Photo's made with my Nikon D300s and 50mm f1.8
New Series!
Today I start with a series of blogs about everyday objects. At least, for me they are objects that I use every day. Only I didn't want to just photograph these objects flat. Precisely for this challenge, which is intended for me to use my camera more often again, I wanted to depict the objects that are so common to me in an unusual way. The usual, unusual shall we say.
I have to give @rubencress the credits for giving me the inspiration with his blogs last month. Unfortunately I've seen this too late to participate, and his timing, in December, was not the best time for me. I just took some distance to relax, more time for the dogs, for my partner, for myself. Less time behind the PC, relax and recharge.
Now we are already 5 days into 2023, as I wrote before... it doesn't feel like a new beginning to me. I have not changed at midnight on December 31. My life hasn't changed, I didn't win the jackpot in the Dutch state lottery, (I didn't buy a lottery ticket either, lol). But joking aside, I'm rested from the distance I've covered in the last month. In December I deliberately spent less time behind my computer, and that did me good. I have to keep that balance, because less screen time gives more time for other things that are otherwise all too easy to ignore. With too much time spent behind my PC, I am no longer tempted to pick up my camera myself and challenge myself with it. Which is also a sin.
So for the foreseeable future, inspired by @rubencress' everyday items series, I decided to grab some everyday items myself. To photograph these objects that are so common to me in an alienating way, and to tell why that object is so common and has a place in my life.
I dare not promise that I will blog 30 days in a row, like Ruben did, but we will see ... the challenge for me is that I will grab my camera more often. That I feel like taking pictures again. I don't care if I can keep this up for thirty days. Maybe I can keep it up every week for a year... we'll see!
Here we go!
The first item I'm going to show you is an item that is very common to me, but it will certainly not be found in every household in the world.
Have you already looked at the first picture and thought, What the f*ck? What is this thing? If so, then I did my job well. Remember, the usual - unusual! But I'll help you out of the dream.
Dog brush
This is the dog brush that I certainly need daily to brush my dogs during this time. Skipper has a long-haired coat and an undercoat that is already shedding due to the persistently too hot weather here. Lana is currently having a hormonal molt, she is about to go into heat again. And Myla? Well, he happily joins both Lana and Skipper. Which makes me taking up the brush every single day, brushing is my old new hobby!
This brush is not a shepherd's rake, I have that too, but the dogs themselves don't like being brushed with the shepherd's rake. Rowan in particular always hated the shepherd's rake, and that was also the reason that I bought another brush a few years ago. So I still use that now. No more Rowan, but Skipper also seems to have a preference for this brush.
Good for a massage and blood circulation
In my opinion it wouldn't make any difference, except that this brush is bigger, and therefore probably has a better pressure distribution for the dog's sensation. The talk that goes with this brush is that it would be a brush that immediately gives the dog a massage. The teeth of the brush go deep through the undercoat, and because they come on the skin, it is also a good brush for blood circulation. Now I'm not so quick to believe all the talk, but I have to admit that this brush really gets through Skipper's thick coat, gets his loose undercoat out well, and leaves his outer coat undamaged. I also notice that when I pick up this brush, Skipper himself stands right in front of it and pushes his back up against the brush. So he also lets himself know that he likes it. That's worth everything to me because there's nothing more miserable than a dog that hates being brushed!
This brush is also a bit easier for me because it has a better handle and a button with which I can push all the hairs out of the brush at once. Very easy, especially now that the ladies and gentlemen are losing a lot of hair.
Looking already forward to the end of this period
As is the case with many objects, so is dog brushes. There are so many different ones, and it is often quite a search to find the right one. For the time being I will therefore continue to brush the dogs with this brush, make them look pretty, and I will be glad when this period of moulting and subsequent heat will be over.
The brush is now looking at me, the dogs are looking at me, time to get to work again!