Fidos for Freedom

Service dogs in training along with therapy dogs and their owners gather at the Fidos for Freedom training center in Laurel, M.d. for a training session and meeting.

Donnie Ball (right in red shirt) welcomes guests and volunteers to a Fidos for Freedom training session on Saturday December 10, 2016.

 Kona is a very curious service dog who loves the camera.

Carrie Nicholsen signs to her sign language translator to get instructions on where to go next.

Nicholsen is hard of hearing and her service dog Lilly is learning to hear for her by catching things she may miss such as dropped keys and tapping her when the phone or doorbell ring.

Sandy Ball (left) calls out instructions to the dogs and volunteers during training.

Fidos volunteer Roy Lewis stops for a quick picture with service dog in training Nala. A curious Odin watches in the background.

Jo Nelson (left), Tracy Bowman (center) and Pat Jarvis (right) sit down for a post training discussion about some of the issues the group is facing.

Donnie Ball leads the group discussion with service dog in training Cuddy. 

The dogs watch as their owners and trainers have their meeting...except for Tessa who likes to nap whenever she gets a chance.

Lilly wonders why there's a camera in her face.

Lilly taps Carrie during the discussion when she hears her name.

After a hard day of training,Tracy Bowman and Daytona pose for a picture. 

Shyanne and the other dogs practice staying still if their owners have to step away for a minute.

But Shyanne gets tired of waiting and gets up to look for her human.

Therapy dog vests are usually green and let people know that it is okay to pet the dog even while they are working.

Fidos does a lot of work to help match veterans with therapy and service dogs that can help with a wide range of issues ranging from PTSD to a physical impairment.

Assistance dogs come in all sizes but typically Fidos founder Sandy Ball says little dogs are usually great therapy dogs and some are used for their program to help kids who have trouble reading.

While all of the dogs live with their owners or volunteers, the goal is to match them with a person who needs a service of therapy pet. Little Hartley looks on as her friend gets matched.

Nala takes a break from training to engage in a downward dog pose as volunteer Roy looks on.

Service dog Odin is training to pick up items his owner drops like a cell phone, but sometimes Odin gets distracted when he sees his reflection in the mirror so the trainers hope he doesn't look behind him.

Trainers focus a lot on obedience since that is a big part of being a good service dog. This exercise requires the trainers to stand on the opposite end of the room from their dogs and command them to stay.

Then when they call the dog, they know it is okay to run to their trainer or owner and James sprints to his owner as soon as he gets the signal.

The dog is then rewarded with a treat and placed back on the leash.

 Tessa gives owner Jo a big kiss after getting a treat.

Jo uses a cane to help her walks and Tessa has been trained to pick it up if it falls.

Tessa looks at the treat pouch Jo is wearing and waits expectantly for her next treat. 

James does a trick and hopes for a treat.

Sandy walks Boomer and owner Jenn Sheldon through an exercise. 

Boomer looks up at Jo waiting for his treat after successfully completing his task.

Donnie helps Delaney O'Hagan adjust Shyanne's leash so it is the right length for her to hold with her walker.

Lilly learns to sit and wait patiently for Carrie to turn around. This teaches the dogs to stay where their owners leave them even if they have their backs to them.

Shyanne waits at Delaney's feet to practice laying still when her owner stops walking.

The group practices walking in a circle at various speeds and how to stay next to their owners.

Retired service dog Bella gets comfy on the couch while the other dogs practice. Little does she know that she helped re-create the image on the Fidos logo.

Jo and Tessa head out after a long day of training.

Best of Portfolio

DogFest 2016

The Baltimore Humane Society (BHS) put on its annual DogFest at the BHS in Reisterstown, Md on Saturday Sept,17 2016.

Shelby (front left) meets another dog, and it's like looking in a mirror.
I chose this photo because I liked the story behind it. These two dogs are the same exact breed but they look different and according to their owners they are opposites in personality. I snapped this picture and luck just happened to intervene and something caught the attention of both dogs giving this col mirror effect. I also think this is where I started to think more about technique like the leading lines of the leashes which I wish I'd stepped back just a bit to get more in the photo. I also like the juxtaposition of the color of the dogs as well as the moment of them both hearing something that caught their attention and caused them to look out of frame.

Many of the dogs that await adoption are mixes and were abandoned, so the staff do not know their names or documentation for their breed type.

I though that this image captured the mood of the DogFest event. While it was a happy event the purpose was to get dogs adopted so that they did not have to stay in the cramped cages in the back of the shelter and could have families. This dog had a lot of personality and when I snapped the picture he made this face. I also think technically I demonstrated my understanding of layers as well as point of entry which would be his face.

Charlie the pug waits expectantly for a treat after doing a trick.

I picked this image because I liked the framing as well as the expression that they dog had. The tongue and wide eyes really aded to telling the story of him waiting for his treat. I also liked the colors and contract between the grass and his coat being light.

Sarah Thomas from New Windsor Md. has three dogs that all want to go in different directions. Chipmunk (front left) is a French bulldog. Kendall (right) is a English Bulldog mix and Harrison (back left) is an Australian Shepherd.

After the first image, I looked for opportunities to create leading lines with the leashes and I think I did a better job of that here by stepping back. I picked it because I also like the way that the dogs are all heading in different directions almost reaching the end of the frame almost as if they all have their own agendas for the day. 

Cody is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, or Toller for short. His owners say he is an avid Orioles fan from Baltimore who loves watching sports. 

This was taken before we did portraits but I thought it was a good example of a portrait of a dog. 

Portraits 

Martha Wells poses for a portrait at her home in University Park Maryland.

I chose these 3 photos because I thought given the limited space that I had and lack of excitement of the subject matter, I did a good job with this portrait and trying to capture her and her personality in this image. I also think the natural lighting was good. I think I did a good job showing who she is and what she does.

Wells is a geographer and city planner who runs a business out of her home in University Park. 

She started her company, Spatial Focus in 1998 because she wanted more flexibility and time to focus on the projects she was most passionate about and to raise her three kids.

Back to school at UMD

Lazara is a Geography major and looks out onto the demolished mall, recalling when it was a beautiful setting and shortcut to his classes.

I really liked the lighting of this photo, nothing is better than natural light and it reflecting off of Testudo's shell as well as shining on the dust that is rising from where the mall used to be helped tell the story of the mall being closed. I also like the layering and intentionally kept the framing tight try and show that the story is Lazara's perspective of back to school.

Sophomore Paula Kleyman (right) meets junior Joey Bolivar and invites him to take a picture with her club Vintage Voices. 

This was my first attempt at capturing moment as well as rule of thirds. I was trying to get the moment of new people meeting at back to school events and I kept them in their respective thirds. I wish I had stepped back to get their whole hands in the shot but I just shot it super quick without looking through my viewfinder to try ad get the moment.

Tech Homecoming 

Virginia Tech students, families and alumni gather at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg for Hokie Homecoming on Saturday Sept. 24, 2016.

The Highty-Tighty alumni (Tech's Core Cadet band) gather on the mall at Virginia Tech to prepare to march to the stadium before the big game. While they wait they catch up with old friends.

I chose this image because I think I have some nice layers here as well as rule of thirds in the horizontal direction. I also like the colors.

Towson Fall Fest 2016

Fall Festival was held on October 21, 2016 on a rainy Friday afternoon at the Baltimore County Government courthouse courtyard in Towson, Md.

Eden(left) and Enya (right) conquer their fear of clown and pose for a fun picture with one.

I just like the emotion and fun light feel of this image that is helped by the colors and the lighting as well as the smiles. Technically I think rule of thirds is pretty solid.

A put put station was one of the few activities that didn't get rained on the gloomy fall day.

I like the perspective of this photo which is why I chose it. I also like that because the girls are twins and dressed alike, it kind of gives it the effect of seeing double. Technically I like the leading lines of the put put corse and curb leading the eye to the girls. 

Motion Blur

Trying out the motion blur and light trail technique for the first time. This was taken at a home in Towson Md.

This was the very first motion blur photo I took and it is one of my best the entire semester. Technically I like that she is in focus and the umbrella is not as well as the lighting and the way she's looking out of frame which makes you wonder what she is looking at. I also think the contrast of the green and the color of the umbrella and her shirt add to the photo.

Street

Thursday Oct. 27th, 2016. Commuters walking on the path to Union Station in DC.

 There's something about this photo that I really just love. I think for me this is what a rainy fall day looks like. Gloomy, kind of dark but at the same time really rich color wise. I like the overcast sky which creates the soft lighting and the rich green of the trees and grass that also match his coat. I also think the leading lines of the tree as well as the symmetry make this a stronger image.

Slideshow

Christmas at home

Sophia poses for a portrait as she hangs ornaments on the Christmas tree.

The light reflecting on her face is why I like this photo. I think it is a nice portrait that fit well with the rest of my story for that assignment. 

Sophia stretches to reach an ornament on the Christmas tree. 

I was playing with perspective here. I didn't exactly nail it but I like that I tried something different. I also really like the lighting of this photo as well.