The New York Times photo:
The Seattle Times photo:
Friday, February 18, 2011
Head to Tail (Or: New York vs. Seattle)
Maybe some of you saw Bob Morris's piece about dogs and beds in yesterday's New York Times, which came with a photo of Ned, Mark, and me. The biggest surprise is that the Seattle Times ran another version of that same article today, with a completely different photo. It is so tempting to make broad observations about West Coast vs. East Coast, New York vs. Seattle style based on the choice of photos. But I am curious as to what you think. Photo decisions were likely made in ten seconds or less but they are not unimportant decisions. Honestly, I prefer the Seattle photo, but that doesn't mean that I don't think of myself as aligned with New York, as someone with an East Coast sensibility. It is all too confusing. Which might have something to do with the fact that Ned was apparently more riled up on the sidewalk than usual this morning. I talked to him through speaker phone, as I walked into Provincetown's Land's End Hardware to buy a pair of black thermal socks and a yellow legal pad, and soon enough he stopped barking at all the dogs who weren't allowed to play with him. To be a young dog and to intuit so many projections, interpretations, onto him. And yet how his body relaxes, head to tail, once he hears the ticking of the camera.
The New York Times photo:
The Seattle Times photo:
The New York Times photo:
The Seattle Times photo:
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8 comments:
it's a tough call which photo i like best. the nyt photo seems so natural that i think i'll go with it.
the best thing about having a dog in bed is if you wake up in the middle of the night, the dog is glad to see you. can you say that about any other living creature?
The Seattle photo is certainly more Ned-centric. We sort of fade off into the haze, which makes me he'd prefer that one. :-)
You are definitely right about that middle of the night gladness.
I think I'm more inclined towards the Seattle photo. The first one (sort of) appears as though you're only half-looking at the dog, whereas the second is more, "Ned is awesome. Focus on him."
So, yes, Ned would probably prefer that one. My dog, Penny, would -- though she's on the floor at the foot of the bed.
I like the Seattle photo myself; visually it has more nuance and depth to it, and both you and Mark seem to be more present and more at ease, even though you're less in focus. The New York one is good, but it's like New York, everything is in focus, the whole picture-plane is busy, busy, busy, everything demands equal attention. The Seattle photo carries the mistiness of that city's atmosphere, and something of an emphasis on the intangibles, the felt but not necessarily clearly seen elements.
well, my two (bi-coastal) cents.
Thanks for that, Sara. I also think it's interesting that Ned is needing to feel connected to the humans in the first, thus his paw on my leg, as if to remind us he's here.
A brilliant, bi-coastal, omnidirectional take, Lakin. Thanks!
All I know is that dog is something else. So many dogs always seem to have a worried, or mournful, or beseeching, or hungry, or vacant look. Ned just looks like he is just comfortable being Ned. I may be projecting.
I think I like the NYT one more just for the debonair aspect of his posture. By "his" I mean "Ned's."
I like the Seattle photo best. I liked the NYT photo when I saw it with the article, but there seems to be more of a story in the Seattle photo. I feel your relationship with Ned more; there's a specificity to it. This is a photo of this particular dog with these particular owners while the NYT feels a little like it could be any dog and as I've learned Ned isn't just any dog...
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