Month: January 2012

60+ degrees in January in Pennsylvania … complete with sunshine!  What a perfect day to spend at the park…..dog park that is!  I wasn’t the only one who had that idea as the Bethlehem Dog Park was rocking & rolling with dogs of all shapes and sizes!  The pups were having a blast running and playing with new and old friends!  I met so many nice people and the coolest canines.  This is a 4-year old Spaniel mix who is just the sweetest little dog.  Some of the dogs were running non-stop and others just sat on the sidelines watching the action.  I’ll be posting dog park images for the next several days, so come back and visit to see some really awesome dogs!  Note to self….NEVER wear good clothes to a dog park.  I’m a muddy mess, but like one woman told me, “If the dogs are muddy then you know they had fun!”  I guess that applies to people, too!

“Okay, okay…..I PROMISE not to tell!  Dang, it’s so HARD keeping doggie secrets!”

Jen and Steve asked me to shoot their engagement photos, with the stipulation that some of the photos had to include their 3 Boxers.  Their dogs are a very large part of their lives as both Jen and Steve are handlers who show 2 of the Boxers – Viper and Pawnia.  Our shoot would include photos for their holiday cards and ‘save the date’ cards for the wedding.  I was honored that they trusted me with such important photographs!  We met one Sunday afternoon in late October and set up the shoot at a local lake which had brilliant Fall color and great shooting locations.  Of course, I shot hundreds and hundreds of photos of Jen, Steve and the pups in various locations around the park.  For the blog image above, I decided to have Jen and Steve sit on the ground and be surrounded by their dogs.  So picture this….we are not alone in the park as there are lots of people milling around, some people walking dogs, and of course the ever-present squirrels and chipmunks.  Getting these 3 beautiful dogs to pose and all look in the same direction was quite a challenge when there was so much activity going on around us.  None of the squeaky toys or treats were working to draw their attention away from barking at the dogs and squirrels!  I shot 111 images of this scene before I finally got the shot I wanted — nice smiles from Jen and Steve and all 3 dogs looking at me!  Thank goodness we’ve moved away from film and into digital photography! 

Great expression, don’t you think?  Black Cocker Spaniels….one of my all-time faves!