, you have no idea. And while we are at it, please avoid using one or two "junior hunter" titles in an entire pedigree as proof of "field ability" in the line. The junior hunting test is a good first step. But that is all it is....a baby step. In reality, even an asthmatic teacup poodle should be able to pass a junior hunter test. So bragging about a grandsire on one side having a junior hunter title is like saying your grandfather could actually count to 10. It does not automatically mean that you have the genes to become a rocket scientist.

Felix is Felix

I cannot remember which one of my hunting buddies coined the term "Felix is Felix". What I do remember is that we both agreed to settle on that short three-word description of a dog we had been unable to describe in any other way dispite hours of trying.

Felix is Felix.

A great looking, hard hunting pain in the ass.

A hammer-headed freight train of a dog who has shown me things in the field that I thought were near impossible... and who has given me more grief around the house than a leaky roof.

He is by far, the smartest dog I have ever encountered. And if you think that a really, really smart dog is a good thing, think again. Any dog smarter than the average college graduate is more than a handful for a mediocre dog trainer like me....especially if there is a streak of evil in the genius.

Yesterday morning I took a photo of Felix that shows him in all his glory. He is fully aware of our policy with regards to standing on the furniture waiting for the cat to pass by so he may launch a surprise attack. It is not allowed. In fact, I had given him a very specific order to lie DOWN and wait for me while I made tea in the kitchen. Yet here he is, ready to spring the trap on a poor efeminate 16 year old cat named Calou.

Somehow though, he must have known that he was in the most glorious, golden light of the day. He must have sensed that no matter how pissed off I was, there was NO WAY I was going to miss this shot. And he was right. As soon as I saw him there I immediately grabbed the nearest camera and took the photo. And he actually posed for me. He held his head up, puffed out his chest and waited until I had composed the shot and tripped the shutter.

He then stretched, got off the couch and went backt to where I had told him to lie down.

I just looked at him, shrugged my shoulders and thought:

"Felix is Felix"

Black and White

I've been doing more and more of my personal work in colour lately. I still shoot a lot of black and white though. The other morning, I loaded some black and white film into a super-cool vintage Minolta Hi-matic 7 camera and set about photographing the dogs.

Here's Felix at the window monitoring the entire neighborhood and barking at anyone who dares come within eyeshot.


Souris decided to join in to scold the wrongdoers outside.


Meanwhile, Uma in ultra-mellow French style, simply lay back and let the grey monsters fight the battles for her.


Want to know more about the Minlota Hi-matic 7? Click on the link below.

Sunday Morning

It's Sunday morning. Warm yellow sunlight is creeping through the curtains. Time to load up a camera and take some photos.


I love the light we get in February and March every year. The sun is in just the right position to give us a beautiful warm glow almost every morning.



As I snap away, Lili is in the kitchen building the perfect cup of cappucino.



I have to work today.....the final class in a lighting course I've been teaching since just after Christmas. I set up a small gallery of photos I took the other week of the particpants in the workshop. I used my 1970's vintage Canon QL17 rangefinder and Ilford XP2....a great combo! Click on the link below to see the images.