Richmond Car Show

Last Saturday, Bailey of B. Sens Photography and myself loaded up her classic 68 Mustang, Nyx, for a car show in Richmond. And we solidly loaded Nyx up as we were going to coshare a tent space that featured our photography! So Nyx was four bodies full in the trunk with frames, mats, pictures of dogs,   and cooler, while pictures, frames and mats of cars resided in the backseat along with a cooler.

We showed up fairly early, parked then unloaded all of our prints. Classic and race cars on one table, dogs pictures on the other. We let the tables man themselves for the day, so its hard to know the amount of interest they sparked and how much information was taken. At least showed off our images!

On to the cars! The end count for classic mustangs was 3 - one black, one red and one raspberry one so I was a tiny bit sad, but between the cars, tractors and motorcycles there were 74 vehicles to photograph, which made me happy! Also I've been in a tilt-shift editing mood lately. Enjoy!

Celebrating the dog days of Summer!

In celebration of my 1st year in business, and my birthday (Aug 9th)

I've decided to give each one of you gifts during the month of August! 

These gifts are only available from August 1st- 31st, 2013!

• When you book an About a Dog Session or About A Puppy Series Series session in August

you will receive one complimentary 12x18 image block! ($220 value!)

• Additionally with any package purchased during August you will receive

 one complimentary 5x5 Mini Album! ($200 value!) 

• And lastly, any traditional print that is 12x18 or larger will be matted

with a complimentary single white mat! (prices vary)

If you book a session and order a package, you will get all of the above complimentary! 

A total value of $420 completely complimentary!

Contact me for a session and these wonderful gifts today!

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Image Blocks are a great wall display option. They feature sharp corners, customizable edges, are easy to hang and clean and come in both lustre and metallic finishes! This is the perfect piece to showcase your pet with a wall display!

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5x5 Mini Albums are a great way to showcase multiple images from the session. They feature a lay flat design, 20 pages many colors of covers and are completely customizable! 

These make stunning brag books!

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A single white mat for all pictures 12x18 larger! These are crisp clean white mats, with a single layer for a modern look that won't draw focus from the image of your dog or cat. Adding a mat makes these almost ready to hang - you would just need to add a frame!

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** Complimentary Image Blocks, Mini Albums and Mats available August 1- August 31st, 2013. Session must be booked and photographed in the month of August to receive the complimentary items. Complimentary items are only available with a full price session and/or a full priced package.**

Style - 52 Week Project

I've been super busy this week with editing pictures, working and updating my website and I almost forgot to get some pictures for this week's theme of Style for the 52 Week Project on Beautiful Beasties. My interpretation of style was to have Icey show off her silly princess side with a pair of big sunglasses and a lei. We headed outside, and the sprinkle of rain started to become more solid so that I was only able to snap a couple of pictures of her. I also snagged one of Bender with the sunglasses. What a pair of goobers!

But wait! The rain stopped! Time for some more pictures!!!!! This time the whole gang got in on the stylish modeling! I switched out for my normal sunglasses and retried the lilies as well as a couple of new shots. Also I dusted off the googly eyes for Axle...

And last but not least, Axle sporting the googly eyes that are totally his style!

Bwhahahaha! Axle cracks me up! I hope he brought a smile to your face today!

Remember this a round robin of photographers so don't forget to see how everyone else decided to portray Style! The next photographer to visit is Alicia A Kapheim of Barking Lab Studio, based in New Jersey.

About An Old Friend Sessions

Yesterday, when the heat index was high and the humidity was almost worse, the temperature in my single bedroom was awful - I don't have AC. Lots of water was available for the dogs, along with a cool bath and damp towels to lay on.  Of the four, Mick was the worst for wear. He hadn't eaten his food in the morning, wasn't drinking and was extremely lethargic. A call to the vet, and a normal temp of 102 didn't ease my worries for the old guy (he's 8 years old, give or take).  A cold bath and handfed dribbles of water seemed to help and by last night he was moving a little better, drinking water and chewing his favorite bone. Today he is his normal self again.

At one point yesterday, when we had gone outside, Mick had basically plopped down and didn't want to move or get up. My heart stung. I told him that I wasn't ready for him to be gone yet.

That got me thinking, wondering and remembering about Mick. He's 8ish, and some days vibrant with youth like a younger dog, others a little more laid back and worrisome. I've documented him with photography for as long as I've had him, and will continue to always do so.

Because of Mick, I am offering special sessions for all of our old companions, buddies and friends, or our friends who are terminally ill. These sessions will capture and celebrate the lives of the dogs and cats who have held our hearts captive. Known as About An Old Friend Session, is is low key, on location where your old friend is the most comfortable. There will be many hugs, pats and treats to be shared with your buddy, who I get the chance to meet before he or she departs. 

I learned that this lovely great dane pictured above passed away recently. Zena was sweet and gentle, and though I only got the chance to meet her once, I was glad I did.

Low Angle - 52 Week Project

This week's theme for the 52 Week Project with the Beautiful Beasties Network was suggested but none other than myself! Lately I've been shooting more lower angle shots and thought it would be interesting to see how other people interpreted low angle.

Two of the adoptable dogs at Tri County Humane Society eagerly (for hotdogs) helped me to snag some low angle shots. Gabbriel is a sweet gentle husky who originally arrived at the shelter as a stray. She waited for her owners, but they never came so she's now available for adoption.

The next "underdog" model was the lovely Miss Lucy! She is a cute as a button american staffordshire terrrier/lab mix with a genetic skin disorder called Ichthyosis which makes her skin thick and flaky. But that doesn't keep her from being a bouncy active 6 month old puppy! She is a staff favorite and has been patiently waiting for the perfect forever home.

Originally I had planned on photographing Axle for this week's challenge as he has very epic pouty jowls. The house next door is empty and the front yard has been overrun by day lilies! So I snagged Axle, sat him in the middle and started to shoot some low angle shots. The lighting wasn't the greatest but they were fun to shoot! I love those lilies! 

Curious on how other photographers interpreted the low angle challenge? Follow the round robin until you reach me again for all the results! Your next stop will be with the talented photographer at the New Jersey based Barking Lab Studio, Alicia Kapheim! 

Product Spotlight - Image Blocks!

Just let me say, I love love love these image blocks! They are available in a lustre finish as well as a metallic finish. Each image is printed and wrapped around a composite block of wood for super sharp corners and comes with hanging hardware (minus the nails) in a french cleat style.

The edges are completely customizable! The image can be wrapped around the edges or a fun and unique border can be added. Image blocks are available in many sizes, starting at 8x8 for the smallest to  a 24x36 for the largest.

These are a great alternative to canvas and will help to showcase your images for years to come! If you are curious, the image block of Axle is an 8x12 printed with the metallic finish.

Fixed Focal Length - 52 Week Project

This week's Beautiful Beasties challenge was fixed focal length. Typically this involves a prime lens (50mm, 90mm or any lens with a single focal length) but we were allowed to use zoom lenses that were "limited" to a certain focal length.

My first thought was my 50mm would get dusted off and be the lens of choice, until I started to think of how many other photographers owned the nifty fifty (50mm). In a Goldilocks and the 3 Bears style I eliminated my other lenses.  The 70-300mm was too long, the 90mm was too stiff, but the superwide 10-24mm was just perfect! I put the lens at 10mm, snagged Bender and headed out to the Bride of Hope in Sauk Rapids, MN. This was also a scouting mission for an idea for an upcoming session.

{A sidenote: for those who aren't of the photography background, a superwide lens is aptly named because at the shortest focal length is very very very wide. 10mm is great for getting the full area of a landscape (keep an eye out for toes!) but often there is some distortion on the edges of the image. Usually the distortion is not very noticeable, unless people are involved. Or dogs!}

Here's the result of Bender and the 10mm "fixed" focal length!

After the 10mm, I snagged some less distorted images with the 17-50mm. Isn't Bender a handsome dog? I love this guy! He's an awesome dog, with some manageable quirks. Oh and he's up for adoption! Until he finds that perfect forever home, I get to be his foster mom!

Heehee drool! Now since this is a 52 Week Project, it means there's a round robin again! This time click over to the talented Sue Collura of the Sue Collura Studio in Massachusetts and see her interpretation of the challenge!

Alexandria Car Show

A couple of weekends ago, I traveled via classic, glossy black 68 Mustang to the Alexandria car show, with my good friend and fellow photographer, Bailey Sens of B. Sens Photography. Bailey's main area of photographic focus is with cars, especially classics and dirt track racecars. She has a knack for capturing the personalities of the classics, as well as crisp shots of the racers as they zoom around the track.

Although my photography niche is dogs, cats and pets, I also love to capture images of the classic cars I will probably never own. Mustangs are my favorite, with muscle cars coming in a close second, so I was in a total drool fest at the Alexandria show. My favorite car? Its a tossup between a 66 blue Mustang or the 70 Twister Special Mustang (these are super rare, with only 96 of them having been made!!!). Doesn't mean I didn't drool over any of the other cars! There was a spiffy looking turquoise Roadrunner, a crazy sparkly 40s/50s era coupe, a handful of red 67 Mustangs, and a insanely chromed out engine in a classic cherry red Mustang.

Which cars are your favorites?

Here is my favorite color and favorite car!

 

Bailey's Sneak Peek!

Yesterday I met up with the lovely Heather and her diva dog, Bailey! I just had to share this image I snagged! Ah the power of hotdogs! Keep an eye out for more pictures of the lovely Mss Bailey!