"Dog's world": Is it evident from the crop?

[S_Sanyal]

Hello everyone, first time I am posting in this critique section.

I would like to share a big secret: this is a crop.
Of a picture I made on 35 mm film recently. Its called "Dog's World". and my questions are partly related to this.

1. I made the crop to put focus on the dog in foreground and the ones lying in the far end of the frame only hazily visible in spite of my longish DoF, as I had got very close. Is this crop justice enough to the title. as thats what I want to emphasize through it.

2. Are the dogs in the background too hazy..i may add that this was consciously done to induce a viewer to look deeper into the image, you know one of those things you dont see right away but maybe in your second or third good look at a picture...is that looking like more of an error...?

3. More casually, this was a fleeting moment when the dog had that priceless expression, which made the picture for me (dropped the tea i was having by the roadside, focussed, composed and pressed shutter) what do you think of it overall...?

Any other feedback about the picture as such is very welcome. Here's the exif:

Scanned negative of Ilford PAN100 film in Pentax K1000 with 24mm f = 1:2.8 sunagor lense

Shutter speed: 1/8 s; Aperture- f/11; ISO:100; focal length - 24 mm (fullframe)

P.S. This is best viewed large on flickr.

[windrider86]

To be honest, I didn't know there were other dogs until I read your entire post. The front dog is interesting enough but the feet and legs have completely stolen the focal point.

[Eileen D]

I love the dog's expression but I also think that the background details distract from the focus. I understand your intention about the dogs in the distance but my eye keeps coming back to those legs!

[boun]

crop and title are done very well, but what I like the most are those legs and those two dogs behind, as they are great back elements. First thing I saw was this cute expression on your subjects face, but then you led my view to those back dogs and legs, and shown me another perspective of this photo.
It is not like one of those cute animals, it kinda has it all, a story and spirit. That is how I feel about this photo
really good job

[S_Sanyal]

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

@ boun, thanks for appreciating the picture, glad you enjoyed viewing.

@Eileen, your reply mentions "distract" and " eyes coming back to legs ", is that a good or bad thing ? Please clarify Thanks.

This may sound very lame coming after 3 replies to my OP , but part of the idea behind the crop was to cut off the man standing and put focus on a man as a dog or a shorter animal sees. (he was there in my original picture, if anyone's interested, I'll post that as attachment later)

@ Windrider, I'm grateful that writing the long story in my post made you look further into the picture
As you're a very senior person here, I would really appreciate you sharing your opinion about the fine line that separates good shots that have a smack-in-your-face subject, and the ones that are relatively obscure one where the viewer looks into them more, drawn in by an initial point of interest. I'm sure both are distinct vocabularies in making pictures with good examples in each approach. I was trying here for the latter. As attachment I'm posting an example of the former (in animal category itself, this is a prized and rare picture from my archives), this picture has everything that we may call "subject" visible in one go, much unlike my OP. Would you see them as distinct in the above regard? Thanks in advance for taking time to read and respond.

[Eileen D]

For me, the legs are fighting for my attention, pulling me away from the dog. Of course, if you want the viewer to wander a bit more in your photo, then that could be a good thing. Your crop does give more of the dog's perspective.

I also went to your Flckr link because I have liked your photos (I remember the other recent one with the bike) and I really enjoyed going through your work. Some great photos there!

[S_Sanyal]

Thanks Eileen for clarifying, and I'[m glad you liked my pictures on flickr. Thanks for viewing

[Troy_Schwaller]

Idk...

For me I didn't notice the other dogs until you mention it. The background doesn't take away from the main focus at all for me. However, I love the expression on the dogs face. That makes the picture for me. If it was mine, this would definitely be one I print!

Best Regards

[S_Sanyal]

Thanks Troy, I have been considering it too . I know a guy who can make great prints (the traditional way) in b/w on actual photo paper. So I'm making a shortlist of my film photography to pay him a visit soon.

[AllisonC]

love the dogs expression.

the ground makes me kind of dizzy, especially in that bottom right corner. also didn't even see those other dogs until you mentioned it. my eye focused more on the focal dog, but still kind of was drawn away