I like the overal lighting. That and the eye's of the dog, they look so full and life like. Also the emotions, her tight grasp and and the dogs kind of off and longing look. But nice light, the B&W really works here
Anthony,
Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to hear that the emotions came through. This pooch had a couple of recent health scares, so now that she's healthy it's fun to post some photographs.
The lighting was ideal for this type of shot. The sun was setting and was behind a bunch of trees to camera left. I was just adding a bit of fill from an on-camera strobe.
Aw, pit bulls are really affectionate dogs with their owners and others especially when properly socialized. Great image and glad to hear poochie is healthy.
Larry - I hear you and thanks for your comments. Pits get a bad rap. I've heard they were actually the most popular family dogs in America in the early/mid 20th century because of their affection. However, like any dog, if they're mistreated/abused they won't be trustful of humans. Unfortunately, they also happen to be very strong animals and are exploited by some less than savory people. By the way, is that your dog in your avatar?
aaronlam - thanks for your compliments. Actually she's half Lab/half American Staffordshire Terrier (one of the pit breeds).
Yes, that's Patches. Unfortunately she suffered a series of strokes and we had to put her down back in September, a very sad day in our house. You are correct, pits were a very popular dog as they are generally very affectionate.
aaronlam wrote:
Great picture! Really good light. Are you sure it is a pit bull though? Just curious...
You'd be surprised at how many people actually don't know what a pit bull looks like. Too many breeds of dogs are classified as pit bulls. Think you know (or anyone else knows), see if you can spot the pit bull
Seth/Adam, thanks for posting! Seth - I had the same thought regarding DOF after reviewing the shot the first time. Oh well, you can't always get everything the way you'd like - that's what keeps me coming back to photography.
Adam - yeah you don't hear the words "wussy" and "pit-bull" synonymously very often. I call Olive a "wuss" because her biggest concern in life is trying to behave like a lap dog. Even when other dogs are around to play with, she'd rather be getting continuous love from the people around her.
Sounds like a PitBull with a great personality. Must mean the masters are great loving parents. I so wish I could get my son a dog. I always said when I buy a house with a fence we will get one. We just bought our first house and it has a fence but we are not home that much to spend time with a dog. Anyway sorry to get off track. The photo is great. I want to see more.
BigBlueDodge wrote:
You'd be surprised at how many people actually don't know what a pit bull looks like. Too many breeds of dogs are classified as pit bulls. Think you know (or anyone else knows), see if you can spot the pit bull
Most of the "Pits" here in the us have a lot of Cane Corso bred into them. And as mentioned before the Pit was the Marine's Mascot and generally refered to as the American dog before the recent mistreatments of them.
I don't think I have ever heard Wussy and pitbull in the same sentence. 
Beautiful light and the exposure on the girls face is beautiful. Great shot. 
Anyway sorry to get off track. The photo is great. 