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Showing posts with label Mikki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mikki. Show all posts

Monday, September 5, 2011

Playing with Photoshop Filters on Labor Day

I spent my Labor Day watching gusts of wind whipping the treetops and raindrops around, the dark dank sky eerily reminiscent of Hurricanes Katrina and Gustov, which made me feel jittery all day.  I had to coax the dogs outside to pee.  To take my mind off, I played with Photoshop, trying my hand using the "watercolor filter" on a photo of Mikki (recently taken, last post) that I think captures the "essense of Papillon" - alert, petite, cute, dainty, feisty, loyal, big ears, long tongue, eager to participate in "whatever" at all times.  All in all, I'm very satisfied with the results.  From the original photo on the right, I futzed around and got the simulated watercolor effect on the left.  I had to black out a bit of shirt bling, a bit of neck and a bit of fence, and smudge a few places for the 5" x 5" closeup on black background, which gives it that 3D effect.  It came out so good I plan to frame it and give to Madalyn for Mikki's 1st birthday, coming up in November.  It printed out beautifully on my HP DeskJet1220 printer.

Don't know why, sometimes a painting can convey more "essence" than a photo.  This one certainly does. Is there any doubt why we call these dogs "butterflies"?

Good lord, sitting around these past few weeks due to all this rain, smog, etc., I've put on 7 lbs!  My dogs have gained weight, too. We've got to get back to practicing.  Rain, rain go away.

Upwards and onward!
P.S.  Next day, I tried my hand watercolor filtering a photo of my friend Mike's dog, and sure enough, even without the black background, the 3D effect can be clearly seen.  Original is on the right, "watercolored" on the left, where it looks like Teds could walk out of the photo at any moment! Neat!  Sometimes a painted image has far more "presence" than a realistic photo!


Sunday, August 28, 2011

Surprise Visit From Monique!

Madalyn and Monique
Today I got a surprise visit from Madalyn M. and Monique, aka Mikki, formerly Jitsu, the female Papillon puppy I sold back in March. I had urged Madalyn to take lots of puppy pictures (they're only puppies for a short while) so she bought a disposable camera, and brought me the disk of pictures today, 6 months later! She doesn't even have a computer! John had just gotten home from work, around 4:30 and we all visited 'til around 8. A nice long visit. Snapped lots of pictures.

L to R Willow, Maxie, Mikki










Mikki's coat is filling out nicely, soft straight snow white hair, culottes and tail feathers coming in, lively eyes, bouncy and friendly, fearless, curious, and definitely agile.  Not very obedient, though!  She rip snorted all over the place, but did fair recalls when she figured out my pocket was full of treats.  I can't actually remember if Maxie was obedient at 9 months of age. I wasn't keeping a blog or a journal back then.

I was outside working on the new LCCOC Publicity Booth I'm putting together for my dog club, so we hung out in the back yard mostly. We had some fun posing them for pictures.  Maxie and Willow seemed to remember Monique, they just fell in and played together the whole time.  I put Maxie thru the weaves and over a few jumps at one point, and Mikki made a few attempts too. I know she'd get the hang of it quickly with just a bit of training.

L to R Madalyn, Mikki, Willow, Michele, Maxie

All 3 dogs are so alike in color, build and markings one would swear they are related, but they aren't. I also brought her in to see the videos I took of her and her other papillon, Merlin, at the Obedience Match last year.  Despite all the obedience trials she goes to, she had never seen a video of her dog performing! She was amazed.

I weighed Mikki, who at 9.5 months is 5.5 lbs, a little smaller than Maxie at 7 lbs.  We both wonder if she'll grow much more, maybe a little bit.  Madalyn does conformation and obedience, not agility, and is adding something called Super Fuel  to Mikki's diet. I'll have to check that out as it is supposed to increase the dog's stamina, focus, etc.  Something for Lucky's speed, maybe?

Of all the photos she took with her disposable camera, she liked this one the best because it shows Mikki's "stack". I wonder if she is thinking of doing conformation with this dog?

Mikki, at about 5 months. She has a lot more hair now.
Monique (Mikki) apparently loves to tear up the camellias on Madalyn's bushes, hence the flower petals at her feet.  I can attest she also loves tearing up little branches with leaves on them, and digging up acorns in my yard.  I'm thinking I know now how a breeder feels when one of their pups comes back for a visit!  It is very satisfying, like when your nieces or nephews come to see you, hug your neck, catch you up on their news!  I feel like a proud auntie and thrilled that Madalyn is including me in Mikki's life.  I'd take her back in a heartbeat!

Upwards and onward!