French Bulldog v. Balloon Mania
Look at him. Completely absorbed. Focused entirely on that bobbing balloon. He’s not checking for anything else. He’s not even glancing at the other dogs playing around at the beach. It’s just the balloon, don’t even try to distract him with a ‘weird noise’ or even a treat. It’s not going to work.
Frenchies often have this intense, focused energy. A bit of a stubborn streak, definitely. And this little fellow? Pip took that stubbornness and directed it straight at those balloons. Now his owner, Joe, buys the party balloons in bulk. He even has a little mechanical pump for blowing them up.
While I was at the beach, about an hour, Pip killed at least eight balloons. He doesn’t rush and attack the balloons. He doesn’t really try to kill the balloon, he just follows the balloon floating around and it looks like he tries to catch the balloon. BTW, he’s never succeeded in catching any other balloon. They always explode whenever he tries to catch the balloons.
You’d think that by now, after killing hundreds of balloons, he would have learned that they always explode. It might work if instead he pushed the balloon with his nose. But no! Somehow, Pip always seem surprised that the balloon exploded/disappeared. No Mr Einstein here!
After the “explosion/kill” he simply glanced at the remnants, then Pip walked back to Joe for another balloon…
This wasn’t a photo session where I made anything happen. I just stood there and captured a slice of his regular behaviour. A tiny moment, yes, but it says so much about his personality. It’s the determination, the single-mindedness, and the sheer enthusiasm.
I often tell clients that it’s about letting their dog be a dog. Forget about the poses, forget about the props, forget about the ‘perfect’ shots. The real magic lies in capturing these moments.
Do you have a favourite silly habit your dog does? I’d love to hear about it! Share a photo and tell me the story – I’m always happy to connect with fellow dog lovers.
If you’d like me to capture some relaxed, natural moments with your best friend, do get in touch. I’m always booking sessions and would be thrilled to chat about how we can create some timeless memories together https://www.sritch.com/contact.
Camera: Pentax K20D ISO 200 and 1/1500
Lens: Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 @135mm and f/9.5
Processed with Darktable: <http//www.darktable.org/>