The Elegant Q - WC719

Hi again, fellow dog-lovers! I thought I'd share another German Shorthaired Pointer portrait from this past autumn. This is Q, a truly beautiful female GSP from the same breeder as (but unrelated to) Payton, the striking male I posted here earlier. Note that Payton and Q are both pets/working dogs, not breeding dogs...I had the privilege of photographing them for a trainer here in Alberta who happened to have two dogs (different owners) from the same breeder in Ohio. I apparently like the dogs this breeder produces, as they both ended up being amongst my very favourites of the entire year. 

Both Jenaya and I were quite taken with Q during our two photo sessions with her this year, and although this may not be the very best portrait from our time together, it is one of my favourites. It's always interesting to me how sometimes some of my favourite images happen almost by accident...we were actually done shooting for the day and Jenaya and the trainer were packing everything up when I noticed Q watching them intently (when does a GSP not watch something intently?) and couldn't resist one more shot despite the low light as dusk moved toward twilight. Only a seriously focused dog allows settings of 1/25sec, especially when photographed through 300mm and occupying this percentage of the frame.

I could shoot exclusively with a monochrome sensor if my wife would let me ;) and just immediately felt this one would translate nicely in B&W and retain the sense of elegance I saw when I composed the shot (it's nice in colour, but has more of the mood I was after in monochrome). 

Thanks in advance for your comments, critiques and suggestions...please view the detail version for best quality if you have the time!

---------------------

Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR
ISO 1600
1/25sec @ f/4.5
Mounted on FEISOL CT-3372 Elite tripod with Acratech GV2 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick
Full frame (not cropped)