Let sleeping dogs lie..

[SwissJon]

I took this photo last weekend.. It just says summer to me.. My dog caked out on the grass. I was looking to play with the depth of field on my 60mm macro lens after taking some shots of flowers and I'm fairly pleased with the result.

So basically I'd like to know:
Depth of field.. Ok? To shallow?
Background.. Is it distracting? Does the burnt out area of sky cause problems?
Subject positioning.. Is the angle ok (nose on)?
Any other comments or observations are welcome.

Exif:
Creation date: 03/07/2011 15:05
Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm F2.8G ED
Focal length: 60*mm*(equiv. 90*mm)
Aperture: F2.8
Exposure time: 1/200"
ISO speed rating: 100/21°
Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot
White Balance: AUTO1
Focus Mode: AF-A
Image Stabilizer: Off
Noise Reduction: Off
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode

[RichardTaylor]

To me the blown out sky is a major distraction.
Focus on the eyes looks good.
DOF could arguably a little deeper to make the nose a little sharper.
The top of his(?) head looks a little dark on my uncalibrated monitor -maybe need a little fill in is needed.

The pose looks good, and your dog looks friendly & cute.
+ smile

[SwissJon]

Thanks Richard.. I think I might try a different background next time..

Hmm.. The histogram shows clipping on the whites, but not the shadows.. I might get a reflector out next time and see how that changes things.

I was trying to get the DoF fall off behind him satisfying.. I hadn't thought about the foreground.. According to my DoF calculator, there should have been a 6cm DoF front and back, so the nose should have been in focus, but I hadn't done any micro adjusts on this lens at that time, so it was focussing just behind where I placed the focal point (His eye). Oh well, If I'd stopped down a couple of stops I'd have got more DoF and the lens would have been in its sweetspot.. I've adjusted the lens two..

Oh yeah.. He is freindly and cute.. And especially smelly when he's been laying in the sun!