Category Archives: family photography

the best little Bedlingtons in the West


For those of you who live (and especially those who shoot) in the great Pacific Northwest, you know what a challenge the weather can be. It’s like a spinning wheel of fortune… some days you win the “million dollar” sunshine streaming through the trees morning and some times you hit “bankrupt” with wind and rain and less light then midnight during an Alaskan winter. It’s always a gamble. This is true all year long, but once we move past the end of October {which, surprisingly, is usually a very nice month in the Seattle area} it all goes downhill fast.

This was the case in the tale of the Bedlington 3.  We originally had planned our shoot for Monday, Nov. 1 – but as I constantly monitored the weather forcast all weekend, and woke at 6am day-of, I knew there was just no way we were going to enjoy an outdoor shoot with three fluffy-coated dogs and acquire anything other than a “rainy, rainy muddpuddle” theme. So, we conspired to plan for the single sun-break day of the week… Thursday.  Blessed be the day when the weatherman is right.

When I arrived at 2pm that Thursday, I was thrilled to realize that the changing seasons meant the light was already low and warm. It cast long shadows down the lane of fall-painted maples leading up to Bedlington manor. I was even more pleased to discover, a single fire-red maple tree in the backyard – surrounded by Cedars, Rhododendrons and other quintessential Northwest evergreens. A photographer’s delight.


Of course when I walked through the door into terrier territory, I was met with wagging little lamb tails and bouncy little Bedlington bodies- all abuzz with the presence of a visitor. It took me a moment to establish who was who… Sassy is a fine old girl, and mother to both Miracle (mister) and Rain (misses). Sassy is an old girl, but is in such good shape, the only way I could tell her and her daughter apart at first, was the little ball of fluff at the end of Sassy’s tail.

{ Sweet Sassy}

We spent a while playing in the sun room – Miracle and Rain going birzerk for their Koala {an ingenious toy that laughs like a human child} and their kitty {you can guess what sound that one makes} and momma and papa proudly egging them on.

I will leave you with an outtake from our shoot… Mr. Miracle givin’ me “the look” – hilarious!

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Snarf: the Snarfiest of all Snarfers

When you’re a pet photographer on your way to photograph a pug – life is pretty good. When the day is sunny and warm, and that pug is aptly named “Snarf” you can’t help but feel especially blessed.

Well, this was one of those days.

I met up with Snarf and his super-cool parents at their place in Bellevue. After some deck romping, couch hopping, tummy rubbing and fierce pug “snarfing”, we headed to one of my favorite Northwest places: Lake Washington.

The cool breeze and sweet sunshine, combined with bright blue sky, restless lake and smooth weathered dock, all made for a fantastic backdrop for our photo-mania.

Much to my delight, we had timed the day just right and managed to be finishing up our shoot right at sunset, what a day.

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Charlie makes a move

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??

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Patton and Lefty make a house a home

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!

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The Amazing Abby

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!

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