About a month after he was finished recovering from a bladder stone surgery and spending 95% of that time medicated or laying down, we started to think our dog Prince needed some enrichment. To celebrate his speedy recovery, we took a drive up to Lumpkin, Georgia for a visit to Providence Canyon State Park. As we suspected, he was really excited to be up and about, and spent the whole three mile trek leading us on his leash. Since it had rained recently, there were puddles in the clay-heavy dirt around the hike trail, and he ended up with the dog equivalent of dorito fingers, which we found pretty hilarious. This is him around the very end of the trail, when he started to get a little tired and ready to go home.
Or maybe it was the frightening clay snowman we saw on the trail that skeeved him out, he didn’t really say. In the Live version of the image, he talks a half-look back at the haunted looking snowman. At this point, there were a couple of reasons to head on out, but not before this picture was taken.
Hi Jorge,
A fun outing! It was really dry when we visited, so a totally different experience from yours. (Just like the cropping assignment!)
If you had cropped even closer, I think you would have changed the emotional impact, more of a focus on the face, the teeth make it seem like he is fierce, rather than skittish. Also I think that cropping out the dog entirely, with a focus on the mud, would have made it look like movie set. Even the markings in the mud itself would have made for an interesting perspective.
Hello Jorge,
First, I’m happy to hear that your adorable dog, Prince, recovered well from bladder surgery. Regarding that snowman, did you really come across it while on that path, or did you build it?? I would probably freak out too if I saw a muddy snowman out of nowhere (perhaps?). Anyway, the look on his face is priceless, I’m glad you caught it before you left.
I’m sure it was difficult to choose a way to crop the original photo to change the meaning from the original. Your close up of Prince was a good choice, but maybe (like Lisa suggested) zooming into his face would have made him look like a “brave boy”. I also think making the muddy snowman a bigger focal point, would have also changed the meaning from the original by creating a more ominous and unexpected scene.
-Kelly
Hi Jorge,
I absolutely love the look on Prince’s face. Your caption is the perfect fit because it seems as if he is really wondering if that crazy mudman is going to get him. I was also wondering, like Kelly, whether you built mudman or just discovered him on your adventure.
A possible crop option could be cropping out the grass above and more on the left side, right up to mudman’s stick arm. I like how in the original, Prince is off to the side (rule of thirds). This crop would have kept him and the mudman in the frame.