Have you met Bo?

This week's 52Frames theme is Emotion. I won’t hesitate to admit that it posed a challenge for me. I couldn't think of a topic that I could present in an interesting way, especially without a cooperative subject. This topic lends itself to a strong story element, which is how I like my photography. The challenge then was to think of a narrative that I could portray.

"Cody, will you help me with my photo again this week?"

Hesitant… "What do I have to do?"

"Make Bo smile "

Bo is our dog. He was supposed to be Cody's dog, but as often happens with these arrangements, he's more Mum's dog. Cody had pleaded with me to get a dog for quite a while, and I had resisted for a number of reasons, but my resolve wavered, and we welcomed a canine member to the family.  

Choosing the breed of dog that would best suit our family, lifestyle and budget required some thought.  I had to veto several suggestions.  We had a Jack Russell pup visit once and Cody fell in love with her.  While a Jack Russell may not have been my original first choice the breed ticked a lot of boxes, and I knew someone who was expecting a litter, and as it turned out he’s perfect.  He even has a blue ribbon from the Normanton Show to prove how perfect he is.

Cody took the naming task very seriously.  There was a list.  There was a lot of consultation with the photo of newly born and at that staged unnamed and officially unclaimed Bo.  Cody got to choose which boy from the litter he wanted, and went for “the one with the spot on his bum”.  After much deliberation he chose the name Bo, after Bandit’s Christian name in Smokey and the Bandit, and for one of the Duke boys in The Dukes of Hazzard.  He informed me that the next one would be Luke, and then Daisy, and then we would have to get two Bassett Hounds that would be Fred and Flash.  Bo and I think one is enough.  He gets quite jealous.  That’s an emotion – see, he’s a perfect subject!

When Bo first arrived as a puppy I was still a Family Day Care Educator and fortunately he was a huge hit with the kids and they were quite good with him. When he had enough of being harassed he would take himself off to a quiet space.

He likes fetching balls, chasing wallabies, going for a drive in Grandad's ute (in the front of course, so he can look out the window and shed hair all over Granddad), and eating capsicum, which he picks himself from my garden. 

He doesn't particularly like:

• the vacuum cleaner,
• the mower,
• being dressed in cute "clothes"
• Cody's toy wolf with the howling voice chip
• most people outside the house (if I'm not actually talking to them - once I engage, and especially when they come inside they are deemed suitable, and quite obviously, most likely only really there to shower affection on him),
• frogs,
• toads,
• cats,
• mice,
• lizards,
• birds of any kind (it took MONTHS for him to get used to the budgie - another reason Bo had to travel in the back of the ute for holidays... the budgie in the cage was in the back seat – we were our very own Road Runner Show!) ,
• bees - he shares his pen at Nanna and Granddad's with a bee hive, and he was obviously stung on the bottom because whenever he realises that he is close to a flying bee he looks at his bottom
• water (bath time is not fun for him, but he REALLY wanted to jump in after the mullet that were splashing around one time we went fishing – he didn’t though – it was too wet in the river), (Here he is avoiding bath time... )
• 
  
• and Nanna with a washing basket. She accidentally stepped on him once when she couldn't see him around her feet while carrying a full basket, and now when he sees her with a basket he hides under the table.

He has been a good traveller, which is lucky because we've spent long hours on the road up to Normanton and back. Now that he's stopped getting car sick, at least. He only seemed to vomit between Emerald and Clermont for some reason. Here he is trying to get away from the vomit in his basket.

He's always been a very expressive dog, so I feel as though I have an opportunity to capture emotion, although, with my assistant currently not feeling well I am on my own this week, so the challenge will be getting Bo to stay where I need him to be to take the photo, instead of inching toward me for a pat and a belly scratch.  I wonder what I will manage.  The many shades of Bo, Bo Dog, Bodacious, Bo Diddly, Beauregard, Bo-Bo... what will it be?  We'll all just have to wait and see.

Last week's 52Frames topic was a good one for me, and I'm stoked to report that my steel wool sparks image at the dam was chosen as one of the top 52 Picks (out of 2566 images).  Proud.  That's an emotion. Thanks for your help with that Cody! 

It's been quite a party, ain't it

Purple Fairy