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Category Archives: family photography

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Mighty Momo the Mini

Still, two weeks after photographing this little puglit, I cannot get her out of my mind. I have spent COUNTLESS hours in front of my computer selecting and deselecting photos, trying to narrow down 671 images to 50. Yeah, right. This is what I cannot stand about decidedly photogenic dogs and their equally lovely people… it’s pure agony to pick which images make the “cut”. Oh what a delightful problem to have.

I met Momo and her family on an incredibly blustery day in San Francisco (February 4th to be exact). This also happened to be the same day I arrived in SF – so I landed, jumped on the BART, found my hotel, checked in, and had just enough time to change clothes, gather my camera gear and grab an umbrella before bolting out the door. I was thankful for the town car that the Hotel recommended because although I typically walk EVERYWHERE in San Fran – this weather was pure misery.

When I arrived my destination in SoMa, I was relieved to find a gloriously chic lobby waiting for me. As I walked in I thanked my lucky stars for the large windows, high ceilings and perfectly appointed decor, because there was no way we were going to be able to shoot outdoors as we’d hoped.

Deborah met me in the lobby, a squirming Momo in her arms, wriggling against her mom to greet me. Deborah set Momo down, she bounced over to me and I got my first fill of pugalove in ages. I got pug sniffs and snarfs and kisses and wiggles (and of course hair). It was the perfect way to start our time together.

We plodded into the elevator and headed upstairs to Momo’s apartment where apparently it became immediately necessary for Momo to run crazed circles around the floor, pausing at a few of her favorite toys before racing off again, tail tucked, screaming a battle cry that I took to mean:  “oh-my-gosh-mom-there’s-someone-here-and-she-has-treats-and-toys-and-she-smells-really-awesome-and-I-think-she’s-here-for-me!” She was right.

We spent the next two hours tugging, chasing, tossing, cuddling, and of course, shooting. Momo has the BEST little personality, and she was at the perfect age where she was still too small to jump off the couch on her own, so once I plopped her up there she hung out… being devastatingly photogenic until I let her down.

She also very clearly loves her humans and some of the images we captured are PURE GOLD!  I am so excited about this shoot I was actually a few days behind getting it out because I can’t stop obsessing over it.  I think you’ll have to agree with me that this is the real San Francisco treat!

P.S. After this shoot I had a meeting to attend – I ended up at a nearby “Philz Coffee” and had an AMAZING taste experience: If you want the details read my Yelp review. Otherwise – make sure you seek out a a Philz in Nor Cal and try the “Tesora Mocha”. Yum!

2009 Holiday Portrait Events

Hello friends!

Well now that Halloween has come and gone (even just barely) and it’s OFFICIALLY November – it’s time to start getting busy with holiday madness (yes, already!)

I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about some exciting events we have coming up, during which you can join us for some fine portraits at fun events! As always our photo packages start at only $25 for these “mini-sittings” – this year we’ve added some Holiday Card options as well as the ability to purchase High-Res images to make unlimited prints and cards.

You will find us + these great and timely deals at:

Barkz in Kirkland, WA — November 8th, 11-4 { visit the Barkz website for pricing and full details}

Starbucks in Seattle, WA — November 21st, 10-2 { this is only available to Starbucks partners }

Barkz in Kirkland, WA — December 6th, 11-4 { visit the Barkz website for pricing and full details}

CityDog Yappy Howlidays Pawty in Seattle, WA — December 9th, 6-8pm { @ the W Hotel in Seattle}

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We hope to see you and your fabulous canines at one or ALL of these upcoming events – keep in mind, all photos will be back in time for holiday gift-giving! What is a better present than fine-art pet portraits?  Want to give the experience as a gift? Consider a dane + dane gift certificate.

We would also like to remind you that all of the dogs we photograph go into our “Doggy Database” – and we have some exciting commercial projects on the horizon in 2010 so make sure we’ve met your pup – he could be the next dane + dane super model ;)

Chelsea + Family (the C Squad)

Thursday afternoon I met up with Chelsea, Carrie, Courtney and Candace (C is for Cool) at Magunsun for some last-minute family portraits. Courtney lives in California (more C’s…) and will be headed home on Monday so we wanted to get some snaps before her departure.

I arrived at the park a bit early to scout some locations for us – the sun was changing rapidly from directly-sunny to overcast, so I wanted to be sure we had plenty of shade.

I should mention that I was lucky enough to photograph Chelsea (the dog) and her family last year (see the blog here) – We decided to return to Magnusun again this year because it’s one of Chelsea’s FAVORITE places – she’s been coming here since she was a wee pup.

Once we met up – we got right to work. Courtney is a singer and last we year we shot some head shots for her, in addition to family portraits, this year we started with the same goals. I was LOVING this bunker door which happened to be in the shade (with only about 2′ of shade to spare on either side – whew!) It worked perfectly with Courtney’s skin-tone, curls and turquoise tank.

We wandered a bit – in and out of shade, of course ending with Chelsea’s favorite activity: SWIMMING!! She was a very patient girl as we forced her to sit and smile over and over just feet from the water’s edge. But… it all paid off and this happy hound got her share of splashing, fetching and paddling.

The weather by this time had turned just a bit breezy with some cloud cover – it was the perfect temperature – really quite delightful. It was so pleasant I had half a mind to go grab Olivia after our shoot and whisk her back there! (of course when I got home, plans changed and we settled for a neighborhood walk instead) but man – what a gorgeous day!

*** Don’t forget to mark your calendar: PAWSwalk will be at Magnusun Park on Sept. 12, 2009 (8-1) – sign up to walk for PAWS or just stop by to visit the awesome vendors or participate in the CityDog Cover Dog Model Search. Sadly, we won’t be there, we’ll be shooting a wedding on Orcas Island – oooh! ***

Bella the Ball of Fire

Yesterday as I slogged through rush-hour traffic towards my shoot in Issaquah, I thought back on my early childhood memories there… swimming at the Issaquah pool and Lake Sammamish,  sticky-fingered Salmon Days wanderings, auditioning and performing at the old old “Village Theatre”, visits to Andy Wangs, La Costa, Boehms and of course Gullivers (the burger joint where I happened to find myself face to face with Ken Griffey Jr, Jay Buhner, Jeff Nelson and their families.)  All these visions came whirling back as I exited onto Front street, and rounded Sunset… streets I haven’t seen in nearly 15 years.  As you can imagine things have changed a bit, but even more surprising, is what hasn’t.

As I parked and walked across the grassy space ahead of me, I realized that “Memorial Park” (where I was supposed to meet my clients) is the same piece of grass to the right of the Library where I used to romp as a tike – only the Library is now a “Senior Center” and the park is much fancier than it used to be. I didn’t even realize where I was until I was passing the old-familiar brick walls.

Even better, when I met up with Jason and Julia I found out that we all went to the same middle school, and Julia and I went to the same Elementary school (go Clark Sharks!)- and we’re all just a year apart – bizarre!

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Ok, enough reminiscing and onto Bella!  Bella was very excited to watch me approach. Not sure if I smell of liver treats permanently these days, or if she is just that excited to meet every new stranger, but it was great to see her big, smiling maw straining towards me.  She was mid-hydration (we scored another 90-something degree day – whew!) and so of course her drippy cheeks and mouth parts dragged lines of wet drool all over my legs and hands as I greeted her. Now, this is where a non-pet photographer might get squeamish, but I was actually glad of the cooling effects her slobbery painting had – in all reality, it very refreshing!

Bella is alllll smiles. So much so, that during the whole 2.5 hour shoot, I got nearly the exact same expression: wide-mouth, panting glee.  That’s ok with me, it’s a good look for you Bella.

Bella’s mom and dad are engaged to be married and it was fun to get a few mushy-lovey-dovey shots for them… Bella seemed oblivious of our conversation and photographs that did not include her, she just stood wagging and panting pretty much the whole time.

I first met Bella and her family at the Yappy Howlidays party last December at the W Hotel. I took a portrait of the three of them and apparently it was well loved, because Julia booked her session this summer with a bit of urgency: Turns out Bella’s health is failing… she’s a bit limpy and will soon need surgery on one of her knees to save the other. Julia wanted to spend a day with Bella, photographing her in the sun, her favorite place to be.

We lucked out – we had sun a’plenty – we had to take a few “cool down” breaks in the shade (which may have also included some hot, melty cheese and chuck-it teases)

Ultimately, we headed over to the Pickering barn for a few last shots among the flora – nothin’ better than a big red barn for a summer portrait sitting! Oh, and did I mention the willow tree?  Yeah, there’s a willow *dreamy*

A big woof to J + J for letting me spend a couple hours enjoying Bella – she’s a fine, fine dog with a big ol’ head and a big ol’ heart.

Miko the Model

Yesterday I was able to explore a bit around my new Eastside neighborhood.

At 5:30 (which at this particular point in the season is the PERFECT time for pet photography I’ve decided) I meandered into Medina to meet Linda, Ralph and little Miko. We scored a gorgeous sunny afternoon and spent the evening rolling around in the grass, chatting on the deck, relaxing in the family room and generally ooohing and ahhing over Miko, who slowly but surely got VERY comfortable with being photographed.

I particularly like the shots of the family… Linda and Ralph just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary (no small feat) and these photos were a gift to commemorate this time in their life. I was lucky enough to share a sunny afternoon, chasing mighty little Miko around with a camera and basking in this little Lhasa’s majesty.

Aside from forgetting I am allergic to grass and rolling around in it (while wearing a tank top to boot – nice one Nichole) the shoot went flawlessly! Congrats L + R – you’re an inspiration!

Star + Kitty Mo

I love this time of year. I love being surprised again and again how late the sun stays up and how abruptly the weather turns so lovely and how we all tend to smile just a little bit more when the rain and gloom have vanished. I love noticing lilacs and tulips blooming, cherry tree petals sweeping up the street and trees that were dark skeletons, filling with supple bunches of leaves. Ahh Spring in the Northwest!

What I especially love about this season is the outdoor, on-location photo shoots I get to indulge in: boats, beaches and backyards, parks and porches – a million perfect spots with a million juxtapositions of inspiring backdrops and “props.”

Saturday I had the opportunity to photograph the lovely Jamie, her husband and their furry family members: Star and Kitty Mo. Jamie warned me that that feline might be a little aloof (as felines often are) and it would be great if we could somehow get her in a few shots, but that the chances were slim. I had to laugh when I arrived because when I stepped into their oasis of a backyard, Kitty was lounging lazily on a vivid mosaic table, sunning his underbelly and pawing at the air. I giggled out loud as I noticed Star carrying around her gigantic new “baby”, over-sized fuzzy bunny that dragged on the ground as she pranced around with it in her soft retriever mouth. “Oh yeah” I said sarcastically – “these guys are going to be realllly hard to photograph.” ☺

The whole shoot was charmed. The sun sat low in the sky, Star pranced and posed with her baby, occasionally stopping to share some licks with her humans or to give me a beaming golden smile and Kitty Mo was a downright camera hog – walking between my lens and whoever was in front of it just about any chance he got.

There were hug piles in hammocks, “keep away” in the grass, rests on the deck and lots and lots of kisses. All in all, a perfect day, a perfect little family, and a downright perfect shoot. *Swoon*

Thanks to Jamie and her crew for providing such a magical place for photography and thanks to the almighty weather gods for blessing us with the perfect lazy May afternoon.

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Did I mention that Jamie is a wonderful, amazing, talented and delightful artist?  No?  Well now I have!  You MUST check out her gorgeous jewelry designs at: Laughing Raven Design or on Etsy. Be sure to check out her robot, dog and wonder woman themes. SO awesome!!

You can also find her at the Best of the Northwest, the Seattle Kennel Club Show and a variety of other local art events. To find out where you can find her creations check out her “news + events” page.

Bailey the Saint {Bernard}

We had high-hopes of potentially photographing miss Bailey at Lincoln park, but as is typical, the Seattle weather didn’t accommodate our request. Perhaps we should have submitted it in writing.

Never the less, Bailey took to the studio like a St.Bernard to peanut butter and we were very blessed with some fabulous photography – candid, hilarious and sweet.

Bailey’s mom could not be cuter. The two of them together are commercial pet photography heaven: Bailey has Ashely beat in the categories of height, weight and hair – oh and also drool (mom isn’t much of a drooler but Bailey’s got her own designated towels). The two of them together are the perfect match – I just had to giggle throughout the whole shoot because despite the odds, they look so natural and comfortable together.

The only thing that made the scene even better was dad. This happy little trio made for great portraits. Dad’s hair even matches Bailey’s… Priceless.

Bailey is a 7 year old Saint Bernard that Ashley adopted from a Vet teaching hospital where Bailey had been dropped off. She had been run over by a car and her owners could not afford the cost to repair her – Bailey was only 4 months old and she’s been Ashley’s human-size pillow ever since.

Three cheers for our first St. Bernard in the studio. Three cheers for a poor broken little pup that found the perfect home. Three cheers for our 5th and final shoot of the week… Happy Easter!!

P.S. Of course after our shoot, the rain cleared, so I took the rare opportunity to take Olivia to the park. I am SO glad we didn’t attempt to shoot there earlier – there was an annual Easter egg hunt going on… Even a dog as good as Bailey would have been very distracted by all the two-legged scampering going on throughout the entire park.  Cute, but hard to ignore.

Yoshi + Arby

Well the clouds have returned all too soon to our sunny Seattle skies. I spent most of the weekend glued to my camera and computer working on a couple very consuming projects, but Sunday luckily I was forced to creep out of my studio into the light of day, to travel to Woodinville for a shoot.  Oh and what a day it was!

I was so giddy from the sun I had to write about it - and the day just kept looking up!  When I arrived at my destination I was thrilled to see one of my most cherished sights in the world: horses.

Yoshi, a bouncy Shiba mix with flip-floppy ears and a wide toothy grin greeted me along with his lovely mom, Cheryl.

We set about the business of setting up the studio inside. With the doors wide open, Yoshi came and went, checking on our progress. Occasionally, Pirate (a big black mass of curls that you will meet later) would wander in, sopping wet beard and all, to evaluated the situation, steal a bone, or sniff out the treats.

Once we got shooting, Cheryl and Yoshi (who are a perfect team by the way) were fabulous models. I heard stories of how Yoshi was one of several pups that Cheryl has fostered over the years for Homeward Pet Adoption – and how she just couldn’t give him up. Can’t say I blame her, he’s a little star!

With formal studio shots out of the way we wandered outside to soak in the sun… I couldn’t help but just stop every few moments… close my eyes and inhale the warm breezes that kept skipping on by. It truly was a glorious day.

We wandered around the property, stealing photo ops here and there… I think my favorite little location was on the porch of the barn/garage- chuck-its in a “gun rack,” vintage coca cola signs and designer rubber boots all add up to one great scene.

And then we wandered over to the horses. I could feel the smile spreading as we approached the fence… I am going to let you in on a little secret… Horses have always been my A#1 favorite creature (Sssssh don’t tell Olivia- well, she almost counts…)

Side note:  When I was little, I was so obsessed with horses that I would get up early to nab the Sunday paper and strip it of the classifieds. Then I would settle in the sun and circle any and all of my favorite horses for sale and any and all stall jobs I could find.  I would sketch my perfect barn/stall configuration on graph paper and master drawing the actual body of a horse with “how to draw” books… I would dream and dream about riding my own horse through fields and fields of grass and wildflowers… Yes, I was that girl. In many ways, I still am.

Since that time I have learned how to ride (Western that is – English is still a total mystery to me) learned the principals and practice of Natural Horsemanship, volunteered for riding charities like H.O.P.E, assisted with many Equine veterinary procedures and mucked way more than my fair share of stalls.

One of these days I will get our Equine portfolio up on the site, and sometime after that, when time, lifestyle and location allow, I will have horses of my own.

Ok so back to Woodinville… and Arby. Arby is 23 and has been Cheryl’s companion for more than 15 years. He is curly and fiesty… he took every opportunity he could to try to get a nibble of me… gentle little love bites on my hands and shoulder.  His fur is is salt and peppery with age and swirly with Winter coat. He is a fine boy and it was immediately clear to me that he and his human have quite a connection.

After indulging in more than my fair quota of pats and scratches I returned to the task of photographing Cheryl and Yoshi. Predictably (although I hadn’t thought of it at the time) as I sat in the grass, Arby leaned his meaty neck over his fence and nudged me on the shoulder as if to say “hey you – I haven’t dismissed you yet.”  So I did what any photographer would have done in my position, I took advantage of the angle and the rare bright blue sky and captured this… HAH!

A big thank you to Cheryl, John and Joey who invited me out to their beautiful bit of heaven in Woodinville. I will share with you all their exciting new business venture soon…

Emily + Kimo

I have to say, I do love it when people name their pets human names. Amy and I decided a while back that Mark is a great name for a cat, or maybe Derrick.  I have since added, that Emily is a fabulous name for a pug!

I wandered out to Bainbridge Island on Monday for a shoot with these two little creatures at their home. They eagerly greeted me with a worn squirrel toy in each of their mouths and plenty of wiggle in their rumps. (And no barking – wow what must THAT be like?) hah.

We proceed to crawl around on the floor, squeeze into corners and stared longingly outside at the rainy golf course. Their awesome mom (another Amy) was a great sport as I re-arranged the furniture, over-fed treats and made a spectacle of myself (what’s new) to get the attention of her kids.

I do have to say – I can’t wait for Spring to SPRING already so we can get back outside… Although if I have to be inside on a rainy day, these are the perfect characters to be inside with!!

Katie + Phoebe: Pups for a cause.

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.