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Cubbie the Golden Retriever Puppy and His (Human) Sister, Brooke! (Photos)

Monday, February 27th, 2017

Sometimes I think about how different photographers are… there’s a lot of diversity in our industry, and I happen to think it’s all for the better. For example: if you ask me to shoot a wedding, I will probably cringe and have nightmares. Weddings are NOT my thing! So I’m glad there are photographers out there who practically eat weddings for breakfast, no big deal. And likewise, if you ask a typical photographer to work with a golden retriever puppy and a 7-year-old girl, I think most of them would have a pretty similar reaction to my feelings about weddings, haha… but me? I was so excited to hear from Brooke & Cubbie’s mom! :)

Cubbie is a brand-new, 3-month-old golden retriever puppy who lives with his family in Tierrasanta. Brooke is his 7-year-old human sister, and I absolutely loved getting to know both of them during our photo session. Cubbie is still learning how to be a good dog (and that his sister’s headbands are not toys), and you can tell that Brooke is quickly learning how to be an awesome big sister. They already have so much fun together – and it won’t be long until they’re the same size, haha! (I think the breeder might have mistaken a mastiff for a golden retriever at some point in Cubbie’s heritage – he’s already huge for his age! He’s going to be one BIG boy!) We had lots of fun playing in their backyard for their photo session, and I’m already looking forward to the next installment of documenting Cubbie’s life with his sweet new family!

 

We started indoors, before getting a bit muddy outside. Just look at that handsome smile!

golden retriever puppy on couch

 

Oh come ON. He’s too cute for words. (Fun fact: he got his name because his dad is a Chicago Cubs fan!)

golden retriever puppy

 

“Whoever said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend never owned a dog.”  – Anonymous

golden retriever puppy and girl

 

Kristin, thank you so much for introducing me to your family! I’ll talk to you again very soon! :)

 

Elsa & Clio, Pomeranians from Solana Beach!

Wednesday, February 1st, 2017

Tap tap… is this thing on?

Welcome to my first photo session of 2017! Gah, I can’t believe it! I took most of January (and part of December) off from shooting to do some business planning and organizational work… and now I’m back behind the camera! And there was simply no one better to help me ring in 2017 than these two sweet faces! Elsa & Clio are two Pomeranians from Solana Beach, California. And while they aren’t exactly puppies, I don’t feel like I can legitimately call them “senior” dogs because they have sooooo much personality! Elsa is the boss, plain and simple; she always gets her way and won’t hesitate to make her voice heard, haha! Clio, on the other hand, is a sweet, sensitive girl who’s happy to let her sister have the run of the house. (Well, maybe “happy” is a strong word, but she tolerates is quite well.) Her only fear is slippery surfaces, like hardwood floors. But what both dogs have in common is a total devotion to their mom, Sara. It’s so sweet to see the 3 of them interact – they’re a tight-knit family and I absolutely loved spending the afternoon with them all!

 

This is Clio. If she wasn’t already adorable, her favorite treats are blueberries!

Pomeranian photo

 

And this opinionated pup is Elsa. (No, she wasn’t named after the Frozen character!)

happy Pomeranians

 

These two fluffers are the cutest pair!

Pomeranians in studio

 

 

Sara, thank you so much for introducing me to your sweet Pomeranians! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our images soon! :)

 

Koya the Border Collie Mix, and My Thoughts on Life

Thursday, December 15th, 2016

I’ve been thinking a lot about life recently – the different stages that you pass through in life, and how things change over time. And there’s a reason I’ve been pondering these things recently. Her name is Koya.

Koya is a 15-year-old Australian shepherd/border collie mix, who lives with her family in southern San Diego. When you see her today, you see a sweet old dog. She hobbles to get around, since bending her knees is tough to do, and there’s a generous amount of white fur that has accumulated on her face over the last several years. She moves slow and needs help getting up sometimes. If you meet her today, that’s what you see.

But Koya’s mom is happy to tell her whole story, and it might surprise you: she adopted Koya as a puppy when she was single & living in Canada, almost 15 years ago. And Koya was the perfect companion to her mom’s adventures. As a wildlife biologist, Koya’s mom (and eventually her dad, too) would go on multi-day escapades in the mountains, hiking trips that put my casual outdoor experiences to shame, and adventures in the wild that any dog would dream of. I can’t express how much I would have loved to know Koya back then: young, strong, energetic, and ready for anything. But I didn’t know her back then… I only got to meet this awesome dog in the sunset of her life. And that’s okay too – because I still had the privilege of seeing the love she has for her mom, and the rest of her family as well (including her almost-2-year-old human brother). And something tells me that love hasn’t changed a bit over time, no matter whether Koya happened to be young or old… so I feel like I got to know “young Koya” in that small way, after all.

 

We started our photo session in Koya’s awesome backyard, where Koya (slowly) showed me around her favorite spots.

border collie mix

 

This is Takla, a shepherd & maremma sheepdog (!) mix, Koya’s canine sister. She’s a sweetheart whose favorite hobby is getting belly rubs. Seriously, I think she spent the whole session thinking “why doesn’t this involve more belly rubs?” And trust me, she got several, haha – but she can never have enough! :)

sheepdog maremma mix

 

Koya, right next to her mom – exactly where she wants to be.

border collie mix

 

I couldn’t have chosen a better dog – or image – to be my last subject of 2016. :)

border collie sunset

 

 

Libby, thank you so much for introducing me to your wonderful family! I’m so excited to see you again soon. Merry Christmas in the meantime! :)

 

Riley the Goldendoodle Puppy – Part 2!

Tuesday, November 15th, 2016

Do you remember Riley the goldendoodle puppy from last month? Well, I’m thrilled to say that I visited this little girl AGAIN, for the second installment of her photo session! The only thing better than photographing Riley is photographing her twice!  :)

In a month, a lot has changed for this little muppet. She has discovered her teeth, and she chews everything – literally everything, including my camera strap, my camera bag, my hand, her mom’s hands, the grass, the flowers, pieces of tree bark… should I keep going? Exploration via chewing is definitely her favorite thing these days. And she has so much energy, too! You think chewing is a relatively “calm” activity? Riley is finessing her ability to chew while sprinting & jumping at the same time, haha! Our session took place over one extra-long spurt of energy, so we definitely ended up with our fair share of action photos… but for now, I wanted to share a few (fleeting) moments of stillness, because when Riley slows down enough to take a breath, I think she’s simply too cute for words.

 

What do you know? It’s a puddle of goldendoodle puppy.

cute goldendoodle puppy

 

I just love her little profile. She’s such a pretty dog! (And she’s either thinking very deep thoughts here, or she’s wondering what she can chew on next…)

goldendoodle puppy profile

 

And then we found flowers in the neighborhood! Riley was very interested in the new setting, but she still took a moment to pose for me in the gorgeous landscaping (sorry to the gardeners! she wasn’t too destructive, I promise!).

goldendoodle puppy

 

And finally – a moment of peace, at the very end of our session. Whew… I think Riley & I both needed a nap after this, haha!

goldendoodle puppy picture

 

Deb, thank you so much for inviting me to get to know Riley as she grows! I can’t wait to show you our images very soon! :)

 

North Park Pet Photography Session with Macaroon & Spreckles!

Thursday, October 13th, 2016

When I meet dogs named Macaroon and Spreckles, I just know they’re going to be sweet! :)

I had the opportunity to photograph these two adorable dogs during a recent North Park pet photography session, and they were absolutely wonderful to work with! They’re both Lhasa apso mixes, and our afternoon was relaxed, low-key, and full of cookies… they’re definitely food-motivated, haha! Old man Macaroon is a sweet dog who prefers to live life in the slow lane these days, and that’s fine by me – he was constantly by my side if I had the treat bag in my hands, and incredibly patient too. Spreckles is a younger dog and he’s got quirks for days; this goofy pup is definitely a unique character! His favorite things are also cookies, and his “babies” (toys) around the house, but sometimes he just likes to hang out under the bed. Hey Spreckles, whatever floats your boat!

We started our photo session at their beautiful & colorful house in North Park, which (I’m convinced) has the biggest & best backyard in the whole neighborhood! So we relaxed on the back patio for a while…

north park pet photography

 

Spreckles has the most incredible, soulful eyes… he may have a few silly personality quirks but he also seems to have moments of deep thoughtfulness, too. Such a fascinating subject to photograph!

north park pet photography

 

And then we headed to a secret location in Balboa Park – shhh, I can’t tell you where! – and let the dogs shine in living color! Macaroon’s sweet old smile just gets me…

north park pet photography session

 

Cindy, I had such a great time with you & your dogs! Thank you for a lovely afternoon, and for taking us to my new favorite spot in Balboa Park, haha! Talk to you soon! :)

 

 

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