February 2011 photo challenge - Pets in Black and white

Tomorrow is the 1st of the shortest month of the year

what's the challenge for February??

Traditional?? love/Red/Hearts?? or something off the wall, different??

Well it might be the shortest month in days but sounds like it is going to be the longest in rotten weather...the way it is going to start out anyway!

So....more snow themes!????

Bump. I'm out of ideas besides the trite Valentines.

Bump...Bump....

ideas any one??

Marko help!!!! we need ideas!!

What about the opposite of what valentines is all about... how about heartbroken pets??? You know... the pics we have where they just look soooo pitiful

Marko can we use your podcast from your photography site,

what about black and white??

has it been done??

Thx for the suggestions Breeze and others!
Pets in black and white has not been done and i think it's a good challenge - buuuuuut not sure all the members know how to convert their images to black and white..... (If members are interested to know about the podcast Breeze referred to please feel free to Pm me)

Here's a few other suggestions:

- Pets in red
- Mealtime
- pets doing tricks

Given that it's Feb 1 today please feel free to support any of the suggestions in this thread - OR suggest something completely new. I'll check back late tonite or early tomorrow morning and the theme with the most support will be this month's challenge.

Thx!

Marko

I like the heart broken look idea. My pets are masters at this expression and so I'm sure are other people's pets. Capturing it in a photo would be a fun challenge.

not sure all the members know how to convert their images to black and white.....
Marko

oops I was thinking more of the lines in "gray scale"
:o

I like the black and white and the heartbroken themes :D

Yeah, the B&W and "heartbroken" ones are both good... personally, I think the latter is more challenging; B&W is a one-click tweak in most image-editing apps.

black and white or grayscale means the same to me so i think we are talking about the same thing.

yup i can pull off both heartbroken and black and white,,could probably get black and white heartbrokens..

I already have a heartbroken in mind... and it's... well, the dog is black and white, even if the picture isn't :)

I'll let this go till tomorrow morning.....

It's looking like a toss up between heartbroken and black and white.

If a few more people would state a particular preference - that would be great!



thx!!
Marko

Black and white sounds cool to me.

LOL - By my count there is 50/50 support between BW and heartbroken. SCM's vote brought it to a tie.

Soooo - I guess I'll make the final call....and I'll choose Black and white simply because I think it would be a hard challenge for the cat people. Dogs really ARE the champs of that heartbroken look.

and that said....you COULD always do a twofer and show heartbroken in black and white.

thanks for the input everyone - merging suggestion posts now.

Hi everyone - suggestion posts merged and for this month, all the submitted photos should be in black and white. The challenge is Pets in Black and white.

Ok then who will post first? :D (and will it be a black and white shot of a dooger with a heartbroken expression :D )

Thx!
Marko

enjoying the storm

71910

71911

lol, I love the tonque hanging out

Hahahaha, love that second one... the look that says, "GET ME THE $#%# BACK IN THE HOUSE!"

Groucho:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/TUmHcwHlw-I/AAAAAAAALds/u1T3RddUxPE/Fullscreen%20capture%20222011%20083047.jpg

Buster Brown:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/TUmJY3KfwWI/AAAAAAAALeE/ASl_tRihVdk/167753_10150393509075402_634995401_17249305_498245 6_n.jpg

Edit: wow, that was weird... a version of the pic I edited for something else ended up on the hosting album. GUH.

Soundy
I think you captured both the heartbroken expression AND black and white with the picture of Groucho :thumbs up

My Aussie's at Play in B&W with some special touches :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/FoxyRacing/AussiesPlay.jpg

awwwwww is one of the aussies a pup? beautiful photo

awwwwww is one of the aussies a pup? beautiful photo

Yes my blue merle is 8 weeks old :) Thank you!!!

Aussie_Girl

how did you do that??? special touches??

Aussie_Girl

how did you do that??? special touches??

i'm good at photo editing :)but there is a website that is pretty easy to use and has lots of editing you can do, its a pretty cool website!!! you guys should check it out :)

www.picnik.com

lol I would if I could get a decent photo. My kids (8&9) do a better job than I do. :loser:

+1 for Picnik - the interface is a little convoluted and clunky, but it does do a LOT of neat stuff. It can read, edit, and re-post your photos directly from Facebook, too.

Hahahaha, love that second one... the look that says, "GET ME THE $#%# BACK IN THE HOUSE!"

Groucho:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/TUmHcwHlw-I/AAAAAAAALds/u1T3RddUxPE/Fullscreen%20capture%20222011%20083047.jpg

Buster Brown:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/TUmJY3KfwWI/AAAAAAAALeE/ASl_tRihVdk/167753_10150393509075402_634995401_17249305_498245 6_n.jpg
Oh Soundy, even in B&W, your Persian is gorgeous :cloud9::cloud9::cloud9:

+1 for Picnik - the interface is a little convoluted and clunky, but it does do a LOT of neat stuff. It can read, edit, and re-post your photos directly from Facebook, too.

I was meaning its good for people who cant go on photoshop or gimp and do this sort of thing, its good for someone who wants to do a little bit of editing to there pictures for things like this or even personal use... Just ment it to be a fun easy photo editing program that everyone can use!! :)

so then if I can ever get a worthwhile photo I will try it! Thanks

Not sure if my pics will show up here, so I apologize if all that appears is codes.

http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae88/Erisalpine/023-1.jpg

http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae88/Erisalpine/IMG_0205-1.jpg

http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae88/Erisalpine/046-1.jpg

Here are a few B&W's:

2 of Angus when he was a wee little pup and 1 of a cute cat I found one day.

Great shots so far!!! :thumbs up Neat idea for a challenge!

My Aussie's at Play in B&W with some special touches :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/FoxyRacing/AussiesPlay.jpg

Some other pictures I ment to post..
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/FoxyRacing/Diesel55.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/FoxyRacing/sierra55.jpg

You'd never know he was so sick just by looking at his photos!


Nookie at 7.5 weeks

71960

Nookie at 4 months

71961

Nookie at 10.5 months

71962

Silly Thorin :lovestruck::cloud9:

Chief when he was 7 months, last September.

71966

Love all the b/w pictures,this is the only one I have,kind of b/w...it's a few years old of Vinnie.

Great idea and beautiful pics so far! :lightbulb:

Off to edit some shots. :thumbs up

Aztec and his glorious whiskers:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f177/aztec_egypt/Black%20and%20white%20kitties/blackandwhitewhiskers2.jpg

My beautiful cross-eyed Cinnamon Girl:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f177/aztec_egypt/Black%20and%20white%20kitties/blackandwhitemamaface.jpg

Sitting pretty:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f177/aztec_egypt/Black%20and%20white%20kitties/blackandwhitechair4.jpg

These pictures are ALL so beautiful!! I wanna squeeze each and every one of them :lovestruck: :cloud9:

I love the B&W theme :)

:D and will it be a black and white shot of a dooger with a heartbroken expression :D

I knew I shouldn't have eaten that pen! :D

71992

Oh, wow! B&W really adds a little majesty and mystery into a portrait! Really cool shots, everyone!

BTW, it's "February", not "Februrary" ;)

Love Love ALL the black and White pictures!! :cloud9::lovestruck:

Soundy it doesn't really matter how it's spelled, it adds a special touch to the challenge ;)

now off to figure out who to do the other special touches :thumbs up

BTW, it's "February", not "Februrary" ;)

Whooh caires? :D

SCM--I so love Aztec's pictures! He's so photogenic in every picture you post of him :cloud9: and little Cinnamon Girl is adorable. :lovestruck:

OMD...I'm just listening to a Neil Young CD and Cinnamon Girl just came on! :crazy:

Loving all the black & white pictures people! :thumbs up!

Great theme and great pictures everyone! :thumbs up

Just loving these pics eveyone - great job!....and I do see a few heartbroken BW pics :D

RGeurts,was kind enough to do b/w for me,here's beautiful Fate,a neighbors Husky(I think most of you know her)..

I just LOVE that close-up of her beautiful face :lovestruck: :cloud9:
She's such a gorgeous baby!

The kitties are already B&W and nobody seems to be heartbroken....so I don't know if it still meets the requirements.

72043

^I dunno, the dog looks kinda heartbroken that he wasn't invited up top...

Aww the Tuxedo kitties are beautiful,but I agree the puppy does not look too happy,but adorable:cloud9:

this is the face you get when you wake a sleeping puppy.

how's this for heartbroken?

Snuggling on the couch

Beautiful pics everyone,I always liked b/w pics(wrinkles don't show up too much:laughing:),Marty love kitties and pups cuddling.
Aslan Q-Man certainly looks sad,are you not treating him well:(Just kidding!

i think evil mommy G was giving one of the other two lovins at the time.

Sure,blame it on sweet mommy G:laughing:

Sure,blame it on sweet mommy G:laughing:

had to be mommy G,,,she can't work my camera so it had to be me taking the picture.:angel:

Dr. Seuss, being grey, looks good in black and white.

B&W of Bailey giving Brier some kisses

Carolyn,that's a beautiful pic:cloud9:

Dr Seuss sure looks beautiful,wonder what he has planned,he looks very determined:cat:

A few of the pupsters:

Prince, 5 years old. GSD/Husky mix (although his papers said Malamute I'm not sure) Got him from the SPCA when he was 2 months old. What a fluffball he was :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bratalishus/Doggies018b.jpg

Lily is the newest addition to our family. She was on death row at a pound and we fostered her back in August. We officially adopted her about a month ago. We are foster failures! :laughing:

What do you think Lily is? We were told Rottie/GSD but we're not fully convinced. She's got her nose to the ground and points a lot. She also runs like a gazelle! Super quick!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bratalishus/Doggies013b.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bratalishus/Doggies033.jpg

Kelti was my bf's family dog who passed over in April 2008. :angel:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bratalishus/Kelti_6.jpg

Such gorgeous pics in this thread! :cloud9: I'm really liking this B&W theme. Almost inspires me to try it.

Such gorgeous pics in this thread! :cloud9: I'm really liking this B&W theme. Almost inspires me to try it.

go for it hazel!!!!!

I would love to see your pack in black and white :cloud9::lovestruck:

Our daughter's dog, Nika
72130

One of my grandbaby, Mayson and Nika, of couple of years ago
72131

Those pics are just beautiful Exkalibur,wish I knew how to do that..
Brat yours are fantastic as well:dog::dog:

Hi... could someone direct me to where I can find instructions re how to post a black and white photo of my pet. Thanks !

I use a program called Irfanview, someone here directed me to this site. It's free and you can resize and edit.

Just LOVING these!!! Gonna post some cutie cat pics in the next 24.

http://irfanview.com/ is a good FREE image editing program though not sure how easily you can do BW conversions.

GIMP http://www.gimp.org/ is another FREE POWERFUL image editing program that gives photoshop a run for its money. Here's a gimp BW conversion tutorial
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/Color2BW/

Hope it can help - Marko

IrafanView is a great program for a quick edit, but I would highly recommend looking into Picasa, which is a free photo organizing/editing program from Google. It's got lots of features and effects (including several B&W effects), is very easy to use, and integrates perfectly with Google's free photo album site, Picasaweb. For those on Facebook, there's also a plugin that gives you one-click uploading to your Facebook albums.

Ahh yes Picassa is also very good and free - here are the links - thx Soundy.
windows - http://picasa.google.com/
Mac - http://picasa.google.com/mac/

And http://picasaweb.google.com for the web albums - login with your Gmail account, if you have one. Also links with Google Maps/Google Earth, so you can geotag your photos with the location they were taken.

http://picasaweb.google.com/soundy106 :D

BTW, Irfanview and Picasa won't do the "selective color" thing like exkalibur's pics... that requires something like Photoshop, GIMP, Paintshop Pro, etc., and a little bit of skill.

The photos posted here are amazing - who'd have thought black and white would look so nice ...
thanks for the help re resizing photos etc.
I've tried it on Picnik.com (free section) - still a bit confused.... hopefully this will be correct size and B/W
When time permits I will try some of the other sugested sites too :thumbs up

Wow more beauts!
Here's a shot of our neighbour's cat Rocky.

I have to say that the picture of thorin, dancing sideways, kills me everytime I look at it.:laughing:

Here's another snap, this time of Vishnu, our neighbour's Bengal.

keeper and Abby . . . . . in memorium.

http://www.goldentales.ca/P1040292_edited-6.jpg

Keeper and her shadow . . .

http://www.goldentales.ca/DSC_0026-edit2.jpg

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

Awww Rick,what beautiful pics,of 2 wonderful dogs:lovestruck:

.... i agree, what a lovely photo of the two dogs
were they related to each other... sorry, I don't know what happened
to your pet/s

.... i agree, what a lovely photo of the two dogs
were they related to each other... sorry, I don't know what happened
to your pet/s

http://www.goldentales.ca/

....thank you for the web site Love4
I read some of it and will read the rest later
Seems like the dogs had awesome lives - what wonderful countryside for them
to have played in and lived in
The photos are also very good
A great web site - happy and sad

Serious...as usual...

72316

I was bored and needed to burn a couple of minutes before going to bed...so here is two-face.

72336

....thank you for the web site Love4
I read some of it and will read the rest later
Seems like the dogs had awesome lives - what wonderful countryside for them
to have played in and lived in
The photos are also very good
A great web site - happy and sad

Thank you . . . . . hopefully more "happy" to come as we rebuild our little family first with Ruby and then, perhaps, another Golden bum.

Abby and Keeper were not related. Abby came to us as a puppy and, when she was one year-old, she was joined by Keeper, a rescue, also one year of age at the time. They passed away 26 days apart late last year, both at the age of 12.

In the last few days I've begun the process of alter Goldentales to Ruby's coming life while also preserving the legacy of our good friends Abby & Keeper.

Closure.

Ruby, in black and white. . . .

http://www.goldentales.ca/DSC_3490-edit3.jpg

. . . . and, I'll throw in "Curious Polly" below. Polly is handicapped and can only go outside with constant human supervision. She was abused in a pet store and, the day after we picked her up, she had to have her back feet amputated to save her life. She gets around just fine on the stumps and all the dogs she's known are afraid of her. She really sticks up for herself and does catch mice on her occasional forays outside.

http://www.goldentales.ca/CSC_3255-edit5.jpg

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

I have to say that the picture of thorin, dancing sideways, kills me everytime I look at it.:laughing:

He is such a clown baby :clown: :cloud9: :lovestruck:

Awww that Polly,I just love her,she was very lucky you came along,she's such a brave pretty little girl:cloud9:
Beautiful picture of Ruby,I think she is starting to realize she's in heaven:lovestruck:

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad180/psyclop_photo/IMGP4322.jpg

I just wanted to say what an awesome thread that was - thx everyone!

Going to post the March suggestion thread now.

Thx!