Thanks! He is, indeed. Lucky for him, I love shooting him. Will do it again in a heartbeat.
Pat! Thanks. I do see what you mean, and I agree. There were other shots where he was positioned better, and the dog wasnt, this being the best result all things considered. A composite would have been an easy solution, but we were under a ridiculously tight deadline to get it to the newspaper. (I found out about the shoot an hour before I got there, and had only another hour and a half after that to get the photo to the editor.)
This is the only of your points that I disagree with, but it's biased. I know the guy, and this truck is a character on it's own. It is ugly, yes. But I don't think it has to be pretty in this instance. Distracting a bit, yes. A non-issue for me, though.
I welcome being torn down! I appreciate you taking the time to look and comment.
Speaking of.. I often reach out to some of the more successful photographers in the industry and ask for CC. David DuChemin and Benjamin VonWong have both agreed to give me their thoughts on this photo! I could post them here for everyone to benefit, if you guys would like.
Thanks!
-Richard