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Rocket the Havapoo Puppy

Saturday, February 29th, 2020

Rocket the havapoo is a dog who lives up to his name! He is 18 months old and simply a bundle of energy! We spent the first half of his photo session in his backyard, where he enjoyed generally bouncing around, energizer-bunny-style. This spot was specifically requested by his mom, and I’m glad she saw its potential – it turned out to be an awesome location providing plenty of nice greenery! And it’s completely fenced in, which makes it safe for a quick little guy like Rocket. In the backyard, he really loved playing with his toys. He’s mostly toy-motivated, not treat-motivated – which is relatively rare, as it turns out. And I would also describe him as affection-motivated – because he is head over heels in love with his mom! I loved seeing their bond and how he would bounce around the yard but always check back in with her, to make sure she was still there and (therefore) that everything was all right. And although treats come in third on the totem pole for this boy, one of his favorite edible rewards are peanuts. You heard that right – not peanut butter, just peanuts! That was a first for me to see, and I found it so adorable! I’m all for whatever makes your pup happy, and peanuts it was for Rocket! :)

For the second half of our photo session we headed to the local park in Encinitas where he was able to explore the fascinating walking trail with all its nooks, crannies and other walkers. Like I mentioned earlier, Rocket lives up to his name – he is quick as a flash, and in addition to that he’s ready to experience the world. I bet if he could choose any pastime, he would be a world traveler. Many dogs thrive off of routine and being home with familiar places – not Rocket. He likes those things, but I think he’d rather be out and about, discovering everything he can possibly get his paws on. (Such as children – besides toys and his mom, his other favorite thing to do is meet and play with little kids. Which made the park a very exciting place to be!) His mom definitely has her hands full, but she has done an amazing job training him – no small task with this energetic boy. But I have no doubt that he’s in the best possible hands, since they’re an adorable pair.


This is Rocket – can you even resist that face?!

havapoo dog


Rocket is a rocket. No joke.

havapoo action photo


But boy, is he a cutie or what? (Not pictured, just outside the frame: the object of his relentless affection, his mom.)

havapoo photo


Thanks for such a fun photo session, Rocket! Jessica, I’ll see you soon! :)

Stoney the Shepherd Mix, at Mission Bay & Fiesta Island

Friday, February 28th, 2020

If I had to describe Stoney in one sentence, I’d say that he is an old soul and an explorer at heart. Where’s his happy place? Literally anywhere outdoors – the beach, the park, the backyard – it doesn’t matter! He just wants to be outside, and I think it’s because that’s the best place to let his wild spirit roam free. :) But as much as he loves the outdoors, he doesn’t love strangers – which isn’t a bad thing at all! He absolutely adores his parents and is very sweet with them, but it took time for them to earn his trust. Since he’s a little more timid with people he doesn’t know too well, we decided to have his entire photo session outside where he had plenty of room to roam – and where he’d be happiest, of course! It turned out to be a great decision and we had an amazing afternoon out at Mission Bay Park and then later at Fiesta Island!

Before the photo session, his parents warned me that Stoney would most likely want to spend the entire photo session sniffing the ground, and it might be a struggle to get him to do anything else. Happily that was not the case! They also didn’t think he would care about playing with toys, but all of a sudden he brought out his inner puppy and was playing fetch, chasing a tennis ball and running around! We were a little surprised, since he’s a senior dog and doesn’t kick it into high gear too often… but Stoney was full of cute surprises! (And I’m glad he didn’t spend the whole time with his nose to the ground, haha!)

After our quintessential-San-Diego start to our photo session in Mission Bay Park, we headed across the bay to Fiesta Island to catch the sunset. Stoney had a blast, and in fact maybe he had a little too much fun: at one point we decided to let him off-leash as we had trusted him (mostly!) for a game of fetch. Well… he ended up careening past where the ball stopped and kept running off into the sunset! He was probably going to sniff around and see if he could find any rabbits, but once his parents caught up to him the poor guy lost his freedom and was promptly back on-leash. :) Another fun fact about this sweet, old guy is that he used to have one floppy ear. I guess as he got older it kind of grew straighter, and his mom mentioned that she was hoping his one floppy ear would reappear for photos. Thankfully it came out for a few photos and he looked absolutely adorable! One thing’s for sure – straight ear or floppy ear, he’s a cutie. :)

Stoney was more than happy to just be with his parents during the photo session and it was so nice to see the way he interacted with them. They’ve clearly done a great job with him and have an amazing bond! It was such a wonderful, fun afternoon.

He really does look good with that trademark floppy ear. :)

shepherd mix san diego


Mission Bay Park was a great place to start our session – plenty of grass to run around & lounge in. Stoney took full advantage!

shepherd mix photo


Oh San Diego… you’re so beautiful. But you look even better with this handsome boy.

shepherd mix dog


Cathy and Adam, I can’t wait to share the images we captured with you! See you soon!

Sasha, the Opinionated Yorkie from Fallbrook

Thursday, February 6th, 2020

You’re in for a treat today! Sometimes I have out-of-town clients and I am always so appreciative that they travel quite a distance to have a photo session with me. This time, Sasha the Yorkie and her parents drove all the way down to San Diego from Fallbrook, CA. Sasha’s mom loved the idea of a vintage feel to her photos – so of course we had to go to Old Poway Park!

It’s one of my favorite locations for a rustic, old-fashioned look, so I knew it would be perfect! And as diverse as the various settings in that park are, we were able to strike a pose in all of my favorite spots – because Sasha was such a dream to work with! Honestly, she spoiled me: we would ask her to sit, she sat. We would ask her to stay, she stayed. Seriously – what a dream come true. There were only a couple of things she would express an opinion about: first was whether or not she was tired of running for action photos. We would toss a tennis ball for her to fetch, and after a few times she would just stop and watch it roll away. So then we would toss it again and she would just look at us with a look on her face that said “no, guys”… so we would try again by tossing it much closer to her, and then she finally gave in as if to say “ok well… that’s close enough”. It was too funny – that clever girl was just conserving her energy, I suppose. There were also a couple of times we asked her to lay down in the grass and she pretty much told us no, that wouldn’t be happening. We thought well ok, that’s fine, on to the next thing – but later we wouldn’t even be asking and she would decide to lay down on her own. We asked her seriously Sasha? now!? Haha! She definitely has her opinions on what she will and won’t do, and I think it’s totally fair to let her be in charge of the photo session. :)

yorkie photo


yorkie running photo


But like I said, for the most part she’s happy to do whatever her parents ask her to do. She is a TOTAL daddy’s girl, but her and her mom make a gorgeous pair too! It was so sweet to see the bond between all three of them. After having a good time at the park playing fetch and posing, we headed to Del Mar Beach! She doesn’t go to the beach very often (Fallbrook, remember?) and this was her first time at Del Mar so she was naturally curious. She was also a little concerned about having her parents nearby! She wanted to keep track of them very closely and seemed like she just wanted everyone to stick together. Once again, she let us know if she was in the mood or not to fetch the ball – specifically when the ocean got involved! We threw the ball at one point into the water and she looked at us like you want me to do what?! No way! We tried getting her to walk towards the ocean and a wave came crashing and she just stopped, as if to say “I shall not do this.” It was quite funny!


yorkie with its owner


Another fun fact about Sasha – she’s a bilingual dog and knows commands in both English and Spanish. How cool is that?! Needless to say, I had a blast with her and her parents. Edith, I can’t wait to see you soon and show you the rest of Sasha’s portraits!

A La Mesa Family of Cats and Dogs!

Friday, January 31st, 2020

I recently had the honor of photographing a full house of lovely pets in La Mesa! In particular, three cats and two dogs at their gorgeous home and at a nearby park. We mainly focused on the cats being photographed inside the house even though the dogs, Poppy and Charlie, were super excited to get in on the action! (And I was excited to see them too, haha!)

Two of the cats, Bao and Botas, were ready for their close-up. It might have had to do with a little trick their parents used: fresh salmon! And it worked like a charm. They were more than willing to pose for the camera and get head scratches (and plenty of that salmon) as a reward. Whereas the third cat, Mama Kitty, basically wanted nothing to do with our silly antics. Salmon, head scratches, snuggles, nothing… she wasn’t having it. We did minimal photos with her – and that’s all right! (It happens sometimes! And her family knows she’s not the “jump-in-front-of-the-camera” type.) We were still able to get a few beautiful portraits and move on to our next location… much to Mama Kitty’s relief. :)

la mesa cat


la mesa cat


la mesa cat photography


We went to Briercrest Park in La Mesa, a nearby neighborhood park that I had never been to but immediately fell in love with! It was close to their home and provided an amazing atmosphere for their photo session. The park had little structures, grass, trees, pathways, bridges… I was so impressed by all the picture-perfect opportunities. What made it even better was that it was familiar territory for Poppy and Charlie; it was already their favorite park that they visit on a regular basis. So no need to sniff everything, explore all the nooks & crannies, etc – it’s practically an extension of their yard. This spot is definitely one I will want to keep in mind for future photo sessions!

Poppy and Charlie were very well behaved during their photo session, and were happy to do whatever we asked for treats. My favorite fact about these two fluffers: they are both from China! They were rescued from a terrible fate on the streets, and I have no doubt that their life couldn’t be better than it is today. :)


la mesa dog


la mesa dog photo example


Ellen & family, I cannot wait to show the rest of the images to you soon! Thanks for such a fun photo session!

Daisy, Hank, & Rusty – 3 Little Dogs from Mira Mesa

Wednesday, November 20th, 2019

I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter family to work with than the Stone family! They were such a pleasure to get to know, and during the session they were up for anything! I really appreciated how they were willing to go with the flow and listen to what the dogs needed and wanted to do during our time together. I always try to go into photo sessions with a plan, but often times the plan simply falls apart – which is nobody’s fault of course, that’s just dogs being dogs doing what they want to do! (And usually we end up with something much better than my plan anyway, haha!) But their willingness to just “roll with it” made this photo session a whole lot of fun. Maybe that made things a little chaotic at times, but I think this session serves as proof that sometimes it doesn’t look like much is “happening” to the bystander; it probably doesn’t feel or seem like we’re creating artwork. But oftentimes all the elements come together in the final images, and I am definitely loving these results!

They chose a great spot in Mira Mesa that I’ve never been to before (which was super exciting for me, haha)! It was a community park that was totally deserted – so. much. fun. We were able to play fetch on the baseball field, run around in the grass, and watch the dogs just let loose!

Daisy is the only girl of the pack – girl power! She is a little fireball and is the one who likes to live life at HIGH speed. She was super excited to be at the Mira Mesa park to play fetch. And oh man… she can really move! I was totally impressed by her athleticism. If I had to guess, I think playing fetch and running around in the empty field was her favorite part of the afternoon by far. This girl loves her tennis balls!

dog in mira mesa park


And Daisy wanted to make sure you know how much she loves chasing her ball – so here she is just moments after the above image!

dog running in mira mesa


Her brother Hank is a little cutie too! He is a Chihuahua mix and allllll personality. He has this sweet-and-sometimes-sassy little attitude that somehow comes through no matter what he’s doing. He is not shy about what he wants and doesn’t want! And he was a joy to be around, even if he did keep me on my toes. :)

mira mesa chihuahua


And last but certainly not least, they recently adopted a new dog named Rusty. He is a beagle who has lived his whole life in a laboratory. Unfortunately, beagles get tested on a lot for different products, and Rusty hasn’t had the easiest or happiest life. The good news is is that these days if he’s enjoying himself you can hardly even tell what he’s been through! He’s a total sweetheart and really enjoys being around people. He’s happy when meeting new people and a lot of things are going on and he gets to be social and explore. I love that about him – talk about giving the world a second chance despite what has been done to him! I think he is just amazing and so is his family for adopting him and giving him a life full of love. He’s fitting in really well with his new family – in fact, he has been given the award of #1 couch potato! If he can’t be out meeting new people, his idea of a good time is sitting on the couch, relaxing. (Can’t say I blame him, haha!) So the fact that we were out in the park in Mira Mesa for a photo session… nottttt really high on his priority list. He was a little slow to get into the rhythm of things – but as soon as we got to Balboa Park he absolutely came alive! His tail was just wagging and he was even “high stepping” a little bit. It was an immediate difference – so cool to see!

beagle dog


Thank you Katherine and Neil for a lovely afternoon with your 3 amazing dogs! I can’t wait for you to see all of our images soon!

 

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