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On my second-to-last day in California I photographed little 12 week old Arlo in Seal Beach. Baby Arlo is a Wheaton Terrier, he’s still got little black tips on his puppy fur and sharp little needle teeth. He loves to romp and play with Sasha and Henry (the house dogs) and in his first few days of training he’s already learned sit, down, watch, touch and “go settle” – he’s a smart, smart boy! Not to mention adorable…
At the end of the day… He was one tired pup!
While in California last month I had the distinct privelage of photographing Mr.Charley McAllister: a fine Golden with extra fun parents! We met at the Huntington Beach Central Park just near the library and found all kinds of great corners of the park to play fetch, climb on furniture, steal the stage and take a walk.
Charley is very well behaved and like most Retrievers, can’t enough of sticks to catch, de-bark and generally consume.
And of course nothing is better than a tennis ball tossed by dad!
I just love his little puppy feet!
January 31st we spent the day at Lucky Dog Outfitters in Tacoma shooting some Valentine’s Day portraits.
This is our third event at Lucky Dog and they get more and more fun every time!
If you are available tomorrow night, February 11th – join us at the W Hotel in Seattle for the CityDog Muttmixer! We will be shooting fun “photo booth” Valentine’s Day portraits, there will be swag bags and some very exciting surprises!! Join us: 6-8pm, 4th/Seneca St. – Seattle.
Katie and Phoebe live on Bainbridge Island and their parents bought a photo shoot for them at the Kitsap Humane Society Auction. They primarily were interested in family photos so I set out to keep the very young Katie and the easily distracted Phoebe interested in me.
We had a typical overcast January day and Katie had more treats than ever! But in the end we all settled by the fire for some final fun shots 
*A side note, look for one of these photos on the side of a Kitsap Transit bus in the near future – Phoebe and Katie may soon be poster-girls for the Kitsap Humane Society.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah at her home near the studio in West Seattle. Sarah is having a bit more trouble getting around these days, so we took all our shots in the living room, mostly on the couch by her favorite big window. Sarah’s parents wanted mostly close-up shots of their mellow girl, doing what she does best… lounging, mouthing a variety of her favorite toys, chomping on lettuce, and being a love-hound.
Sarah acquired her affectionate nickname as “The Beetle” when she was a pup and a hip ailment caused her to walk in funny, abrupt side-to-side movements – her mom said she used to imagine little squeaky noises with every step, and compared her scurrying to that of a beetle. No matter what you call her, Sarah is one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met and I just loved getting to know her a bit during our morning together.
“it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day” – one of my favorite lines from “How I Feel” – a song off this Wax Tailor album (Forgotten Melodies) that I have re-discovered and can’t stop listening to. If you like trip-hop, you will LOVE Wax Tailor.
Ok, so back to business. January has come and gone and with it all the snow and madness of the “holiday season.” As I sit here curled up with Olivia by the fire, watching the rain splatter paint my window, I find myself once again feeling so very blessed to have this job. I just love the ability to work from the comfort of my dog’s side.
I have desperately wanted to share what I’ve been up to, but there’s been so much of it, that it’s stolen literally all of my waking hours!
With this new blog I am dedicating myself to updating it more often and sharing with you more of the world of dane + dane pet photography and graphic design. We are also in the works on a separate wedding blog for that side of the biz so stay tuned! Amelia will be running the show on that playground, so you can expect a very entertaining ride for sure.
So today I want to finally post some of the best of the best from the surprise sittings and other adventures I could not share prior to the holiday. We had some real characters in the studio and I can’t wait to tell you about them!
Remy: Standard Poodle + his brother Doug: surprise gift for Dad
I shared a few images from this sitting prior to the Holiday but there were a few more I had to post here. Remy is (as most Poodles are) crazy-smart and he shared with me his special game “roll-it” – this game is played with his family member on one side of a chair, table or likewise low object. The human is required to roll the ball under the object and Remy is responsible for stomping it back – it’s a very hilarious, very accurate punch-move that that Remy has mastered that kicks the ball right back where it came from. If you let him, he’ll play for hours. Too good.
Remy tugs…
Remy also pounces…
Remy is a Roll-It Champ
We were told that when Dad received his surprise-portraits of Remy he got very teary and was very impressed by the artistic shots that were chosen. Yay Remy!
Sampson: Yellow Lab puppy + his girls: surprise gift for Daddy.
When we met Sampson he was still planted firmly in the “mouthy, chewing, scampering” puppy stage. He was the perfect little “Marley” – and he and his mom and sister make a great team!
and then came the Santa hats…
I love it when “posed family portraits” don’t go as planned! This is a great example of dane + dane style family pet portraits… A wee bit silly and out of the ordinary. We were told that Dad LOVED the portraits of his girls and his pup!
Pilot + Kingsley: Red Bone Coon Hounds + Dad and Grandma (in from Alaska): Braved ice, snow and near death driving conditions to make it to their just-before-Christmas-sitting.
These guys were a riot. Very excited from their long car ride and hounds through-and-through. They didn’t much like to be separated, or for the other to have more attention, so they took turns stealing the show. Mom was a good sport and we all got some good comic relief…
Bella + Abby: Chow/Shiba Inu, Rat Terrier/Pug + Dad: Surprise birthday gift for mom.
Bella and Abby happened to arrive in the studio as we were closing the Winter issue of CityDog Magazine and so Bella became a model for one of the “Cool Products” we had yet to shoot for the spread. Abby couldn’t stand to be left out though – and popped in at the last second.
These girls were fabulous for their shoot – a little tentative at first, they warmed right up to the lights, camera, action and hammed it up – providing us with great shots of their spunky little selves.
the dane’s dish
