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Archive: ‘just for fun’



Dog Days of Summer 2012 – the First Annual Event!

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

When I was first asked to be on the planning committee for Dog Days of Summer, I had NO IDEA what a huge event and ridiculous amount of fun it would turn out to be! (Plus, all the planning meetings at La Hacienda Mexican restaurant were pretty delicious/wonderful too.) We designed the day to be similar to the Gulf Breeze Pet Fest or Pensacola’s huge Barktoberfest, but with one big difference: all proceeds would benefit the American Cancer Society. Human & canine cancer is so prevalent and any donation we could make would be worth the effort – so after several months of planning, August 18 was the big day! And guess what: the results are in, and we raised over $1000 for the American Cancer Society! YAY!

 

This post is full of just a few dogs from that day who stopped by to say hello! These photos will also be used to make a 2013 calendar, the proceeds from which will also benefit the American Cancer Society. (If you keep scrolling down, you’ll see some of the funny themes and props we put together for each month!) Stay tuned to the blog and the Facebook page for more info on how to get your copy!

 

Let’s start with a photo of the head organizer’s dog! This is Rusty, Becky’s boy, and he’s only about a year old – but I photographed him when he was a tiny puppy! It was so much fun to see him “all grown up” and much bigger than I remember!

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

This pomeranian is appropriately-named Bear.

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

This is cute little Dixie the basset hound!

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Serious contender for cutest puppy at the event: Fiona the shepherd mix. I think she looks a bit like my Bailey! And WHAT a smile!

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Rocky is another one of the organizer’s dogs – you really should check out Premier Pet Grooming if you’re in Milton!

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Here are two Boston terriers, Odie & Charley. Adorable!

Photo of two dogs at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Conway is a chug (chihuahua/pug mix), don’t you love that underbite? And Sonny the lab mix will help us introduce the many props and costumes for each month…

Photo of two dogs at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Ha!

Cinco de Mayo themed photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Stiff competition to win the month of May is Bitsy the chihuahua, and at 17 years old this little trooper is also one of my past clients!

Cinco de Mayo-themed photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

For October/Halloween we have Dozer the Therapy Dog, who has a super-busy Facebook page! He’s pretty famous!

Halloween-themed photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Oliver helps represent the month of July…

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Bear is Becky’s grand-dog, and he let us wrap him up in red tulle for December/Christmas! Look at that sweet face. That’s a rottweiler stocking to the right of him.

Christmas-themed photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Easter/April brings us to Briana the shepherd…

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

and also Goose! Can you believe this puppy-faced Golden retriever mix is actually 10 years old?

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

One of my personal favorites: Georgie may just have a lock on March/St. Patty’s Day!

St. Patrick's Day-themed photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Mardi Gras beads look great on Rascal… I love the little bit of tongue!

Photo of a dog at Dog Days of Summer 2012 in Milton, Florida.

 

Whew, there are a TON of photos in this post! But if you can’t get enough, check out the full day’s gallery here: http://proofs.allisonshamrell.com. More importantly, a HUGE thank-you goes out to everyone that came on the 18th, whether it was for several hours or just a short time! We really appreciate your support, and 100% of your donation went to the American Cancer Society! Thank you so much – and be on the lookout for more info about next year’s event!

 

 

Fun Products for Your Digital Images

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

I’ve been excited about this blog post for a long time, and finally had a few spare minutes today to put it all together! I’m thrilled to introduce you to Pinhole Press, a fabulous provider of “beautifully simple photo gifts”!  You know I think photos speak louder than words, so here are a few samples of their work (featuring Daly & Kaylee):

 

High-quality paper and book products made from consumer digital photos.

 

Books, notepads, professional-quality prints…

A collection of paper products made from digital images.

 

As a professional photographer, I’m happy to provide my clients with the digital images from their session. We live in a digital age, so I know the files will get plenty of mileage as screen savers and Facebook albums – but at the same time, I know all too well that photos on a disk can stay right there. On the disk. And never leave it! Honestly, there’s no good that can come from having your digital photos and never DOING anything with them! But the most accessible (and cheapest) places to get photos printed are from pharmacies & big box stores that, unfortunately, can’t turn out quality prints on a consistent basis. So I kind of shudder a bit every time someone mentions getting their photos printed at a nearby shop, because I just know they won’t turn out like I see them on my monitor or as they would with one of my professional labs. They won’t look their best. So here’s the quandary: keep photos in the digital world and never turn them into anything, or turn them into cheap prints that’ll fade & lose their luster in a few years? Yuck. Neither!

Lucky for me, Pinhole Press stepped up to bat and provided a solution that THRILLS me and keeps my clients really happy too! They are a professional-quality lab open to consumers – and they make a lot more than prints! You can see in the examples above & below that they have an awesome, diverse product lineup. Everything they sell is high-quality, of course, but just as importantly, their printing processes reliably and consistently turn out perfect colors & exposure from your digital images. Having your prints made at a cheap place (and all the risks you take with that) is no longer your only option! So to see all the product choices you have, click on this link and prepare to be awed. Here are a couple of  products you might like:

A small brag book with fabric covers and ribbon closures… (featuring Barkley)

Small brag book, a product for which to upload your digital photos.

An accordion card (yes, you can drop this in the mail!) with Beckham’s handsome face.

Accordion card for digital photo use.

 Here are my Photo Notepads :

Honestly, the paper quality is outstanding. They’re made of Mohawk Fine paper and completely environment-friendly. Um… have I said enough nice things about Pinhole Press yet? Haha – I just re-read this post and I think I’m on the verge of sounding like one of their employees…! But really, I’m careful about recommending anything, especially here on the blog, because I’d hate to point someone toward a negative experience. The good news is I have the confidence in Pinhole Press to introduce them to as many people as possible. (oh – and they have a Facebook page too) :)

Here’s the link one more time: www.pinholepress.com  So, past clients: take your photos from our session and turn them into accordion cards and photo pads! Or, heck, grab your photos from your point-and-shoot camera that you took while on vacation this summer; you don’t have to use professional images to take advantage of this resource. Let me know if you have any questions – but you probably won’t, since their website/creation process is pretty intuitive. So go forth and PRINT!

 

 

~~~

 

 

Edited for clarification: I do not sell any Pinhole Press products to my clients. (although sometimes I give them to my clients as gifts!) All the prices listed on the site are consumer-based and available to anyone.

In addition, if you clicked on the links above (as opposed to Googling “Pinhole Press”), upon creating an account, you’ll see a pre-entered “photographer’s code”. Don’t worry, even though you’re not a photographer, you’re perfectly allowed to use the code. That’s there simply so that Pinhole can track where their customers are coming from, and there are no special privileges/differences that go along with it or if you’d like to go without it.

Doggie Birthday: Bailey Turns 3!

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

Sunday, June 10th was a big day in the Shamrell household: Bailey turned three! Does this mean she’s no longer a “puppy”? Oh who am I kidding, I’ll always call her my puppy! :)  (Side note: she’s 21 in dog years, so we’ve ordered a few age-appropriate beverages for her that’ll hopefully arrive soon!)

We celebrated the occasion with two walks, plenty of treats, a new knuckle bone, and CAKE! I spent the previous day in Ft. Walton Beach at the dog boutique 3 Dogs & A Chick, so really, I had very little choice in the matter. Their cute cake designs were just staring me in the face. I had to get one for her. They let me choose the color scheme, so I asked for the confetti sprinkles (because they’re fun) and pink writing, because Bailey’s a very girly dog. She is! – all her dog-sitters comment on how ladylike she is, and plus she’s so gosh darn pretty, so pink was a natural choice. Oh, and the cake is peanut butter flavored!

So in case you missed the album I posted on the Facebook page, here are a few shots of the cake… it’s so gorgeous I couldn’t help myself but photograph it.

 

Photo of a dog's birthday cake in the delivery box.

 

Photo of a dog's birthday cake that reads "Happy Birthday Bailey".

 

Photo of a dog-safe birthday cake that reads "Happy Birthday Bailey".

 

Photo of a dog's birthday cake.

 

Photo of a dog's birthday cake.

 

Photo of a dog's birthday cake with confetti sprinkles and pink icing.

Sometimes I love the details so much, that I think about being a product photographer… but then again I think those photographers must have a TREMENDOUS tolerance for boredom, because really, there aren’t any living creatures in their work! Just thinking about spending all day with inanimate objects (instead of dogs) induces a yawn. So I guess product photography is not for me.

 

Okay, there is a story behind why Bailey looks semi-miserable in this photo. We got her up in the chair, and the cake was in front of her all ready to go, and what do I do? Strike a match to light her candles, of course! But I didn’t even think that it might scare her (which is embarrassing) because she has no reaction to our outdoor tiki torches or any other fire I can think of… but I guess the actual creation of the flame was what spooked her. So she jumped out of the chair in a panic, poor thing. We finally got her back up and slid the cake in front of her, but she looked SO sad – the only way I even got her ears up was by saying “wanna go for a walk?” which of course we weren’t going for at 8:00 at night, so I guess that makes me even MORE of a terrible mom, taunting her with a walk. Sigh… so we took one halfway-decent photo and let her escape the terror of the dining room table.

Photo of a dog with her birthday cake.

 

She also had ice cream, which was the initial favorite – she licked it up quickly!

Photo of a dog's birthday cake and dog-safe ice cream.

 

After cutting the cake into quarters (because it’s HUGE) this is what our freezer looked like. Pretty awesome freezer if you ask me! :)  (And yes, those are the TGI Friday frozen dinners in the background… we think they’re delicious so don’t judge!)

Photo of dog birthday cake and ice cream in the freezer.

 

Here’s Bailey’s plan of attack for the cake: lick the entire exterior, THEN start nibbling. She didn’t tear into it, as I imagine many dogs would. Here’s a quick video showing the beginning of the process…

 
And here’s a longer video showing her dainty way of getting into the knuckle bone I wrapped for her… it was her main present because she loves these things, they are her absolute favorite toys, and it’ll last a few months no problem. It was fun to see her discover it so cautiously!

 

Happy birthday, Bailey – you’re a blessing to our little family and we’re ridiculously happy we found you. Here’s to plenty more birthdays with you!!

 

Pensacola’s 8th Annual Wiener Dog Races

Monday, April 16th, 2012

This past Saturday (April 14, 2012) was a beautiful day, with plenty of sunshine and a constant breeze – perfect weather for racing! Pensacola’s Wiener Dog Races are in their 8th year, and personally, I was pretty impressed at how organized and systematic the event was: there were divisions for every weight class (from 5 lbs all the way up to 20+ lbs) and each race was exciting! And to top it all off, proceeds from admission and food sales went to support the Florida Dachshund Rescue, a fantastic group of people that rehabilitate and re-home dachshunds in need. It was a fantastic day – check out all the fun we had in this video!
 

It was great to meet everyone there – and congrats again to the winners!

 

Foster Puppy Mustang!

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

If you’re a fan of the Facebook page, then you already know the big news: we have a foster puppy! His name is Mustang (love that name!), he’s 3 months old, and we think he’s a husky-lab mix. I’m about to gush over how cute he is, but here’s the most important part of this blog post: Mustang is looking for his forever home. He’s adoptable through the Junior Humane Society of Pensacola and you can reach them at 850-968-3260 if you have any questions. I can personally attest to his fantastic, loving personality. He’s got a great little spirit and would love to spend half his days romping around a nice backyard, and the other half snuggling up to you! This boy really is a snuggler.

 

(Side note: regular blog readers will notice the different way I’ve included vertical photos: now they’re side-by-side! I hope this will make them easier to scroll through… I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!)

 

We started out the week with a bath, poor guy. I think for a few minutes he regretted leaving the Jr. Humane Society.

Foster puppy takes a bath and looks very sad.

 

 

I think he was in shock/disbelief. But he was a few shades whiter when he came out of the tub!

Foster puppy takes a bath and looks very sad.

 

These photos made quite a splash on Facebook… isn’t he adorable? (Trust me, the second photo is 100% Mustang!)

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

 

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

I love those little forehead wrinkles. Maybe he has some pointer in him?

 

His favorite pose. Seriously, this is all day long. He’s all about the belly-rubs.

 

His “big sister” may have taught him how to pose…

 

 

I can’t get enough of his NOSE!

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

Arguably one of my favorite things about puppies: their head tilts are frequent and easy to get!

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

I think he looks cynical here… “Really? I got the crazy foster mom with the camera?”

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass.

 

Foster puppy lab husky mix having fun outside in the grass, black and white image.

 

 

If you have any questions about Mustang, please ask in the comments or contact me directly. He’s SO much fun and the sweetest little boy! I know he’d love to meet you!

 

 

 

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