Shoot Nine Work Record

Plans for the Shoot

I will take my images using my Nikon D5300 DSLR Camera and will adjust the settings for each specific situation to suit the shot I am taking. The shoot will take place at Mutts in Distress in Little Hallingbury in Hertfordshire, and I plan to focus on taking images in the isolation kennel block and the kennel runs.

I have looked through my previous shoot to see if there are any images that I had planned to take and have not done yet or any that I did not capture the type of shot I wanted. These are listed here.

·         I intended to capture workers doing tasks involving administering medication to the dogs, and have not captured this, so will ask a volunteer to go through this just so I can take images.

·         I wanted to show the large amount of bedding that the workers have to deal with. While I did capture this I feel I could make the image more impactful by showing a much larger bundle of bedding being carried.

·         I wanted to capture a freeze frame image of the cleaning and disinfection of the kennels with the water being thrown about. This I have not done as the lighting was not very good in the kennels. So I will instead take the freeze frame images in the runs at the back of the kennels where the lighting is better.

·         I will try to capture more images of the young puppies, to try to improve on them.

·         I have not yet tested my decisive moment inspired image from the back kennel runs with dogs present in the runs. I want to make sure the dog’s forms are big enough to be noticeable.

What I Hope to Achieve

I want to capture a more dynamic image showing the cleaning of the kennels. I will attempt to do this using the motion implied by a freeze frame image. I will capture this when the workers are cleaning the runs at the back of the kennels and will take the image showing the scoops of disinfectant and water being thrown onto the floor of the runs. This will give the viewer a better idea of the amount of water that is involved in the cleaning process as well as the action of the process and the potential to get wet.

Many of the tasks at the centre are physically demanding and some of these are due to the volume of work involved. This includes the changing of the bedding in most of the dog’s baskets every day, which then has to be washed or burned. I want to take an image showing  a worker struggling to carry a huge bundle of bedding, as I feel this is a good way to visually demonstrate the volume of work involved.

Some of the dogs at the kennels have health issues and all need to be vaccinated and treated for fleas when they come in. Part of the job of the staff is to keep track of and administer any medication. As this is a task involving a lot of responsibility I think it is important that I document it as it will reflect positively on the staff.

I still have not completely tested my decisive moment image of at the back of the kennel runs as I have nor checked that the dogs will be a good size to see from that distance away. My hope and expectation is that they will be, and I will check this by taking an image there with the dogs in the runs.

What I Achieved

I achieved some good freeze frame images of the water being thrown onto the run floor. These images illustrate the large amount of water that is used in the cleaning process as well as giving the perception of motion to the task. This makes it easier for the viewer to relate to the physical aspects of the task making the task become more alive to them.  It allows the viewer to perceive this dynamic action and more easily imagine the noise and feel of the sloshing water as it lands. In the image I have cropped off the top of the worker as this was not an important part for the viewer to see. This allowed me to focus in more on the water frozen in mid-air and to fill the frame more with this. The large amount of clear water being thrown onto the floor is the focal point of this image and covers a large part of the frame. In addition behind the worker there can be seen several more runs that need to be similarly cleaned and this makes it easier to multiply the scale of the task.

To add to the feel of motion in the image I Photo shopped the two images together to create a composite image. The motion in the image is shown by making one of the two arms and one of the two scoops more visible than the other, this was created by making one of the layers pin light in Photoshop. Additionally the effect will be enhanced by having an even larger amount of water frozen  in space, and should bring the task to life more for the viewer.

I checked with the decisive moment image that the dogs would be big enough to be reasonably visible in the outside runs and they were. I also captured images of a worker preparing medication for an animal. They were filling a syringe with the animals anti-inflammatory and pain killer Metacam as they were going to administer it to a dog. I cropped the image again to focus in on the task as it was not necessary to show the expression on the workers face.

The image showing the carrying of bedding was relatively easy to take as the staff often have to carry bundles of bedding to and from the kennel block. I just asked one of them to carry a bit more than usual. In the image the bundle is so high the worker has to look around the side to see where she is going. This focuses attention on the amount she is carrying and helps to illustrate the point that a lot of work has to go into the distribution, removal and cleaning of all the dogs bedding every day. I have taken the image with the worker placed in a narrow corridor, this means there is less distracting clutter to take attention away from the subject. The staff would not however usually carry this amount in one go as this would be hazardous.

There was also the opportunity to capture some of the DIY repairs that were going on at the kennels. The isolation block was being cleaned and painted. I therefore captured a few images of the walls being painted and the doors being scrubbed clean. This illustrates that the staff and volunteers are willing to get involved in many other tasks that are required in the caring for the animals and the upkeep of the rescue centre. Coming to the rescue centre makes you feel like you are part of the Mutts extended family and I have a great respect and admiration for the dedicated staff that work so hard here. This is why I felt the need to photographically document this aspect of contemporary life, the hard but fulfilling work that is undertaken at animal rescue centres.