Trying to show the miserable living conditions of a dog?

[milosh]

Hello everyone,

With this photo I wanted to show in how miserable conditions this dog lives.
He is tied up to this old car wreck, and he's in dirt every day, as you can see.

So, my intention was to display his misery and to capture the sad look in his eyes.

My question is about the angle and the cropping. During cropping I've kept both his house and the car wreck, since they both show his living conditions. I also tried to capture his sad look.

Now, what do you think about the cropping, the view point and the overall composition, in regard to what I wanted to capture? How could I have done it better? Any comments are welcome. There is a bit bigger version on Flickr if needed.

Camera: Nikon D60
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 52 mm
Exposure: +0.50
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Thanks

[windrider86]

I see what you going for but am not totally convinced you got it. IIf I had not read what you said I would have thought it was just a just sitting there.
Try and capture it from another angle , rather than straight on. This may take some time but if you could get him inside the dog house with the old car in the background it might portray him living in that hole more

[milosh]

Thanks Michelle, you're probably right. He doesn't look so sad in the picture, as he did back there, and choosing a different angle would probably make it better. I don't think that I will have another opportunity of shooting him, but that's ok. It's a learning process.

[kgb224]

You are portraying the living conditions perfectly in this capture.outstanding work.

[Brittainy]

i'd say to make the dog more of a focal point with the car in the backround and out of focus. and bring the poor boy a bone

[cherrygirl]

If you want to display the sad look in his eyes...zoom in on them. Emotion is portrayed through the eyes.

Poor guy! I actually took a dog in college that was in similar conditions including a five pound weight tied around her neck!

With a good bath he would be so pretty!

[candleman]

nice.. but i find the dog "clashes" with the vehicle.
try get him with the grass background instead.

but what do i know..

[milosh]

Originally Posted by kgb224

You are portraying the living conditions perfectly in this capture.outstanding work.

Thank you! I believe it does a good job of showing the living conditions, I just wish it had some more impact.

Originally Posted by Brittainy

i'd say to make the dog more of a focal point with the car in the backround and out of focus. and bring the poor boy a bone

Thanks Brittainy, I see now that the dog is not exactly the only focal point in the image.

Originally Posted by cherrygirl

If you want to display the sad look in his eyes...zoom in on them. Emotion is portrayed through the eyes.

Poor guy! I actually took a dog in college that was in similar conditions including a five pound weight tied around her neck!

With a good bath he would be so pretty!

Originally Posted by candleman

nice.. but i find the dog "clashes" with the vehicle.
try get him with the grass background instead.

but what do i know..

You're both right, now that I think about it, the best way of doing it would probably be if I could get him a bit further away from the house and the car and fill the frame with the dog, while keeping the other two in the background slightly out of focus.

Cherrygirl, I see dogs like this one almost every day. It's hard to help all of them, but I often try to, I bring them something to eat. And it makes me angry when I see how people don't care about animals. For example, this dog is tied in front of a car mechanic's workshop, and his owner was there. I also thought of how happy and thankful he would be after a bath and a good meal.


Michelle, thanks for the exif info, I'll try not to forget it!