52 Project - Blur

I will enjoy a BIG glass of wine with dinner tonight!  For this weeks 52 Project i was relying on my Jersey girl being her usual naughty self.  She had other plans.  When i saw that this weeks theme was Blur i instantly knew what i planned on doing!  I wanted to capture Jersey's crazy mane in full flight as she does a big shake - the speed my 5d syncs up with my strobes is 200ths of a second which in Pet photography terms isn't nearly fast enough for most things but for getting a cute little nose in focus while the rest of her is blurry & full of action it's purrrfect!  I started off by popping a few drops of water in her nose . . .nothing.  Then a bit more on her forehread and a few dabs on her back . . . .she lay there.

Then she lay there some more  . . .

if you've ever met Jersey you'll know it's IMPOSSIBLE to get her to sit/lie/stand still for ANYTHING!  Even if she's sitting for a treat, if you take too long she lunges at you with her mouth wide open - she meant business.  This ordeal took up over 2 hours of my lifeeeeee!  I ran a shallow bath and put her paws in and dribbled some water on her back.  Wrapped he in a towel & carried her over to the backdrop.  SHE JUST SAT THERE!!!  The most movement i got out of her was this little roll around.  If you use your imagination you can almost see my what i mean by using this ext image as an example :p

Then while she lay there looking sad she let out a sad little squeek :(  I felt AWFUL.  So i sighed a big sigh, decided what i had would have to do & turned off the strobe & put the camera on the floor.  I rolled over to her to give her a cuddle & tell her i love her & what do you know - she jumped up & shook the dirty Jersey water ALL. OVER. ME.    

I do love her. . . despite todays performance. . . or lack thereof.

Oh yes, i will enjoy my wine tonight.  Please head on over to the fabulous Steph Skardal to see if her gorgeous pups did what their Mum told them to!!  As always, keep clicking on the links until you end up back here :D

52 Project - Week 7

It's Friday AGAIN!  Of course being Good Friday I had the day free to have a little outing with the boy and puppies all in the name of the 52 Project!  This weeks theme was Landscapes - Steph Skardal chose this weeks theme based on that she saw that most of us will always shoot up close, blurring out the backgrounds and making the shots as 'portrait' like as possible.  We headed out to a little bush track near our place & i tried my very best to encorporate the surrounds into my picture - it's tricky!  I'm so used to making the background irrelevant & using a full frame camera with a 35mm lens is brand new to me!  I do love this lens though & i'm going to try and make sure i find a way to positively include the surrounding environment in my shots whenever it's possible :)  I took a few in different spots but this one is my favourite.  Jersey couldn't help but run over to lick Alfie's tongue for the photo - it normally goes on to cleaning his teeth for him as well but i'm fairly certain that does not a pretty picture make ;)

Here's my babies - being themsleves on one of the last hot days we'll be having for a while :)

Head on over to the Blog of Blue Amrich to see what pretty picture she came up with & keep following the links until you end up back here :)

More Adoptables!

Here's the 2nd edition of the wonderful pups that are waiting at the Mandurah K9 Rescue for someone to take them home & love them forever.  

Aussie was very shy when he first came out to play but once he got into that Office he was in his element.  Aussie would be best as the only dog and needs someone who has the time & appreciation he so deserves. 

This young lady goes by the name Bonnie.  She stole my heart in the 10 minutes i got to spend with her.  I sincerely hope the lucky person who ends up with Bonnie appreciates her for every minute of every day that they have with her.  There's something very special about this girl & it took every tiny bit of my sensible brain (and all of Aidan's sensible brain) to talk me out of bringing her home to meet Alf & Jers.  If Wanneroo council would allow it - she'd be here with me right now. 

I passed Mackie quickly while he was on his walk & oh the cuteness!!!  Mackie has a couple of stitches in his foot which is why he has the flattering cone on but he'll be good as new in no time :)

 If these beauties don't seem to be your perfect match, head on over to the K9 Website and see if any of the many many many others might suit your lifestyle :) 

Please share this blog with your friends on facebook / mention it to your brother/auntie/grandma/neighbour or better yet head on out to the K9 Rescue and come home with a new best friend!

K9 Rescue - Adoptables!

I was so incredibly thankful to be given the oppotunity to head down to Mandurah & take some pics of the many Dogs available for adoption at the K9 Rescue Group.  Teresa is the K9 President & she is so incredibly passionate about what she does.  I could not have possibly felt any more welcome or appreciated by her & the amazing volunteers that care for & love these dogs every single day.  As we got the tour, i became more & more heart broken at the truely beautiful dogs that need to find their forever homes.  Not one of them deserves to be there but thankfully most of them do not seem to mind.  They're treated with so much love & respect at the shelter that compared to where some of them have come from, they probably feel like the luckiest dogs in the world.  I'll be heading back to the Rescue every month to have a photo session with a new group of dogs & be posting their pics on here - much like people, a good photo can make all the difference to how you're percieved ;)  

First up, we have Andy.  Teresa was quick to mention Andy's name when i asked if there was any particular dog she really wanted me to photograph.  Andy is a Poodle/Maltese mix & is incredibly sweet boy.  He's almost 8 years old & would make a brilliant companion dog.  I think Andy would appreciate a cuddle on the couch & nice little garden to sniff.

Next up, we have an icredibly special little girl.  Ruby is deaf.  She is incredibly alert though & has no problem communicating with her trainers.  The volunteers tell me she would be a brilliant indoor dog & lets you know when she needs to go out to the toilet.  She sits & gives paw politely for treats and would definitely appreciate snuggles & love.  She's 3 years old & has the most beautiful face & sweet gentle nature.

We didn't get time to do a proper shoot with this little man but i dare say these two pictures are all anyone will need to see ;)  Digger is so cute i can't even imagine how he's ended up here at his age!!  The sweetest little doberman pup i ever did see :)

If you think you're the perfect match for Andy, Ruby or Digger, contact the K9 Rescue on 9581 9005 or head on over to their website & see more of the Dogs that are waiting for somebody special to take them home & love them forever.  

There's some more amazing dogs to come so check back here in a few days - for now, please head on over to Petography's Facebook page, "like" us & share this blog post with all your friends to help these dogs find the homes they truely deserve.

52 Project - Week 6 - In Their Element!

This week's 52 Project was "In Their Element".  I got thinking about all the gorgeous little things my Alf &  Jers do that make them so special but Jersey went & made up her own little story for this week. 

Be sure to click the link at the end & follow the blog ring back here :)

When little Jersey came into our life she was so little & cute, it was very hard to imagine she could ever make us mad at her.  She had been taken home by a vet nurse after all the other puppies from the litter were sent off to loving new homes and nobody wanted Jers.  The vet nurse had rescued an older cat a few months earlier & when the cat stopped eating due to the new addition she knew she had to give the new pup up.  My brother called me about her & Jersey came to see us & meet Alfie the very next day.  Although she was she size of Alfie's paw she showed no fear and went straight for his ankles - Alfie just stood there staring at the fluff ball attached to him & gently started playing with her.  It was perfect.  Jersey was home.  Almost 2 years on she has grown much bigger than we imagined she would & to this day she STILL gets too excited and bites poor Alf's feet.  Alfie still just accepts her the crazy way she is & they are toooooo sweet together.  Jersey is the boss.  Whilst Alfie wants nothing more than to please us day in day out, Jersey seems to think her purpose is to rip the insides out of ANYTHING that she can get hold of.  

This week we decided that as the cooler months are coming, it would be nice to move the dogs Futon (settee, couch, lounge depending on where in the world you are) outside so they have something nice & warm to lie on under the alfresco.  BAD MOVE.  Even though this futon has been their bed for Jersey's entire lifetime apparently it did not belong outside & Jersey told us so!

This matress was HEAVY - Aidan & i dropped it several times whilst moving it because it weighs a tonne! Apparently that's no issue for our little mighty mouse!





The ringleader was no doubt the Jersey Girl - but she used Alfie to get that down!!

Poor Alf - he's such a push over.

 

 But of course - in no time we give in.  Naughty she may be, but that little face is too sweet to stay mad at.  And while she'd never admit - she was proud of herself!

Alfie we know she talks you into it - but you have to stand up for yourself sometimes!

Before we came home & spolied all their fun i have no doubt that both of them were indeed "in their element!!"  and boy would i love to see a video of it!!

Head on over tp the AWESOME Claire Baxter at Fetch in Dallas Texas to see what her gorgeous Dogs are up to!!

Week 5 - Perspective . . .

This weeks 52 project theme is Perspective . . 

When i'm shooting dogs i like to get up close . . i find it really strange to try and get close intimate pictures of dogs if i can't touch them.  The only time my long lens comes out is if the dogs are shy, or distracted & i need to take more of an 'observer' position.  I've never not used my trusty 50mm for a session & i'm honestly yet to find a dog who is bothered by how close my camera gets to their face.  I talk to the dog the whole time & make funny noises to get different expressions & I always get the close up face portrait i want.  This is different to when i shoot people . . i mean, would you be intimidated by this ??

Jersey is certainly not ;)

Head on over to Blue Amrich's Blog & see her take on perspective :)  Keep clicking on the links & you'll end up back here!  Have a super weekend everyone :D 

52 Project - Week 4

Soooo this week's 52 Project theme was Self Portrait!! I had all kinds of wonderful ideas planned but got a bit tied up with editing photos after a shoot with 12 Bulldogs!  If you're new to the Blog you should know that each Friday a group of Pet Photographers from allll over the world each link blogs to create a creative pet filled blog ring for your enjoyment :)  At the bottom of this post you can click on the link to another Pet Photographer & keep going until you get back here :) 

I set myself and the dogs up in the media room - mainly for the comfy couch!  I set the self timer & got the dogs in position . . not so successful it turns out!!  First of all i cut my own head out of the shot :/   THEN Jersey decided it was a game to race me back to the couch once i'd pressed the shutter, tripping me up & ending up with a confused picture of Alfie by himself  . . the following two pictures are the only useable ones where a) i'm not blurry and b) the dogs are (more or less) in the frame with me! Haha - next time i'll be getting Aidan to press the shutter button!!

So now you know who's behind the camera. Head on over to Massachusetts (that's even harder to spell than it is to say!) where you'll find the blog of Blue Amrich Photography to see if she found this challenge any easier than me ;)