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Tag: ‘San Diego pet photography’



Senior Dog Photography in San Diego: Molly the Jack Russell

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014

Molly is an adorable and much-loved senior dog who lives with her family in northern San Diego! She’s 12 years old, and was her parents’ only child for five whole years before they had a little girl… and to be honest with you, when I heard that, it hit pretty close to home, since Mr. Shamrell & I have had Bailey for almost five years now too – with no human kids on the horizon quite yet! :)  So I completely understood how much Molly means to her parents, and it was simply lovely to spend a bit of my afternoon with this wonderful family!

 

Molly is ball-obsessed. Seriously. She LOVES tennis balls… and I’m told that her favorite place to stock up is at Earthwise Pet Supply!  I met Molly’s family for the first time at an event there a couple of months ago, and they told me even then that she loooooves to play with tennis balls. In fact, this expression is pretty much all you see on Molly’s face when you’re in the backyard with her; one of her favorite things in life is to play (especially with her dad) and she always seems giddy with anticipation for the next throw of the ball! How cute is that big grin?!

senior dog rancho santa fe

 

 

We eventually convinced Molly to take a quick break from fetching & gnawing on the ball to relax on the couch… but I think she just wanted to get back to playing again! Contrary to what you might think, “senior dog photography” doesn’t mean that we rest & lay down the whole time… for Molly, it’s just the opposite! (She may have slowed down a bit in recent years, but she is a Jack Russell terrier, after all!)

senior dog photography

 

At one point, after realizing that all of us wanted the ball back from her, she wandered into the bushes and “hid” the ball there! Haha! It was so cute… “What ball? I don’t have anything in here!” What an innocent face…

senior dog photo

 

Kathy & Kieran, thank you for inviting me to your gorgeous house to meet Molly! I had a wonderful time with all five of you – and I can’t wait to see you both again soon! :)

 

Dog Photography in the Park: Session with Rusty, Cleo & Tucker

Tuesday, October 7th, 2014

I shared a fun & beautiful photo session with three little dogs recently – and two of them might look familiar to my regular blog readers! If you saw Cleo & Tucker’s blog post a few months ago, you already know how adorable my subjects for this session are – and this time they brought their friend with them, a dachshund named Rusty! I arrived at our park location and was greeted with a cacophony of barking & yipping, as all three dogs were waiting anxiously to get started! And indeed, they all posed for the camera like little champs. (Even Rusty, the “newbie”, haha!) It’s a good thing Cleo & Tucker were there to show him the ropes…

 

We met in beautiful San Dieguito County Park, in Solana Beach. It’s a dog-friendly park, and a perfect spot for photo sessions. I don’t ever recommend doing photo sessions in dog parks, but parks that are dog-friendly (just not specifically for dogs) are perfect! Dog park photography sessions would include dozens of other dogs in the photos, and it’d be near impossible to get & keep my subject’s attention… whereas parks where dogs are welcome (sometimes even when they’re off-leash!) are typically less crowded, better-maintained & better spots overall! So thanks to my clients for trusting me when I discourage them from dog park photography, for aesthetic reasons… even if the dog park is their pup’s favorite place in town!

 

This is Tucker, the goofball of the group. He’s a chihuahua mix and I just love his larger-than-life ears. He may not be the smartest dog in the group, but like his mom says, “it’s a good thing he’s so cute!” haha!

dog photography park session

 

 

 This is Cleo, the queen of speed! She’s completely ball-obsessed, and definitely put my action photography skills to the test… look at that focus! Cleo would play fetch until she collapses; there’s no “off” button on this girl!

dog park photography

 

 

 And this is their friend, photo-session-first-timer Rusty! He’s 11 years old, and has a bit of a distinguished old soul spirit that somehow combines with the fun-loving nature of a dachshund… he was so much fun to work with! I know he means the world to his mom, and I absolutely loved meeting & photographing him!

dog park photography

 

 

Robbi & Cyndi, thank you for a lovely afternoon in the park! I had a fabulous time with you & your dogs. I can’t wait to see you both in the studio again soon!

 

Vacation Beach Dog Photography Session

Sunday, October 5th, 2014

The other day, I received a message from a lovely person who happens to live in Arizona with her two dogs. At first I was confused – but it turns out, they would be vacationing in San Diego the following week, and wanted to have a photo session to commemorate their time here! How fun is that?!

Vacation photo sessions are a growing trend these days; photographers will follow families around Disneyland, or join couples as they explore Paris. Many high-end beach resorts offer custom photography as an in-house service. So I suppose it was only a matter of time before I heard from a visitor to San Diego, since we’re A) a fabulous vacation destination, and B) one of America’s most dog-friendly cities!

I was thrilled to meet Daisy (a German Shorthaired Pointer) and Duke (an English Pointer) in Del Mar for their photo session – and they were thrilled about all the birds that were nearby! These two have hunting drives like you wouldn’t believe, especially Daisy. But I was able to snag their attention for a few photos, and we had a great time playing in the grass and the sand!

 

This is Duke, who was actually on a leash at the time. Both dogs’ instincts to chase the birds were so high that their mom didn’t feel comfortable taking them off-leash; so we didn’t! Safety first! (This is the sort of thing Photoshop was made for, haha!)

beach dog photography

 

And this is Daisy, the huntress. I’m sure there’s a bird or two out there in the water!

beach dog photo session

 

 We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset on the beach that night. I just love these dogs’ powerful silhouettes.

beach pet photography session

 

It was such a pleasure to meet all of you, Gaby! Can’t wait to see you again soon! :)

 

Spring Valley Pet Photography Session with Bridgette the Miniature Poodle!

Friday, October 3rd, 2014

I shared a lovely & intimate Spring Valley pet photography session with Bridgette the poodle and her parents recently! I describe it as “intimate” because we spent the whole session at their house; I simply adore when images are so personal that they feature my clients’ pets in the places they love the most. And Bridgette decided to show me her bed (okay, technically it’s her parents’ bed) and backyard, the two spots where she spends most of her time!

Bridgette is a mama’s girl, in every sense of the word. When she felt like our photo session was moving too fast, she would retreat to mom’s feet and politely asked for a quick break from posing. It was so sweet to see… they have an incredibly close relationship, and I loved photographing the bond between them. Bridgette is not technically a puppy anymore – in fact, she’s been by her mother’s side for over a decade. People describe dogs as “loving” and “loyal”, and Bridgette is a shining example of that incredible canine devotion!

 

Like I said, Bridgette loves her mom more than anything, but I think grass comes in at a close second! She was constantly “snacking” during our session, haha!

spring valley pet photography

 

 

Bridgette is in her happy place. Clearly.

spring valley pet photography

 

 

Oh, Bridgette… those eyes. That personality. I can barely handle it.

spring valley pet photographer

 

Thanks again for a lovely afternoon, Carla & Stephen! I can’t wait to see you both again soon. Give Bridgette a hug for me! :)

 

Sunset Cliffs Pet Photography Session with Peanut!

Thursday, September 25th, 2014

This Sunset Cliffs pet photography session was a very relaxed, slow-paced session… because that’s Peanut’s regular speed! You see, Peanut is almost 15 years old, and she doesn’t move terribly fast anymore. That’s okay, of course – she’s earned the right to go slow! :)  Peanut is a total sweetheart, and a classic “Heinz 57” mix of breeds. (Which is to say that there’s no telling what kind of dog she is!) She lives with her parents in the Ocean Beach/Point Loma area of San Diego, just a few blocks away from Sunset Cliffs. Se we started our session in Peanut’s backyard, amidst familiar surroundings & lush, comfortable grass, so Peanut would be completely comfortable. And then we headed out to the cliffs, her favorite walking spot! She showed me “the arch”, and we even got to see a few teenagers take a flying leap! (As a non-native to San Diego, I was pretty impressed, until Peanut’s mom told me that everyone makes that jump when they’re young, haha!) We enjoyed a picture-perfect sunset together, and I think Peanut really enjoyed being the center of attention. (When I didn’t give her a treat fast enough, she would eventually start barking at me! Old dogs have attitude too!)

 

I love it when senior dogs smile.

sunset cliffs pet photography

 

She struck a regal pose for me on Sunset Cliffs…

sunset cliffs pet photography

 

… and eventually we found a cute old fence and a gorgeous sunset sky to pose in front of. Peanut moves slowly these days, but that’s okay – that happy smile & those floppy ears are worth the wait! :)

sunset cliffs dog photo

 

 

Thanks for a lovely afternoon, Denise & Robert! :)

 

 

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