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Monthly Archives: April 2010

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Ollie and Cocoa: Starlet Siblings

April 28, 2010 – 3:20 pm

Dreary Saturdays are some of the best days to get great images. Not the sparkly, sunny, dazzling blue sky shots { but let’s be real here, we live in Seattle – dreary days are far more common.}

One great thing about an overcast sky is the glorious soft white light it radiates.  This comes in very handy when shooting not one but two 1 yr. old chocolate labs… You need all the light you can get for these busy bodies!

Brother and sister, Ollie and Cocoa met me right at their picturesque door – “well hello there stranger – what did you bring me?”

I brought treats of course :)

and they had a few of their own already…

This kitty has great taste in hair care products… who doesn’t love Bumble & Bumble!?

Cocoa has great taste as well- her namesake maybe?

We spent some time chillin’ in bed – what is a better way to spend a Saturday?  Someone’s sleepy…

true love <3

One of my favorite things about these gregarious guys is that they are two of a kind – practically attached at the hip.

I especially love this shot where we can see kitty, hiding safely in the bathroom behind the choco-twins.

I am even MORE excited because we will all be heading together to one of my FAVORITE places on earth – Indianola.

Ollie and Cocoa’s mom’s have booked a second shoot this summer so we can capture happy go-lucky labs running off-leash on the beach. Yippeee!

I can hardly wait  :D

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By admin | Posted in Chocolate Lab, Uncategorized, cat photography | Comments (3)

Charlie makes a move

April 16, 2010 – 7:19 am

A close and fabulous friend of mine (thank you Jamie) recently reminded me that I must – not should, not maybe if I have time, but MUST photograph my darling new trouble-puppy.

So, upon waltzing into my living room to see that not only had Charleston somehow managed to get himself up onto Olivia’s couch (this is the sacred Great Dane drooling and napping spot) but she let him stay there – I had to act.

My camera was conveniently resting on the counter (right where I left it after my shoot on Monday) so, armed with my trusty 50 mm 1.4 lens, I rolled around on my embarrassingly messy carpet (think new puppy + shedding great dane…. Yeah) to capture some shots of my two unlikely compadres.

Don’t you just want to eat them up??

By admin | Posted in French Bulldogs, Great Dane, family photography, olivia | Tagged , | Comments (9)

Patton and Lefty make a house a home

April 12, 2010 – 10:16 pm

What this Redmond home did not have when I arrived last Friday afternoon, was much furniture. But what it did have, was a whole living room of love!

Sounds cheesy I know – but it’s difficult to express how nearly tangible the relationship was between Lefty, Patton and their human, Drew. This man loves, LOVES his dogs. And not in an over-the-top, pampered with bows and strollers kind of way – but in an authentic Dogvergnügen kind of way.

These dogs are over the moon for Drew – and it’s pretty clear the feeling is reciprocated.

During my time with them they tugged and romped and tagged and cuddled and high-fived and smiled. There was a lot of smiling. The sun was shining so we took the show outside and the wag-fest continued as the three played tag and these happy pups rolled around in their new, grassy backyard.

P/S did I mention Lefty is part Dingo!?  Cool eh?  Hence the deliciously ginormous ears…

Drew and his crew just moved here from Arizona and so although his house will still a bit empty of “stuff” it was full of goodness. What a great way to spend a sunny Friday afternoon!

By admin | Posted in Uncategorized, family photography | Tagged | Comments (0)

The Amazing Abby

April 12, 2010 – 4:45 pm

There was one thing on my mind last Monday as I tried to work, while staring out my office window at the ominous gray-black sky… Please, please don’t rain.  Having already had to reschedule my shoot with Abby the Malamute mix once due to weather,  I was very anxious as I watched the gray clouds turn to a squall of wind and pelting rain. So, I called Abby’s mom “Beth, where are you – what’s the weather like”… Turns out, near our destination it wasn’t raining. Yes!

So, as planned I pushed on my rain boots – layered in the ceremonious hoodie/windbreaker combo and headed down to Magnusun park. As I pulled away from Kirkland, around the top of the lake, I noticed the sky clearing and getting bluer and as I approached Sand Point -  I could see big puffy white clouds and dry ground. WHAT LUCK!

My dynamic client duo arrived as welcome as the sunshine – smiling and raring to go.

I knew we would face challenges while attempting to create fine art moments at an off-leash park, but I was so happy about the lack of rain, that I didn’t care if Abby just ignored me for an hour (luckily, she didn’t) but the first 15-20 minutes were pretty much filled with this lovely salt n’ pepper lady gleefully sniffing and romping with no mind to me, the camera or her mom. Because of course, that is what off-leash parks are for.

As we made it down to the lake – the wind and rain returned. But, I was prepared for this inevitability – and up went the hood, and out came my chamois towel to cover my camera. We laughed as Abby fixated on a golden retriever buddy and they chased around the beach, under the table, over the rocks and into the water. Abby had a big malamute smile the entire time.

After a reasonable amount of play, Beth, Abby and I snuck out a side-gate and wandered into my favorite part of Magnusun, my magical little corner and on this particular day – it was all but abandoned due to the weather. Perfect.

We let Abby plod into the lake again, this time in her own private little world – the sky hung dark and dramatic above her and she just smiled more. What a girl.

The rain returned a time or two before we were through but regardless of weather or water – this was one shoot that made me smile the whole way. Abby is a go-lucky lady with tons of personality and a gigantic grin. Her mom found her a year ago at NOAH (wonderful place, NOAH) and they’ve been inseparable ever since and the neat thing about Abby’s mom – is that she’s a police officer… how cool is that? Although I have to admit – nothing about the way she loves this dog has “officer of the law” about it. Just all rubs, kisses and really happy faces.

Thanks Beth for introducing me to your Abby – Thank you Abby for warming up to me and my big black camera – Thank you weather for allowing us some rain-free moments to capture it all!

By admin | Posted in Seattle Dog Photographer, family photography, pet portrait photography, seattle pet photography | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Exciting news fellow pet photographers!

April 9, 2010 – 9:33 am

I’m excited to announce the launch of a brand spanking new online network designed for, and run by, professional pet photographers! The network is called the Beautiful Beasties Pet Photography Network, and it’s now Live, and FREE, and open to all professional pet photographers the world over to join!

Created by Jamie Pflughoeft, owner of Seattle’s Cowbelly Pet Photography , this is a website where pet photographers around the world can share images, get feedback, get to know each other, post blog posts, share events, get advice, share ideas, participate in live chats, comment on each other’s profile pages, and become part of the *international* pet photography community. Although the network contains a forum with a multitude of categories, it is so much more than a forum. It’s an awesome place, in a beautiful package, where all professional pet photographers are welcome to come and share and further advance their careers.

Here’s a screen grab of the Beautiful Beasties Pet Photography Network (notice my happy little Charleston there on the slidehow… awww!)

I am excited to be involved in this new venture, and as a moderator, I get to be active and contribute to the network and be a part of something really powerful for my industry. I have already posted a couple informational blogs – one about branding, and one about managing your crazy-hectic photographer life :)   Jamie and the other ladies have posted really great blogs as well- the content’s already fab and there’s only 5 of us – I can hardly wait to see what it will be like when you join!

Have I enticed you enough?

Here are the criteria for joining:

>> The network is free, and open to all professional pet photographers to join.

>> The network is private, and membership is by invite only, and all members will be screened pending approval by the admin and moderators.

-Applicants must:

1) be a professional pet photographer (i.e. profiting from their services), or in the process of licensing a pet photography business,
2) have an online portfolio of images,
3) have a demonstrated desire to make a career from specializing in pet photography,
and for those who are in business:
4) *specialize* specifically in pet photography (generalists who do babies, families, kids, weddings, products, events, etc, and *also* pets will be considered on a case-by-case basis).

Applicants who have a business website with a portfolio will be given first rights.

We will NOT accept: robots, those who have committed copyright violations (either photo or plagiarism), ebay get rich quick schemers, writers fishing for information, or otherwise nefarious wrongdoers. We have the right to refuse membership to anyone we deem.

All members must agree to the network’s Terms of Use upon joining, and agree to abide by the terms.

To apply for membership, please send an email to info@cowbelly.com, with the subject line “Beautiful Beasties Network Application” a link to your portfolio and/or website, tell ‘in brief’ why you want to join, and if you do any other types of photography. Your email will be forwarded to all five moderators (Me, Jamie Pflughoeft, Nichole Glazier, Kristen Kalp, and Sarah Ernhart) and pending your approval we will send you an email with next steps.

And please be patient with us as we weed through the emails. We expect a large response, and will add new members once per week, so sit tight and we’ll get back to you!

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you on the Beautiful Beasties Pet Photography Network!

By admin | Posted in Pet Photography | Tagged , , | Comments (1)