The magic of digital photography processing is a little like cooking without a recipe.  Letting your creativity go wild.  I wish I could say I’ve come close to getting to grips with the processing of photographic files.  It’s a bewildering range of tweaks and twiddles and that’s before you get started on all the special treatments you can give to.

Don’t get me started on design layouts.  That’s a whole other industry albeit one that’s a but easier to learn than basic processing.  I’m trying to learn new basics every week so you can expect to see some strange goings on here at Domestic Executive HQ.

You can be sure that things don’t change that much though.  There are still bassets and basset walks that provide the lions share of my photography right now.  Still it’s a good chance to point out the finer points of a basset that to the uneducated eye you might miss.  So here’s a few tips to look out for next time you pass a basset in the street, the park or indeed if they invade your garden in search of food.

Bassets are independent minded.  They tend to behave like awkward teenagers all their lives.  They have a range of upward glances and backward eye rolling movements only emphasised by their large wrinkly faces.  Above is  a demonstration of Fortnum’s – “yeah, yeah, whatever, I’m coming aren’t I” look.

As our most expert sniffer, Fortnum also demonstrates the perfect sniffing positions.  You’ve got to get close up to ensure you don’t miss anything there may be on the ground.

With elephantine ears, Mason has a range of techniques to keep his ears flowing smoothly around his face.  No sudden movements are important to ensure you don’t whip yourself in the eye.

There seems to no special techniques for keeping control of your face if you’re a basset on the run.  I rest my case on the following two photographs.

See how Fortnum makes a perfect pigtails with his ears before letting them go free range.

Mason is no better.  You’d think he was entering a gurning competition.

A summers day can bring out the best in basset poses.  Here they are this morning before the weather turned to custard and blew a southerly gale in.

Experimentation can be fun but rather time consuming.  Also, having a consistent style of photography helps.  You’ll tell that these photographs were taken in different places, different times and dates.  What I’m learning from this process is that photographs that I take that instantly strike me at the time and no amount of fiddling post processing will change that story or indeed being overly creative with the photograph tends to distract from the subject of the photograph itself.

So following the mantra that photos can speak louder than words I think I’ll start to focus my digital processing only on ways that make that story not just speak but sing.  It will also let me stick to my less is more philosophy for this year.  And best of all it will save me heaps and heaps of time!