Posted on July 30, 2012 in Animals, Black and White, Pet Photography
My blog post featuring an American English Coohound the other day was titled “Houndy” because the breed is said to have a “Houndy” look to them. Well, in that case, I’m naming this post “Poodley”, because if ever a dog had a “Poodley” look…it’s this one! Um…possibly because it IS a poodle, right? I’m thinking the top knot of hair might be a little too tight as this pooch seems to be squinting ever so slightly! 🙂 I had a great time yesterday at the Bald Eagle Kennel Club show in Bloomsburg, Pa. I visited with old friends, met new ones, saw a lot of beautiful dogs, and was even given the opportunity to be a part-time leash holder again!! Whoo hoo! This time I was invited to hold on to “Princess”, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, while her mom and sis went into the show ring. We had a nice little chat that kind of went like this: Me: “Mommy will be right back Princess. Good girl Princess. Yes, that’s mommy in the ring. She loves you and will be right back. Yes, I love you too Princess. Good girl.” Princess: “Where did mom go? Why did she leave me here with you? I want to go into the ring too. Can I jump on you please? Can I sniff every dog in sight please? Do you have any treats? Ooooh, here comes Mommy! I knew she wouldn’t forget about me!” Fun times!
Posted on July 28, 2012 in Animals, Black and White, People, Pet Photography
What goes on “behind the scenes” at a dog show is often as much fun as the action in the ring! Dogs that win ribbons in the show have the opportunity to have their photo taken with their handler and the judge who awarded them the ribbon. It’s usually a pretty straightforward process with the photographer directing the handler on where and how to set up the dog for the photo. Generally the photographer has any number of toys that he tosses off to his left to get the dog to look in that direction and then…..SNAP!….the moment is captured with a photo! This particular Brittany had an entire entourage of folks who were “helping” the photographer to get the dog to look in the right direction. Once the scene was set, there were 3 or 4 people with toys all calling the dog’s name, waving their arms – anything to get the pup to look at them. The dog may have been new to the show scene and in need of the extra help. It was funny to watch as generally there is not this much fan fare surrounding the photo shoot with the judge!
Posted on July 20, 2012 in Animals, Black and White, Pet Photography
I’ve photographed Australian Cattle Dog, Hedi, a number of times at various shows this year. She’s a beautiful dog and has matured so much in just the few months that I’ve been watching her. Each time I see her in the ring, I try and find new ways of photographing her to vary the images a bit. Today I was editing images from a show in June and came across this one [above] of Hedi that I fell in love with. She was standing under the tent with her handler, Jack Secrest, waiting to go into the ring. The light outside of the tent was very bright, thus blowing out the background. My favorite images seem to be those that are the most simple. Below is another photo of Hedi from last month.
Posted on July 17, 2012 in Animals, Black and White, People, Pet Photography
This image is clearly about emotion for me. It doesn’t matter who the girl is or what breed of dog I photographed. You can just FEEL the love between them! For the record, it’s a Golden Retriever and the image is from the Bryn Mawr Kennel Club show last month. This is the part of dog shows that I truly love! It’s the bond that you see between the owner and/or handler and the dogs! It’s just……well…….magical!
Posted on July 14, 2012 in Animals, Black and White, People, Pet Photography
That’s the canine version of an Afghan of course!