Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Dogged . . .

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With the summer winding down and all, and back to school happening, etc, Lynne just did a post with the title "Dog Days of Summer", so I thought I'd echo that, with a couple of wild hounds seen out in Brittany this past summer... Yes, summer, past, history, heading into Fall, one of my favorite times of year, if it's not too chilly. The dogs are on summer's heels, on the chase . . .
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I think the red stains on his cheek were traces of the last tourist who got too close . . .
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49 comments:

AB said...

Great weathered texture and a great dog face

Alistair said...

Nice shots of a fantastic bit of carving....

Steve said...

Now these are the kind of dogs I like: quiet, little exercise required and already house trained.

mythopolis said...

Menacing and protective, great work by the sculptor to convey such.

Anonymous said...

Are those teeth or is that slobber? Those photos remind me of the English Mastiff we had years ago (appropriately named "Trouble") who had a similar head and a mouth full of slobber. I'm sure the wall in our former home still bear the marks of her drool-productive head shakings, and the grass is likely much greener in those spots she kindly fertilized. While the shots here on your blog induced a few wistful memories of Trouble, I can say I ever really missed her.

Nice shots, Owen, as always.

Christine

Tiago Braga said...

great record, very good, we can see the textures and some details, like a lot
many congratulations
leave an invitation to visit my blog, I hope the visit http://tiagophotografy.blogspot.com/ and become a follower!
hug from Portugal

Lynne with an e said...

So this is the source of the endless barking that was echoing off my bedroom walls this morning! And when I looked through the window to check on the weather I thought it was raining out but, no, it was canine slobber dripping down the panes.

This beast (though I must say he has kind eyes and soft looking ears that may need a scratch) reminds me of a dog my parents once inherited from my (other) sister. He used to steal my father's dirty socks from the laundry and growl menacingly if you tried to take it away from him. He would also lay under the kitchen table and pass wind, at which point we would all groan loudly and flee the room. A charming brute in all apects.

the fly in the web said...

Is he one of Actaeon's hounds...I see a bit of statuary in the background.

Stickup Artist said...

Through the age and weathering, that dog's face has retained such character! It's amazing what human beings are capable of. Sculpture just mystifies and delights me. You did an excellent job photographing the gorgeous neutral tones and textures of the stone.

Clytie said...

I don't think I'd want to get too close to this guy. He looks dangerous! But beautiful - with so much character still!

Roxana said...

of course!!!!!!!

i thought about this when i was on Lynne's page, that Owen will surely think of something in reply, and then i come here and indeed i was right :-)

the first picture is amaziiiiiing, such an angle.

:: Karine :: said...

ah la la owen adoré ! la première photo est tellement surprenante ! on dirait que ce chien te regarde, toi le photographe et il a l'air si surpris !
comme si tu l'avais reconnu derrière son masque de pierre !
très belle prise, bravo !

:: Karine :: said...

by the way : belle rentrée à tes grenouilles :-)

Anonymous said...

It is said, that dogs are the sixth sense for humans - a safe step always ahead for you.

SKIZO said...

Thank you for sharing
This fabulous work with us
Good creations

The Sagittarian said...

I say, that dog has a rather ruff, ruff look to him...

Anonymous said...

Call in the CSI to check if that is squirrel blood!

French Fancy... said...

Dogs, Brittany, Statues - three of my favourite things in one post.

Jeanne said...

I've enjoyed my visit here. And really enjoy seeing the world through your lens. Wonderful pics! Incredible colors and clarity.

CiCi said...

You have a wealth of subjects over there to photograph. Just amazes me what you find and share in your blog. There is something friendly about this dog, and to think he has been welcoming people for so many years.

jeff said...

Un chien en pierre... En voilà une idée qu'elle est bonne ! ! !
Plus besoin de se faire suer pour la pissette... fini la corvée des crottes à ramasser... la gamelle vide est plus économique que la gamelle pleine de croquettes...
Mais dis-moi Owen ! Où trouve-t-on ces chiens en pierre ? Sont-ils livrés avec des roulettes pour les déplacer ?...(:|

Merci pour tes réponses !...

Ciao amigo... Woooafff !

Owen said...

Salut Jeff !

En fait, tu as tout à fait raison, les chiens de faience, les chiens en pierre comme ceux-ci, sont parfaitement adaptés pour répondre aux besoins de ceux qui aimeraient avoir un chien, ou deux, chez eux, mais qui ne peuvent pas assumer, comme tu dis avec tant de poésie, la transpiration pour faciliter la pissette, et pour la corvée des crottes à ramasser, qui doivent bien fatiguer plus qu'un... oui, je prévois d'excellentes ventes de ces modèles en vu après ce coup de pub sur le blog... le téléphone commence à sonner déjà !

Mais aussi, pour certains, ils peuvent les poster devant leur portes, pour faire peur aux éventuels cambrioleurs... Et pour d'autres, ils peuvent les positionner face à l'intérieur, devant leur porte d'entrée, pour les aider à rester chez eux, car certains ne devraient pas sortir en publique, vu toutes les betises qu'ils font une fois qu'ils y sont... et oui, en même temps que les camisoles de force que je fabrique et vends en grandes quantités ces jours-ci, je pense l'addition de ces chiens dans le catalog va bientôt me permettre une indépendence complète, et donc plus de temps pour... et oui, pour BLOGGER ! Car pour moi aussi le temps a manqué ces derniers mois...

Alors, si tu as besoin d'un chien maginifique et méchant en piere, ou une camisole de force, tu m'appelles ?

Ciao pix-pal...

Owen said...

Oh, et oui, PS Jeff, en vérité, ces chiens faisaient partie de la décoration jardinier dans le parc d'un petit chateau en Bretagne, à coté du Chateauneuf-du-Faou, le Chateau de Trévarez, que j'ai pu visiter cette été, en tant que visiteur touristique, et non pas en cambrioleur...

Owen said...

Dear TechnoB.,
France is indeed abundant with photogenic subjects, which is why I love wandering the French countryside in search of such gems... As for being friendly, I'm still wondering about those blood colored stains around his mouth...
:-)

Owen said...

Jeanne, thank you so much ! And thanks for following ! Do stop by anytime, we try to keep the subjects varied and intriguing, like they used to say on the Monty Python show: "And now for something completely different !"

Owen said...

Hi FF,
So you're still in Brittany finally? These were at Trévarez, near Chateauneuf-du-Faou... a curious place... these dogs were about the best of what there was to see there, imho...

Hope you are well and had an excellent summer...

Owen said...

Dear LGS,
I think it is obviously squirrel blood, and after the chief squirrel investigator has finished, perhaps we'd better call Interpol as well, to try to discover what all those squirrels were doing there in the first place, before the dog jumped down off his pedestal and went on a feeding frenzy !

I think I'm going to hide until all risk is passed...

Owen said...

Dear Saj,
He may look ruff ruff, but he's a tender hearted creature to those he is not interested in having for lunch... the trick is to get on his kind side, by buttering him up and flattering him, by photographing and blogging about him, for example...
:-)

Pearl said...

Incredible. Nothing like that in Minneapolis!

Pearl

PeterParis said...

I must admit that I prefer smaller, kinder dogs ... without blood stains! :-)

Owen said...

Hey Peter,
This was after all the vicious pit bulls running around mauling people got turned to stone... no worries now, that dark age where people were allowed to keep killer dogs is over... (in my dreams)

Owen said...

Hi Pearl,
Guess you're just going to have to come to France to see them then, if they have no cousins in Minnesota...

Owen said...

Hi Skizo, you're very welcome, appreciate your comment...

Couldn't help but think of that fabulous song by King Crimson, 21st Century Schizoid Man...

Owen said...

Hi Robert, for sure, dogs can certainly sense things that we cannot... earthquakes for example, and higher frequencies than we can hear... and they can smell things that we would have trouble recognizing, like drugs in suitcases...

Owen said...

Bonjoue Karine !

C'est normal, il était totalement surpris que qui que ce soit l'approcherait... mais j'avais compris, vu qu'il venait de bien manger (des touristes en moins), les traces de sang visibles encore sur ces joues, je me suis dit que c'était le bon moment de l'approcher de près, avant qu'il ne retrouve pas son appetit... il n'était pas très content, mais le ventre tellement plein qu'il ne pouvait pas envisager de me rajouter sur le menu... en fait, c'était la texture que j'avais adoré chez lui...
Bises...

Owen said...

Karine, PS, et oui, c'est la rentrée, incroyable que cela me semble, l'été est passé en coup de vent...

Owen said...

Hi Roxana !
Lynne being my sister and all, for inexplicable reasons we often seem to think along the same wavelengths, especially on dog day afternoons... So when she barks up a tree, I sometimes bark back down. Our cats of course were quite jealous that I should waste time putting up pictures of stone dogs, when I should have been putting up pictures of cats...
:-)
Bon courage pour toi pour le retour à l'école, est-ce que ça a commencé déjà ?
Big bisoux...

Owen said...

Hi Clytie,
Always a good idea to keep a health distance, you are very wise indeed. Even if these were real dogs turned to stone, who knows when the spell might wear off, and they would probably come out of it mad as hell and looking for someone to pay for their year of captivity...

Owen said...

Hi Stickemup ...

I have great respect for sculpteurs and painters, people who can start with a vision in their head and turn it into reality from scratch, by sheer virtue of their vision and their skills to translate that vision through their hands using various tools into works that outlast them with a little luck. Photography is another form of art, but one requiring less sheer creation skills, although certainly another sort of vision, visionary sense... Although in my case it is often alot of trial and error... And luck also, or persistence, in seeking out material worthy of being photographed... Hope you are getting out plenty into the wilds of California now that the weather is cooling off a little...

Lydia said...

He may be stone but he is so realistic that I'm recalling in detail the attack by two at-loose dogs on my two during a walk in 2007. The episode was a nightmare. However, the statue is a dream of a work and your from-below shots are great. (As always, I appreciate what you wrote as well.)

Catherine said...

great close-ups - that second one looks straight out of True Blood - vampire hound!

Virginia said...

WEll maybe I need one of these to pose in my front window to ward off robbers~! HA Much cheaper than a real pup! They are rather gruesome. Oh dear!
V

Plum' said...

Hello Owen,
De retour dans la blogosphère après quelques jours passés en bord de mer, j'avais l'intention de te rendre une petite visite de courtoisie. Et là, surprise, je me retrouve nez-à-truffe face à ces 2 molosses de pierre gardant l'entrée de la lanterne magique ! Comme je ne souhaite pas finir en steak tartare (quelle triste fin pour une libellule...!), j'imagine que je devrais montrer "patte blanche" et me munir de quoi sustenter tes nouveaux compagnons...
Aurais-tu trouvé là un nouveau système anti-spams ? ;)
Bises et bonne reprise (courage...)

Plum' said...

Mince ! J'avais tout bon alors, sans le savoir...tu as utilisé la modération de commentaires...du coup j'ai publié 2 fois ma pensée, croyant à un de ces tours de Blogger...Tu pourras publier celui que tu préfères ;)

Le Journal de Chrys said...

Celui-là ne mordra pas!!!

jeff said...

Une camisole... en couleur de préférence ! ! !...:)
Pour moi, ce sera... voyons voir... blanche ! Ben oui !... Quand tu additionnes toutes les couleurs et que tu fais tourner la roue très vite...(:[...
Pour ce qui est de l'entonnoir... j'ai le mien...! Ce genre d'ustensile ne se prête pas ! ! ! Mais il peut se donner...(:]

Ciao amigo...
Camisolons bien ce week-end...:)

Owen said...

Ah you good people... I'm running late, running behind, running on empty... all these wonderful comments, and I've not answered half, and here it is Sunday already... gotta go get my beauty sleep, and try and post something in the day today...

Merci à toutes et à tous, même ceux portant des camisoles de force... j'ai du retard cette semaine, et il est tard de nouveau, faut qqs heures de sommeil quand même... j'espère revenir ici cet après-midi de dimanche...

Lydia said...

Don't answer mine; just do some relaxing!

FotoMarg said...

The sculptor managed to capture the essence of a dog and your photo shows that very well.