Marty’s story stands out as one sad example. For the most part of his four years life, Marty has moved from one shelter to another & had a very close call when he was brought back to the Mt Pleasant Animal Shelter from a Florida kill shelter after his adopted parent passed away!

Finally all the paper work was cleared and Karen could take Marty home. And she did that in style. A big white limousine rolled up in front of the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter around noon and an hour later Marty was in it – going home with Karen.

The volunteers and staff at the shelter had mixed reactions – mostly happiness and a big sign of relief since Marty was scheduled to be sent over to a high kill shelter within a week if he was not adopted.

These photos were taken at the animal shelter & shows the final moments of Marty leaving the shelter, where he was for the past 2 years. Now he has a place he could call home & be with Karen who has come to love him more than ever.

Many images also has other volunteers from the Mt Pleasant Animal Shelter, including Jennifer & others, Greg Di Sessa & his daughter who had come to support the event & Carlos.

Marty now desperately needs a home and his time is running out fast. He has had a tough luck & even though he has the blessings of a lot of well wishers & sponsors, he is possibly getting a little depressed from all the time he has been at the shelter.

I sat down with Karen DAlessandro, a volunteer & ex-board member of the society, to talk about Marty for this article. Like many others, we too were drawn to his kind eyes & playful nature into sponsoring his stay at the shelter.

Marty came to the Mt Pleasant animal shelter through the Rescue Waggin’ Program which relocates dogs in need. He was adopted by an elderly family & flown to Florida. As luck would have it, his adopted parents passed away in about 4 months & Marty ended up in a high kill shelter in Florida.

The volunteers at the Mt Pleasant animal shelter raised funds to get Marty back from the jaws of death. During that time Marty had a torn ACL. It required extensive treatment & a costly operation. The staff at the Mt Pleasant animal shelter were soon at it again, tirelessly raising money for the operations.

No matter what, Marty has a strong zest for life. With so much misfortune falling on this young dog, he still remains as fond of people and as energetic as I had seen him almost 6 months back! He has recovered from the operations and could walk & run again.

Marty is now desperately waiting for a home, a family that would adopt him & give him all the love & care he needs to live his life happily. To adopt Marty or to read more of the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, visit their website http://www.njshelter.org/ or get in touch with the pet coordinators at info@njshelter.org.

However, there are a few considerations you need to make to have these outdoor pet photos stand out! They are to do mostly with lighting & caring for the image background.

These images are photographed outdoors with Chai in natural light. The location was chosen so that we get an evenly lit, muted background with trees & eliminate any background distractions like moving cars or people.

The 35mm Wide Angle Nikon lens & the 50mm Nikon lens were used full open to create a nice evenly lit bokeh & use the background sun, shining through the pine trees, creatively. Most of the images are shot “into the light” to emphasize the silkiness of his fur coat & give it a glossy look & feel in the photos.

From Chai’s adopted parents Payal & Charu Sharma: Chai is a four year old Korean jindo who we adopted in December 2008. At that time, he was one years old and brought to a foster home in Baltimore from an animal shelter in North Carolina, thanks to the efforts of a rescue organization specializing in his breed. Jindos are considered national treasures in their native South Korea and known for their beauty, intelligence and independent spirits.

These images are displayed as they were photographed without any digital editing & by permission from Payal & Charu Sharma.

This is a lecture at the 2011 Schuneman Symposium where William (Bill) Allard shares his passion for photography & how he came about to work and build a career with National Geographic for 50 years.

This article is on the lecture at the 2011 Schuneman Symposium by William Allard where we walks the audience in the Minnesota University with the photo walk through of all the famous photographs of Bill Allard.

He narrates the stories behind most of the popular photos that he has shot in Montana, Pennsylvania & Texas of the Western Countries, the Vanishing Cowboys & Amish Community.

The presentation is enthralling where we get a glance into a famous, down to earth photographer’s life and works and what inspires him to make these brilliant images.

Video courtesy of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, one of the top journalism schools in the United States.

This photo project is about people & pets. The people who volunteer at these shelters are amazing, devoting their days & efforts to make a difference in the lives of pets. And the pets come in all conditions – some are abandoned, some abused, some rescued or picked up from dire situations.

The people who come in to adopt are amazing too. It’s true that most people come in to adopt pets for their kids, many come in to adopt pets that no one else would adopt right away. They include the adult pets, the ones that require a lot of medical attention and especially the pets who have been abused earlier & thus need more time to rehabilitate.

This is Marty. We have been sponsoring Marty with 5 other people to help care for his medical expenses. Marty is a four year old mix of Chow & Labrador. He has had a very tough life & had surgery for both his ACLs. He also had to change his home quite a few times.

Marty is recovering slowly at the shelter and is already ready to be adopted (we just got to know that one of the NJ Shelter patrons has decided to adopt Marty herself – we are all keeping our fingers crossed).

Families drop by everyday looking to take home their favorite puppies to play with their kids. This is the third of 3 siblings, a mixed breed of Lab & Chow and the only one left to be adopted.

As the teenager approached her, the 3 month old puppy instinctively approached her, and like a well trained pup, extended her hand as if saying “Hello”. Who could leave such a pup behind?

As I photographed the interactions of the people and the pets at the NJ Animal Shelter, I was reminded every moment that life is precious – and we all could make a difference in someone else’s life with a little bit of love & compassion.

To read more & to adopt from the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, visit their website http://www.njshelter.org/ or get in touch with the pet coordinators at info@njshelter.org.

Many of the pets that you would see in the shelter need a lot of medical care. Many are sick while many require immediate medical assistance for injuries & abuse.

The amazing people at the NJ Shelter make a difference in the lives of these animals everyday. Through these articles in the Humane Society Series, I will publish the stories of their days at the shelters.

The picture above is that of Tinks, a seven years old adult female Chihuahua. Tink would be a perfect match for someone who could spend a lot of time with her and is not out of the house for the entire day.

Moments after I went in, Tinks climbed onto me like she has known me for years. I immediately connected with her. For the next 10 minutes she sat there, watching people come in and go, other dog from the shelter being let out for a walk. She watched and often climbed onto me to lick my face!

Mark was inside Tony’s shelter. He just came in walking someone and was relaxing with Tony, a one year old black Lab mix. He will be going up for adoption soon.

I asked Mark if I could photograph them together, and what came out was a very interesting picture that showed the bond that people volunteering at these shelters develop with these animals.

By the time I was done with photographing the pets & the animals at the shelter, someone had already taken Tony out for a walk and he was back, enjoying a few precious moments with the volunteers and chewing on the treats.

To read more & to adopt from the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, visit their website http://www.njshelter.org/ or get in touch with the pet coordinators at info@njshelter.org.

For over 60 years, Steve McCurry, the Magnum photographer, has left his mark as a conscientious documentary & portrait photographer & as a Nikon & Leica user.

Steve McCurry’s most famous photo, the one that is identified as the single most captivating image of the fright, terror & helplessness of a decade long war is that of the Afghan girl Sherbat Gula. 30 years after the photo was taken at a refuge camp, National Geographic went on to locate Sherbat Gula again & identified her from Steve McCurry’s photo by complex iris recognition techniques.

The Leica blog has a detailed post on the 2011 Leica Hall of Fame Award titled Steve McCurry In the Middle of Extremes. Steve also runs his own website with details of his work & workshops on SteveMcCurry.com.

You might think that using a manual camera could pose a challenge for professional pet photography. In reality manual cameras are as good as the AF cameras & could produce stunning images on film or on digital.

Here are a couple of the images using the Nikkormat EL.All these images are shot in natural light, without any flash. I’ve used the 135mm manual AIS lens most of the time to produce these images on the handheld camera.

I have processed these film rolls at the local studio & had them scanned at very low resolution for the web. Even then, you can notice the correctness of the exposure & the sharpness of these pet portraits.

The Nikkormat EL is one of my favorite, ever since I’ve been using it as a backup for the last several years. Not only is the metering perfect on this camera, but it can run without a battery (the exposure meter will not work). The film used here is the consumer grade Kodak 400 BW CN.

I have been doing street photography for over 10 years now & have done most of my street photography in New York City, San Francisco & Chicago. They are some of the best places for street photography & also the most challenging.

Here are 15 great tips aimed at beginners & photographers who are trying to get started with street photography.

1. Street Photography is an everyday work -it is a matter of building a habit of going out into the streets with your camera, lenses & films (or digital cards) everyday & taking photos. Alfred Stieglitz used to go out & shoot about 4 rolls of film almost every day for decades together in New York City – that is the dedication needed in this style of photography!

2. Choose what to carry in your street photography camera bag – you really need very few items in your street photography camera bag. Traveling light helps you to keep walking longer! Take a look at what is in my camera bag when I go out for street photography in New York City.

3. Get intimate with your subject -I personally do not like the habit of amateurs who take photo from miles away & runs away after a shutter click. More than amateurish, you are leaving the cake on the table – losing the opportunity of knowing your subject a little more. I would usually stop, photograph and make a general conversation for a few minutes. If I am carrying a pencil & a notebook, I usually note down their name, occupation etc that interested me in the first place to take the pictures.

4. Shoot a variety of subjects -there are an innumerable nature of subjects in street photography. Before you find your specific interest areas within the realm of street photography, just take whatever photo you want to. When I began shooting in the streets, I was taking photos of pigeons picking up grains from the foot path to people drinking coffee outside Starbucks!

5. Always be prepared on the streets – too many things would happen around you when you are on the streets. I always hold my camera in my hands ready to click even when I am walking towards a destination, prepared for the moment, any moment.

6. Always be professional -if you are planning to do street photography for a long period of time, you have to take your photography & your subject very seriously. I always recommend being completely professional at all moments when on the streets. It goes a long way to be courteous and polite & present yourself & your needs professionally to your subject. Be very sure, you would be running into many of the people you shoot on the streets more than a few times!

7. Know the street photography laws of the city -every city has its own laws for street photography. Check online for any specific laws in your city, details on where you can or cannot take pictures. In the US, the laws of street photography are very strict and you may run into legal issues if you violate them.

8. Make friends with other street photographers -this is a great way to know about great locations for street photography, local street parades and other festive events in the city. Although I prefer to shoot alone, I often meet up with other street photographers & ask for their opinions on subjects & locations.

9. Share your photos -since I take notes of my subjects very frequently, I often send them a few copies of the photos out of courtesy. That is also my way of expressing my thanks for their time. If I am posting any of their photos on my websites, I usually send an email or try to notify them of such displays.

10. Do not force or corner your subject -depending on what, where or who you are photographing on the streets, do not ever coerce your subject for a photo. If the person is not willing to give you the photo you want, move on to the next person. Not only forcing your subject for a photo not give you the ideal photo, you could be left with a very bad altercation with the locals. You will get the best street photo when your subject helps you to get one.

11. Observe & pick your moment in street photography -I have often missed the climax of a situation simply because I was just shooting without paying attention to the “bigger picture”. Anticipation is a great way to capture the best moment in street photography. This is especially true when you are photographing events like parades, street fares, live performances & such. Observe & pick the right moment. You would have fewer photos but each would be a great one.

12. Choose the right time of the day for best quality of street photos -cities with tall buildings & sky scrapers have the challenge of casting deep shadows & cause the exposure to go haywire. You could use a TTL speedlight flash to adjust for the uneven lighting or you could choose the right time of the day for street photography. The famous National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry always shoot before sunrise & very close to sunset. I am a late riser, so I usually pick the evenings for shooting on the streets.

13. Know your camera very well – while you are on the streets with your camera, your attention would primarily be looking out for subjects & quickly shooting them. That requires that you know exactly how your camera works in every possible situations. You would not have the time to figure out settings, exposures, modes, flashes etc while you are on the streets. In the same lines, always carry extra batteries, rolls of films (or memory cards) & lenses in your jacket pocket so that you could reach them without having to look at them.

14. Review your photos & improve your techniques – every street photographer evolves his / her own style of taking street photos. Every time you come back from a photo shoot, take time to review each & every photo that you have taken & find rooms of improvement. Only you can evolve your own style and make your mark.

The last of my 15 great street photography tips for beginners is probably the most important one if you want to succeed in making great street photos.

15. Don’t be nervous about street photography – this is probably the single most deterring factor for beginners to street photography. There is nothing to be scared of in street photography. If you do have this problem, begin your street photography just like a tourist. Much like how you would shoot when you are out with your family traveling in a new city, walk around & take photos. Passing as a tourist is the simplest & the easiest way to get by difficult situations since most people (including local law enforcement agencies & cops) are more forgiving of tourists than professionals!

I hope these 15 tips helps you as a beginner in street photography to get out on the streets & start taking some great photos. This post has photos of Caroline DeSangles & Libby Black along with her pit bull Chloe taken in various parts of New York City.

Yannyck Chaka was born in Congo & grew up in a family where almost everyone played African pop music & various African musical instruments. He is now a proficient drummer living in New York City but continues to influence people with his amazing drumming skills.

His music style has a strong influence of African pop music, African folk music especially those from Senegal, Jamaica & Congo. he is now working on fusion drumming with African pop tunes & American & Latin dances.

Yannyck Chaka formed the Central Park Drumming Circle in 1997 to encourage people learn & play the various forms of African music. He himself is a percussionist, choreographs his own music & African pop dances, a songwriter and occasionally does a little bit of acting.

Yannyck Chaka also retails his music online & on CDs where he captured his genres like African pop, African tribal & war music, Reggae, Hip Hop, African Samba, Rock, African Rumba, Soca , Soukouss & belly dance music.

The photo gallery shows several drummers playing the soka, tunka & other African war music on their Djembes in Central Park, NYC. The drummers include Yannyck, Matinga, Colleen & Gabbano amongst others.

To view more photos of Yannyck Chaka (Chocolate Chaka) of the Central Park Drumming Circle & the Jungle Boy playing African pop music on the Djembe in Central Park, NYC go to the New York City Street Musicians & Street Artists Album – Part 2 photo documentary.