Posted on August 31, 2012 in Animals, Pet Photography
It was very humid last Saturday when I attended the Mid-Susquehanna Valley Kennel Club show in Middleburg, Pa. I probably minded the heat more that day than at any other show I’ve ever attended. It was easy to see that the dogs were minding the weather as well. I had a hard time finding dogs to photograph that did NOT have their tongues out. Since dogs don’t have sweat glands, they use their tongues as a cooling device to pant and help cool themselves. Here’s a very cute English Springer Spaniel that happened to wander in front of my lens for a close up!
Posted on August 30, 2012 in Animals, People
Look beyond this adorable Maltese and what do you see? I see all kinds of plaid … and stripes thrown in for good measure! The handler is wearing the navy plaid sport coat and the judge – oh the judge….a busy combination of a plaid sport coat, different plaid shirt and striped tie! Strange as it seems, I noticed the plaid clothing first when I decided to shoot this scene! I try to have the final composition in my mind before I take the photo and in this case, what I wanted to accomplish was having the beautiful white dog surrounded by plaid. Mission accomplished! A dog with a patterned or multi-colored coat in this scene would not have given me the “look” that I wanted!
Posted on August 29, 2012 in Animals, Pet Photography
One of the first things I do when I arrive at a dog show is buy a program book and browse through to see if any of my favorite dogs are entered. [Yes, I admit it, I do have favorites!] When I read through the Australian Shepherd entries at the Mid-Susquehanna Valley Kennel Club show in Middleburg, Pa. on Saturday, I saw the name “Ch. Wyndstar’s Honorable Mention”. Hmmm….that sounds familiar, I thought. Then it finally came to me that it was, Jack, of “Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred” fame! That’s the book written by Josh Dean about Jack’s adventures both in and out of the ring and I highly recommend that you pick it up – or download it – whatever works for you! It’s a great read! Jack and I got acquainted back in April at a show in Harrisburg, Pa. and so I was excited to have a chance to say hello to him [and his owners Kim and Tom] again! He gave me a doggie hug on Saturday and I took some new photos of him. This one is my favorite! Love you Jack!
Posted on August 28, 2012 in Animals, Painting Effect, People
He was seated ringside and it appeared that his mom was an owner or handler or both as she was preparing to enter the ring with a very cute dog. What an angelic face this little boy has! He seemed to be daydreaming when I took this photo. Possibly he was thinking about the day when he can become a junior handler and go in the ring with his furry best friend too! [Processing note – I added a bit of watercolor effect to this image.]
Posted on August 27, 2012 in Animals, Pet Photography
I fell in love with this image the second that I clicked the shutter! I was photographing this Bernese Mountain Dog – GCH. Jennycreek’s Lord Bacchus – who won the breed and was in the Group competition at the Mid-Susquehanna Valley Kennel Club show in Middleburg, Pa. on Saturday. His owner asked me to take a few photos and I’m so happy that I did! What a gorgeous dog! He’s staring up at the judge who is just about to put her hands on him for the first time. Sadly, he didn’t place in the Group, but he won my heart the instant that I saw him!