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Archive: October, 2014



Belle the Bichon Frise

Monday, October 13th, 2014

I’ve always known Bichon Frises to be happy little fluff-balls of energy, ready & willing to please their parents all day long…  and Belle is a shining example of that wonderful Bichon disposition! This little cutie recently moved to San Diego from Texas, just a few months ago – and it’s not that often that I’m more of a “local” than my clients, so I was happy to welcome Belle and her parents to town! I also had the privilege of introducing them to Powerhouse Park in Del Mar, a place which my regular blog readers know I love to visit… but even though I’ve been there a few times before, I found a couple of fresh new spots to photograph Belle that I’d never seen before! Let me tell you, looking at the world with photographer’s eyes is an exciting way to see things – new opportunities pop up just about everywhere. And honestly, where could I put Belle’s cute little face so that she wouldn’t look adorable? Nowhere, obviously. :)

 

If you met Belle for the first time, you’d never guess that she’s 12 years old! Those bright eyes (not to mention her desire to run everywhere and explore everything!) make you think she’s a puppy! But no, she’s actually a very youthful senior dog.

bichon photo session

 

 

Love that smile! This was one of Belle’s first trips to the beach!

bichon frise

 

 But really, the purpose of this session was for Christmas card photos. Belle has always been the star of her parents’ yearly holiday card, and as they moved to San Diego this year, their friends all asked them “Will Belle still be on your Christmas cards? Will you take her to the beach for Christmas photos?” So that’s what we did – and here’s one of my early favorites from our holiday-themed photos!

bichon frise photo session

 

 

Ginger & David, thank you for a wonderful session with your incredibly well-trained dog! Belle is such a cutie… I can’t wait to show you the rest of our photos! :)

Senior Dog Photography in San Diego: Molly the Jack Russell

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014

Molly is an adorable and much-loved senior dog who lives with her family in northern San Diego! She’s 12 years old, and was her parents’ only child for five whole years before they had a little girl… and to be honest with you, when I heard that, it hit pretty close to home, since Mr. Shamrell & I have had Bailey for almost five years now too – with no human kids on the horizon quite yet! :)  So I completely understood how much Molly means to her parents, and it was simply lovely to spend a bit of my afternoon with this wonderful family!

 

Molly is ball-obsessed. Seriously. She LOVES tennis balls… and I’m told that her favorite place to stock up is at Earthwise Pet Supply!  I met Molly’s family for the first time at an event there a couple of months ago, and they told me even then that she loooooves to play with tennis balls. In fact, this expression is pretty much all you see on Molly’s face when you’re in the backyard with her; one of her favorite things in life is to play (especially with her dad) and she always seems giddy with anticipation for the next throw of the ball! How cute is that big grin?!

senior dog rancho santa fe

 

 

We eventually convinced Molly to take a quick break from fetching & gnawing on the ball to relax on the couch… but I think she just wanted to get back to playing again! Contrary to what you might think, “senior dog photography” doesn’t mean that we rest & lay down the whole time… for Molly, it’s just the opposite! (She may have slowed down a bit in recent years, but she is a Jack Russell terrier, after all!)

senior dog photography

 

At one point, after realizing that all of us wanted the ball back from her, she wandered into the bushes and “hid” the ball there! Haha! It was so cute… “What ball? I don’t have anything in here!” What an innocent face…

senior dog photo

 

Kathy & Kieran, thank you for inviting me to your gorgeous house to meet Molly! I had a wonderful time with all five of you – and I can’t wait to see you both again soon! :)

 

Dog Photography in the Park: Session with Rusty, Cleo & Tucker

Tuesday, October 7th, 2014

I shared a fun & beautiful photo session with three little dogs recently – and two of them might look familiar to my regular blog readers! If you saw Cleo & Tucker’s blog post a few months ago, you already know how adorable my subjects for this session are – and this time they brought their friend with them, a dachshund named Rusty! I arrived at our park location and was greeted with a cacophony of barking & yipping, as all three dogs were waiting anxiously to get started! And indeed, they all posed for the camera like little champs. (Even Rusty, the “newbie”, haha!) It’s a good thing Cleo & Tucker were there to show him the ropes…

 

We met in beautiful San Dieguito County Park, in Solana Beach. It’s a dog-friendly park, and a perfect spot for photo sessions. I don’t ever recommend doing photo sessions in dog parks, but parks that are dog-friendly (just not specifically for dogs) are perfect! Dog park photography sessions would include dozens of other dogs in the photos, and it’d be near impossible to get & keep my subject’s attention… whereas parks where dogs are welcome (sometimes even when they’re off-leash!) are typically less crowded, better-maintained & better spots overall! So thanks to my clients for trusting me when I discourage them from dog park photography, for aesthetic reasons… even if the dog park is their pup’s favorite place in town!

 

This is Tucker, the goofball of the group. He’s a chihuahua mix and I just love his larger-than-life ears. He may not be the smartest dog in the group, but like his mom says, “it’s a good thing he’s so cute!” haha!

dog photography park session

 

 

 This is Cleo, the queen of speed! She’s completely ball-obsessed, and definitely put my action photography skills to the test… look at that focus! Cleo would play fetch until she collapses; there’s no “off” button on this girl!

dog park photography

 

 

 And this is their friend, photo-session-first-timer Rusty! He’s 11 years old, and has a bit of a distinguished old soul spirit that somehow combines with the fun-loving nature of a dachshund… he was so much fun to work with! I know he means the world to his mom, and I absolutely loved meeting & photographing him!

dog park photography

 

 

Robbi & Cyndi, thank you for a lovely afternoon in the park! I had a fabulous time with you & your dogs. I can’t wait to see you both in the studio again soon!

 

Vacation Beach Dog Photography Session

Sunday, October 5th, 2014

The other day, I received a message from a lovely person who happens to live in Arizona with her two dogs. At first I was confused – but it turns out, they would be vacationing in San Diego the following week, and wanted to have a photo session to commemorate their time here! How fun is that?!

Vacation photo sessions are a growing trend these days; photographers will follow families around Disneyland, or join couples as they explore Paris. Many high-end beach resorts offer custom photography as an in-house service. So I suppose it was only a matter of time before I heard from a visitor to San Diego, since we’re A) a fabulous vacation destination, and B) one of America’s most dog-friendly cities!

I was thrilled to meet Daisy (a German Shorthaired Pointer) and Duke (an English Pointer) in Del Mar for their photo session – and they were thrilled about all the birds that were nearby! These two have hunting drives like you wouldn’t believe, especially Daisy. But I was able to snag their attention for a few photos, and we had a great time playing in the grass and the sand!

 

This is Duke, who was actually on a leash at the time. Both dogs’ instincts to chase the birds were so high that their mom didn’t feel comfortable taking them off-leash; so we didn’t! Safety first! (This is the sort of thing Photoshop was made for, haha!)

beach dog photography

 

And this is Daisy, the huntress. I’m sure there’s a bird or two out there in the water!

beach dog photo session

 

 We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset on the beach that night. I just love these dogs’ powerful silhouettes.

beach pet photography session

 

It was such a pleasure to meet all of you, Gaby! Can’t wait to see you again soon! :)

 

Spring Valley Pet Photography Session with Bridgette the Miniature Poodle!

Friday, October 3rd, 2014

I shared a lovely & intimate Spring Valley pet photography session with Bridgette the poodle and her parents recently! I describe it as “intimate” because we spent the whole session at their house; I simply adore when images are so personal that they feature my clients’ pets in the places they love the most. And Bridgette decided to show me her bed (okay, technically it’s her parents’ bed) and backyard, the two spots where she spends most of her time!

Bridgette is a mama’s girl, in every sense of the word. When she felt like our photo session was moving too fast, she would retreat to mom’s feet and politely asked for a quick break from posing. It was so sweet to see… they have an incredibly close relationship, and I loved photographing the bond between them. Bridgette is not technically a puppy anymore – in fact, she’s been by her mother’s side for over a decade. People describe dogs as “loving” and “loyal”, and Bridgette is a shining example of that incredible canine devotion!

 

Like I said, Bridgette loves her mom more than anything, but I think grass comes in at a close second! She was constantly “snacking” during our session, haha!

spring valley pet photography

 

 

Bridgette is in her happy place. Clearly.

spring valley pet photography

 

 

Oh, Bridgette… those eyes. That personality. I can barely handle it.

spring valley pet photographer

 

Thanks again for a lovely afternoon, Carla & Stephen! I can’t wait to see you both again soon. Give Bridgette a hug for me! :)

 

 

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