Lost...

paulcookphotography · #1 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 18:19

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Lost...

An old dogs collar lying on a fallen tree in the forest.

I wanted to create an image to visualise the emotion of losing a pet. Two horizontal frames were photo-stitched to create a vertorama. The image overall image was softened in photoshop, then selectively de-saturated to give emphasis to the collar. Finally LOST was added to the dog tag.

**Dennyboy** · #2 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 18:53

Paul, this is very good technically (thanks for the explanation) but it works on an emotional level as well. You can imagine the poor dog wandering around lost and cold e.t.c. Very good

**Ogofmole** · #3 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennyboy

You can imagine the poor dog wandering around lost and cold e.t.c. Very good

But the collar is still done up, so how did it fall off

paulcookphotography · #4 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ogofmole

But the collar is still done up, so how did it fall off

No idea, mate, but it was closed when i found it while hillwalking the other week. I've been carrying it about with me ever since trying to find the right location...

paulcookphotography · #5 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 19:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennyboy

Paul, this is very good technically (thanks for the explanation) but it works on an emotional level as well. You can imagine the poor dog wandering around lost and cold e.t.c. Very good

Thanks, mate. Appreciated. Sometimes its hard to know if others will get the same feeling from an image as the one i'm trying to create.

**Ogofmole** · #6 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 19:18

Hi Paul, Getting back to your image, you have captured the sense of being lost with that dark soft background and your eyes are drawn to the collar, but I still think it would have worked better with the collar un-done, as if it had fallen off the dog.

**cannockwolf** · #7 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 19:55

i just like how it looks, the designer in me wants to do a poster with it LOL

**Dennyboy** · #8 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ogofmole

But the collar is still done up, so how did it fall off

It gets worse, now he has wasted away till his collar fell off and he has wandered away and died alone...........

You have to have imagination Barry!

paulcookphotography · #9 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 20:52

The reason i went with a closed collar than an open one was to try to make the point that the dog is lost, and not the that the dog has lost its collar. I tried shooting it so it looked like the collar had snagged on a branch, but i just felt it looked 'like a collar had fallen off a dog', whereas placing it on the fallen tree, closed and with a small bit of highlighting on it, gave the impression that it was sitting there waiting for the dog's return. The staining on the collar showing that it had been waiting for some time...

Its all about interpretation, and like i said, its hard to sell/tell a story in a single image, but as long as people get the general idea then i'm happy

**cannockwolf** · #10 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 20:59

my dog can squeeze out of his collar if he really wants to, so there!