Monthly Archives: June 2009

Ladies + Gentlemen… Roxie Heart

Well this Roxie may not have Renee Zellweger’s long, long legs and she may not have ever been to Chicago [ the town OR the musical]  but she’s sure got spunk with a capitol FRENCHIE!

By now, most of you know what a Frenchie fanatic I am – but there really is nothing better than having an on-location shoot in sunny Los Angeles with a beautiful family and their BEAUTIFUL baby [ dog baby that is, the human baby won't be born until September. Move over Roxie you've got competition coming!]

From the moment I laid eyes on this spotted bundle of Frenchie-love I could barely keep my hands off her long enough to photograph her!  She was all kisses and tugs and grumbles and barks. She showed how good she is at “bang, bang dead dog” and how well she can drink out of my water glass *note to self I should probably hydrate, I gave all my agua to the perro*

Roxie lives in a beautiful spot in LA with her mom and dad – but soon she will be a Lone Star pup – they are off to Houston, Texas in just a matter of weeks. I, of course, am very sad about this turn of events – I have only just met Roxie and I will be losing her just as quickly.  I mean, I can barely imagine anything more photogenic than this family of three -  but a baby makes four and what’s more awwwww-worthy than babies and puppies?  Seriously.

So, for now, we will just have to swoon over these shots of our LA Roxie girl. Ooh la la she’s got star power!

P.S. Roxie’s parents informed me of the most AWESOME pet boutique in Beverly Hills: Doggie Styles. They have a Frenchie Soiree on Bastille day – how cool is that?? We give them two Dane paws up!

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Posted in French Bulldogs, LA Pet Photography, dane + dane travel Tags: , , ,

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J.Nichole on KOMOam 1000

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Hey all – I was just interviewed about the Tales for the Pet Lover’s Heart show on KOMO radio. The spot will be chopped up and air as “news” at the top and bottom of the hour all day.

So, if you happen to be in the car (or bored at your desk) tune-in to hear me gush about being a pet photographer, my great beast Olivia and a bit about the TV show which will air in November.

To listen to the live, streaming show online visit the KOMO web site

Did you know you can also find us on:  Facebook +  Twitter ?

Follow us, friend us and generally keep an eye on us for more behind the scenes photos + info.

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Posted in Tales for the Pet Lover's Heart, press

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Surfing goes to the dogs (and their photographers)

Needless to say, when you combine two pet photographers who are “on vacation” while also being total workaholics… things don’t always go as planned.

After crazy a week of travel and chaos for both Jamie and I, we found ourselves far too tired to drive to San Diego last night, so we planned for departure in the reasonably early morning.

Somewhat predictably, “reasonably early” transitioned into “almost on time,” which quickly became “pretty darn late.” We had a relaxing morning of fetch with the dogs, last minute photo-assignment tweeking and billions of emails between the two of us. But, after a requisite stop at Starbucks, we were on our way to San Diego.

Along the way there was some cursing of gridlock, some twittering from the road, and one stop for gas, but we arrived at the Coronado Surf Dog Competition with just enough time to score rock star parking and see the “tandem” events (which in all honesty, was what I was most excited about anyhow.) As predicted, for yet another consecutive year, Scott Chandler and his dog Zoey (and his daughter Tyler) were #1 in tandem surfing. An interesting twist of fate, is that Scott and his dog-paddling brood were also just recently filmed for “Tales for the Pet Lover’s Heart” – in fact, the camera crew was fresh from bobbing in the Pacific Ocean, trying to keep up with Scott when they arrived in Seattle to film Olivia and I.  Knowing this little tidbit, I was sure to introduce myself and snap lots of shots of these fellow TFTPLH’ers.

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Also at this event, Jamie and I were lucky enough to meet up with fellow pet photographer Tamandra + her handsome companion Borias (Heart Dog Studios) we all got snap-happy together for the last 40 minutes or so of the competition.

After the event we trekked back through the Gaslamp District to our beloved “Hotel Sofia,” which I reviewed here on Yelp if you’re interested in knowing more… we scoped this place out online the night before and upon check-in, we were MORE than pleased with ourselves for sleuthing-well-done.

The rest of our evening included snacks and beers at the hotel’s restaurant “Currant,” uploading and ooohing and ahhhing at photos from the Surf Dog event, dinner at “La Fiesta” with some fellow pet photography cohorts ( Thousand Hounds Photography + Heart Dog Studios) and the lovely and incredibly ambitious Bernie Berlin, proprietor of “A Place to Bark” – a shelter in Tennessee that you NEED to know about. In fact, you may know about it sooner than you think, Bernie was in town working on final negotiations for her reality TV show series about A Place to Bark and the amazing work she does for the dogs of TN.

If you’d like to see more exclusive photos from the Coronado Bay Surf Dog event vist dane + dane pet photography on Facebook. Also, check out the bit from the Today Show (the camera guy for the Today Show kept stepping in front of me while I was shooting – at the time I was annoyed but I suppose he gets seniority, eh?)

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Posted in Tales for the Pet Lover's Heart, dane + dane travel

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Destination: Calistoga Ranch

Well today we were risen and shiny for our 8am shoot at Lucia (with the devastatingly lovely Lily, thanks Dina) and then on the road, bound for Calistoga, CA by 9am.

Most of the drive was uneventful but we had to stop somewhere in OR to take an hour nap. I was so, SO sleepy from the last three days of REM deprivation and chaos that I found my eyelids getting dangerously heavy. After some shut-eye, I was refreshed and all was well. However, I always forget about the last few hours of a drive through California wine country and the inevitable departure from I5 which always means windy, two-lane 40 mph highways. Poor Olivia was panting over my shoulder for nearly three hours, chiming in with the occasional whimper as if to say, “are we there yet mom, and can you do anything about all these curvy, hilly roads??”

We FINALLY arrived, hungry and exhausted at Calistoga around 8pm.

I have to admit, I was already impressed when I strolled into reception, which had the feel of all my favorite Sunset Magazine moments: inviting outdoor living spaces complete with water features and fireplaces, rock and vines combined with plush but functional furniture to name a few.  But, it was when we arrived our private “lodge” that I was officially blown away. I guess that’s the great thing about not spending too much time on the web sites of these resorts – I never know what I am in for.

Calistoga immediately pushed itself onto the top of my “top 5” west coast getaways list – this place is outstanding. A few of my most cherished moments:

  • Artisan cheese plate with fresh fruit + a glass of chilled Calistoga chardonnay by the fire on the private outdoor deck
  • Shower in the sun, in the private shower OUTSIDE – complete with in-house botanical spa products
  • Seeing deer cross my path and hawks diving on my walk to the Lakehouse for breakfast
  • Breakfast at the Lakehouse – which feels more like a tree house – amidst the fresh air and foliage of Northern Ca.

As we left we saw a bulldog and a chocolate lab – and Olivia even tried out her first ever attempt to ride on a golf cart (which was surprisingly, decidedly successful!)  We also had a chance to meet the bodacious Bodie (thanks Erin + Josh) and follow him for a few moments around his favorite Calistoga Ranch spots.

Absolutely fantastic – I could not be more thrilled with this property – it definitely lived up to the hype. I can’t wait to edit the shots down for the book.

Tomorrow we’re off to Healdsburg for a shoot at the gorgeous (although sadly, not dog-friendly) Hop Kiln Winery. I am anxious to meet Mandy, the pet sitter who will be caring for Olivia while I work. Paws crossed.

I am off to the salt-water pool for a dip under the stars and sweet-smelling trees…

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Posted in dane + dane travel Tags: ,

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Filming with Blind Squirrels: Day 2

I pulled in to our first location of the day fully prepared to be belly-to-dirt all morning.  Once we finally figured out where we were supposed to be and found our basset models we got right down to business, and what dirty business it was. Hah.

I must say, these dogs were fine, fine beasts. Soft, silky fur and gorgeous, thick, dangly ears. I loved following them all over squirrel territory and duck trails watching them inhale the leaves, grass and various forest debris. The weather was overcast which I was glad for as they weaved in and out of shadows and open spaces, following their noses like a children’s cereal commercial.

After the tracking bassets, it was off to the studio for some Dog is Good, some CityDog and some various “day in the life of a pet photographer” tasks.  This time, Amy snuck in with cupcakes. Mmm, Cupcake Royale (which was perhaps not the BEST way to start what would turn out to be an EPIC day)  but devilishly delicious none the less.

After some brief studio-fun we piled back into cars to find the basset meetup at Luther Burbank park (complete with the Bassets for Obama – hilarious) and messed about in the dust bowl for a while  gawking at bassets in hats and costumes and sunglasses and the like.

After a zippy drive back to West Seattle, I acquired my much-needed Yerba fix and then it was time for interview #2, and then those final words; “That’s a Wrap! All in all it was a very fast 16 or so hours, that ultimately will be somewhere around 8-15 minutes of final product. Oh the joys of editing and the cutting room floor.

With any luck dane + dane, myself and Olivia will look halfway presentable and the “basset story” will be told to perfection through our eyes.

I wish that was the end of the story for today – but the production crew headed back to Cincinnati and I rushed home to pack for a month, steal one last dinner with my boyfriend and then haul down to Portland to the lovely Hotel Lucia for the beginning of my month-long California “dog is good, surf dog and travel book shooting” adventure.

We rolled in to the hotel at midnight, which means it’s now officially time for sleep.

Nighty night all, see you in the morrow!

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Posted in Basset Hound, Tales for the Pet Lover's Heart, dane + dane travel Tags: , , ,

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