About

Tag: ‘park’



Missy the French Bulldog Puppy

Wednesday, February 6th, 2019

I know what you’re thinking: “A French bulldog puppy? Isn’t that one of the cutest little breeds ever?” I totally agree – and I know Missy’s mom does too! Meet Missy, the most adorable four-month-old Frenchie. With her unique coloring and confident personality, she was an absolute joy to photograph!

We created these images at Presidio Park, where Missy happily got to run around, chew on sticks, smell all the smells and hang out in the flowers. She was so agreeable and was happy to pose just about anywhere or anyhow for me – in exchange for a treat, of course! And given her young age, I have to admit that I was incredibly impressed by her mom Robin and her training skills. At just a few months old, Missy has already come so far. She already knows commands like sit, come, and we even trusted her for a brief period to be off leash. She always came running right back to either one of us when we called! It was amazing, and just goes to show the strong bond that Missy and her mom are forming as she grows.

I think Missy’s favorite part of the session may have been the very end when she barked her sassy bark and got to use my finger as a chew toy. But I didn’t mind – I would never be able to say “no” to that face! (She must have been full of treats at that point, haha!) But the whole session was fabulous, since Missy was completely happy just being able to explore – never too far from her mom, of course. We had a blast that afternoon!


This is Missy. Yes, she really is that cute in real life.

frenchie puppy photo


A puppy who can sit & stay?! Pinch me!

french bulldog puppy sitting


Not pictured: the flower she chomped on before posing for this photo. Flowers aren’t food, silly girl! :)

frenchie puppy in flowers


Robin, thank you so much for introducing me to your adorable new addition! I’m looking forward to showing you the rest of our images soon! :)

Archie the Australian Westie, from La Jolla!

Monday, January 7th, 2019

Archie is an incredible dog. I’m excited to introduce you to him for various reasons, not least of all because he’s beaten the odds so many times! I would say he’s part cat, but I’m pretty sure we’re well past 9 lives by now. Archie has survived near-death experiences, multiple attacks from other dogs, and just about every other harrowing close call you can imagine. (I seem to recall his mom telling me a story about Archie being swarmed by poisonous frogs…?) Honestly I don’t know how his mom isn’t entirely white-haired by now. Archie is from Australia – I think they make dogs tougher “down under” than they do here, because HELLO, the outback!! – and he brought his tough Aussie spirit to live in La Jolla with his sweet family. He’s the oldest child of the family, and to be honest it was a little hard to pick photos of just Archie for this sneak peek since most of the photos from our session also feature his two human brothers! Archie adores them both, and did his best to “protect” them from all the dogs & passers-by in the park during our photo session. But despite his guard dog instincts, all in all he’s a remarkably easygoing dog, and an adorable part of his family. Spending the afternoon with Archie was lovely, so it’s my honor to introduce him to you today!


Honestly, who can resist that little westie face?! He’s such a cutie!

westie


I’m pretty sure he’s contemplating his next adventure… which he promptly went on seconds after I took this photo! He had our hearts racing as he explored a little too close to the edge of the rocks… but then he came happily trotting back, content & unbothered as could be. Archie, thanks for the glimpse of what life with you is really like… but can you please give the close calls a rest?!

westie dog in la jolla


At the end of the day, it’s clear that he always beats the odds so he can come back to his mama. He loves her so much.

westie snuggling

Susie & Sam, thank you for introducing me to your daredevil dog! I’m so excited to get together with you again soon!

Bella, Sidecar & Auggie – Two Australian Labradoodles & a Sphynx Cat!

Tuesday, November 13th, 2018

It’s not very often that I get to work with cats and dogs in the same photo session – and it’s even rarer for them to all visit my studio together! So I was absolutely thrilled to meet Bella, Sidecar & Auggie recently, because they travel as a family! :)

Bella & Sidecar are Australian Labradoodles, and Auggie is a sphynx cat – so cue the extra excitement I had for this photo session, because I absolutely love working with breeds that you simply don’t meet every day! And these animals didn’t disappoint; they all had distinct personalities & unique quirks that became clear during our session… they may all belong to the same family, but they’re each so different!! So let me introduce you to them, one by one…

 

This, of course, is Auggie! He’s a confident young boy, and he loved exploring every square inch of my studio. We convinced him to hang out on the backdrop with a few toys – thank goodness his hunting instinct is so strong, haha! As a result we ended up with a few action photos that I’m pretty excited about, but at the end of the day, some of my favorite portraits we captured are of his calmer moments. He’s absolutely stunning!!

sphynx cat studio photo

 

Then we visited Old Poway Park! (Auggie came too, but he preferred to hang out in his carrier while we explored the park.) This is Bella, the more confident of the two Australian Labradoodles. She was camera-ready within minutes of starting our session, and I simply loved all the unique expressions she sent my way! She’s a cute little lovebug and the camera absolutely loved her (I did too, let’s be honest).

australian labradoodle photo

 

And this is Sidecar, Bella’s brother! Unlike his siblings, he made sure that we took our sweet time when it came to his solo portraits… the camera was NOT his favorite thing. (And by “not his favorite thing” I mean he was terrified of it.) Regardless, I have a few tricks up my sleeve – so I was thrilled when Sidecar eventually relaxed and revealed his happy smile!

australian labradoodle picture

 

Brother and sister. They’re so adorable.

Australian Labradoodles

 

Jinhee, thank you so much for introducing me to your family! I’m so excited to get together again soon & show you the rest of our images!!

 

Tillie the Golden Retriever, at the Park in San Diego

Wednesday, October 31st, 2018

New plan:

  1. Invent a cloning machine.
  2. Clone Tillie.
  3. Photograph her every day.

Sounds like a great plan to me! ;)

Tille the 1-year-old red golden retriever is an absolute sweetheart, a mama’s girl and a dream to photograph. Like any good golden, she loves her parents, her tennis ball and treats – and happily enjoyed plenty of all 3 “rewards” during our photo session! We started at San Dieguito County Park in Del Mar, where fetch was first on Tillie’s list. And Tillie doesn’t play fetch like most other dogs: she brings the ball back about halfway to the person who threw it. Not the whole way – so fetch is truly a “team sport”, haha! We even decided to take her off-leash as we played, to really allow her to let loose and run with abandon… and she was mostly a good girl with her newfound freedom! Although the park was a big & interesting place, her attachment to her parents (and also maybe her love of treats) brought her back to us every time. Good girl, Tillie. We spent the rest of the sun-drenched afternoon in the grass, relaxing and snuggling, and Tillie posed like a total pro. (Was she a model in a past life?)

 

She loves fetch!

red golden retriever playing fetch

 

I’m absolutely loving the backlighting on her coat… I know that’s a nerdy photographer thing to say, but I think it lights her up like a full-body halo! So pretty!

red golden retriever sitting

 

I think a smile is her natural, resting expression. Even when we ask her to sit in weird, thick succulent-esque bushes.

happy red golden retriever

 

We eventually headed to a different park for a completely different look – Old Poway Park has railroad cars, old wooden doorways and all kinds of fun things to explore. Tillie hopped right up on this rock and took in the view, as if she was princess of the park!

red golden retriever

 

Nicole & Jerad, thank you for introducing me to your sweet girl! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our portraits soon – Tillie did a great job! :)

 

Brando the Gorgeous German Shepherd

Friday, October 12th, 2018

Some days I work with dogs that have no boundaries, no obedience, no manners – and while it’s not exactly ideal, we can still have a great session. Things just tend to move a little slower when dogs don’t have a sense of obedience.

Brando is NOT one of those dogs!!

Brando is probably the most well-trained German shepherd dog that I’ve ever worked with! He’s an accomplished Schutzhund athlete, and if you’re not familiar with the sport, it’s an incredibly involved & complex activity that requires various levels of cognition, skill & self-control. And something tells me Brando is going to be a champion one day – he’s incredible! He did a few Schutzhund tricks for me during our session, and quite frankly, it was downright amazing to see the way he works with his mom. She’s his handler for all his Schutzhund activities and clearly all the tricks and skills they’ve worked on together have helped form a beautiful bond between them. And then – it’s the cutest thing – once he’s done “working” with mom, he switches to playtime mode when he’s with dad! The frisbee comes out and they have a ball playing fetch and letting Brando run around Mission Bay Park. Seeing the strong, unique relationships Brando has with both of his parents was simply awesome!

 

What did I tell you?! Gorgeous.

german shepherd dog

 

We definitely let loose once the frisbee came out!

german shepherd catching frisbee

 

(I’m going to steal Brando. Don’t tell his parents.)

german shepherd

 

 

Linda & Brian, thank you for introducing me to your incredible dog! I had such a great time with all of you! :)

 

 

All Images Copyright | Blog Theme Created by LJP & SLR Lounge