Seven Deadly Sins - 52 Week Project

This week the challenge was the seven deadly sins. While gluttony seems to be the typical theme around my house, I decided instead to capture the angelic sloth that had been brought about from the ingestion of turkey. (Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US!) Bender was ready to fulfill his slothness even before he had turkey!

My boyfriend and I left the dogs and traveled to my parent's house for a lush meal complete with turkey, stuffing, vegetables, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie! Afterwards I snagged some pictures of my parent's new kitten, Lilly! She pulled off the perfect sloth!

Happy Thanksgiving and best of luck on Black Friday! Now visit Calgary pet photographer, Dogfish Pet Photography for her vision of the seven deadly sins!

The road trip that went east before it went south... part 6

The following day we ventured towards Blackwater. Briefly we paused in a rundown town called Cambridge. There were a collection of rundown buildings that were interesting and eerie, but after being tailed by a pack of black guys making comments at me, I was ready to leave.

Blackwater's main area was shutdown, but one of the roads that wound through the park was open. Near the fishing area were a bunch of pier pilings that supported two kinds of gulls, terns and cormorants who were trying their hardest to maintain their grips on the wood planks while the wind gusted like mad.

Once we had our fill of the birds we continued on the road, hoping to find some shorebirds in the boggy/marshlands. Around a bend there was little dark creature crossing the road. Turtle! We quickly stopped, hopped out of the Element and nearly skipped over to the turtle. Who turned out to be a very small, very feisty snapping turtle! He gave us a snooty ancient reptilian glare as he hunkered down in the road. Not super worried that he would eat me (he was roughly smaller than palm sized), I tried to pick him up. The little booger popped up against my touch and scared the poo out of me! He didn't manage to bite me (whew!) and once Jen and I had enough pictures of him, I herded him back into the reeds.

A stunning view of the sky and a bridge, and some abandoned houses that were being reclaimed by the marshlands before we turned around and headed back towards the main road.

A touch of rain caught us, but we quickly outpaced it as we moved towards Assateague Island. I grew up reading Misty and Stormy (ponies of Assateague and Chincoteague Islands) so I was super excited to possibly be able to see some of the modern day wild ponies. We crossed the bridge to the island, the storm heavy on our heels. The state park side of Assateague was open and basically consisted of a turnaround.

Luck was on our side as a set of 3 ponies lazily grazed just off the road, oblivious of the people stopping to gawk at them.
We made it off the island and the rain hit. Through the rain we drove to the empty, nearly flooded Ocean City. It was very eerie as though the ocean had decided to take back the city. 

On the way home the storm clouds caught some color, but by the time we pulled off and into a mall parking lot, the color had fizzled.

Keep an eye out for the next entry!

Framed - 52 Week Project

This week's project was framed. I had thought of using an empty picture frame to literally frame the dogs, but instead I opted to visit a local park with a super awesome blue walking bridge. Axle and Icey were my models, and though they were pros, each insisted in being in each other's picture exactly when I didn't want them to be! Despite the photobombs and the nasty chilly wind, this location was amazing to shoot at!

We also brought out 3 of Axle's new collars designed by the awesome Lisa of Josa Bloom (she's based in Colorado.) Icey was sporting her zombies on pink (also made by Lisa) while Axle showed off the multicolor swirl stripe on green, bright stripes on blue and orange circles on orange. I'm going to have to do a blog posting featuring each collar they have... Icey has 3, and Axle has 5... I might be addicted!

Next up visit Deanna owner and friend (we met in Colorado this fall!) of Stink Dog Photography in Denver, CO!

The road trip that went east before it went south... part 5

Jen's back had started to relax so that day trips were now a possibility! We headed to a little town called Chestertown for coffee and sandwiches for breakfast. It was a quaint, very colonial styled little town where people meandered with their dogs.

Onward we went, deciding that despite the government being shut down, we were going to try to visit the national parks in the area. As we assumed, the parks were closed. But there routes into the parks were pretty and yielded few birds. We paused at a boat launch where I saw a jellyfish floating in the water near a bird poop stained wooden dock/pier.

We crept along the road out of the park, hoping to see the vast amounts of birds that Maryland often offered for the avid birders, finding only a couple of starlings and a pair of mockingbirds that were battling for turf. The mocking birds were entertaining to listen to as well as watch.

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From there we found our way to Wye Island. The trees made a wonderful canopy over the dirt road. At the end of road were some well groomed paths that led into groves of brain ball trees. Also known as hedge balls or Osage oranges, these lumpy lime green balls littered the path. Jen warned me to keep an eye out for any that might be falling from the trees.

Stay tuned for more pictures from the rest of the trip!

Into the Woods - 52 Week Project

This week it was my turn to pick a theme! Our list of past themes is extensive and I wanted to create a theme that was unique. For some reason the thought of a session in the woods stuck in my head and luckily we hadn't done a woods theme yet!

Unfortunately deer hunting season had just kicked up as well! So my favorite stand of trees was out as I do not own blaze orange, nor do the dogs! Luckily I found a small patch of urban woods that were just close enough to town to detour the hunters. It was nearly perfect. Sort of. From the road it looked perfect, but the yard was littered with junk. It might have been a bust had I not spotted the stand of white barked trees in an area behind the main building. Bender and I meandered through tall grass to the stand of trees, only to spook up a pair of deer! They quickly scrambled and disappeared into the brush!

Not sure what Bender was gawking at, but it seems like it was tasty...

Axle the next model. He loves his tennis balls which usually catches his attention, but lately he just looks at me with his underbite pout or doesn't look at me so I end up capturing his snobby model side.

Icey was the final model and she loves to work for a tennis ball! She becomes a happy bouncy puppy and will give me all of her attention. As long as there aren't too many new smells to smell.

Next up is Spotty Nose Photography based in the Los Angeles, CA area!

The Kitchen - 52 Week Project

Ah the kitchen. Where good food is cooked and hairy piranhas roam the floors in search of tidbits. The hairy piranhas who patrol are non other than my dogs, Icey, Axle and Bender. Bender is a master piranha as well as skilled in the art of puppy dog eyes. Icey and Axle also have mastered the puppy dog eyes skill.

There was hamburger to be cooked, so I snagged my camera and tried to capture the hairy piranhas in action. Except they weren't nearly as active as I hoped. Luckily there are dog biscuits nearby so I could fake some attention to the beef on the stove.

The arm and legs belong to my wonderful boyfriend. And my house is messy, but its lived in! Next up visit the awesome Karen Ramos of Spotty Nose Pet Photography based out of Los Angeles, CA!

Penny and Daisy's Session!

It was a gloomy, rainy weekend when Daisy, a lab mix and Penny, a lab/pittie/border collie mix and I met up for their  Seasonal Dog Session. The rain had waned to a lazy sprinkle, that kicked up a notch just as we started shooting. We took cover in the trees, while the pair chased their toys oblivious to the rain that filtered through the trees.

Once more the rain waned into a steady drizzle and the girls took to their pond like fish! They are both dock jumpers, with Penny usually taking the lead!

By the end of the session, I was solidly soaked from head to toe and not only from the rain! Both Daisy and Penny took the time to shake off pond water whenever they were near me! What a silly pair! I can't wait to capture them in the snow for the second part of our Seasonal Dog Session!