Monthly Archives: October 2007

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Fergie at Olympic Sculpture Park

October 30, 2007 – 7:34 pm

Moments after doing a shoot recently at the Olympic Sculpture Park on Seattle’s waterfront, I decided I just had to have photos of Fergie there as well, so I ran home and picked her up and ran back. I think it took me all of 15 minutes to get home, get back, and park. I love living on Queen Anne!

Since I don’t often photograph my little doggie gal, I try and squeeze in special times for me to shoot her. She had been so good that week (I think it was 2 weeks ago??), and I wanted to get her out to have fun. She loves the OSP (and so do I), and as you can see it was a beautiful day, so that is where we went.

I love her soooo much sometimes it hurts. I revel in how cute she can be. I ask her “how did you get so cute? Were your parents like that? Did you learn this behavior?” How could anybody not love this face?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first I thought “the leash has got to go” because I am big on photos without distracting junk. But then I thought, you know, it looks kind of cool like that, in the upside down question mark. So I left it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

another “how did you get so cute?” shot…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

love the ears and the paws. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this is a shot (below) where flash would have come in handy, to lighten up those deep pools of eyes. But I just can’t bring myself to fire a flash in a dog’s face, plus I can’t stand the look of even fill flash.

I have seen a small number of very talented pet photographers use outdoor fill flash to their advantage, where you can’t tell flash was used, but I have yet to invest any time into a) researching whether or not flash is safe for animals’ eyes (my primary concern) and b) how to get bright outdoor fill-flash photos that look totally natural. Not totally opposed to trying it but still on the fence.

Flash or no flash, I still love this photo of the Fergster. I actually also love the light falloff on the edges from the filter. Probably not so much for client shoots, but for me, yeah, I like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More photographs to come this week! I did a new favorite shoot this past Saturday at Discovery Park with an amazing family and their beautiful dog Abby. The colors in the park and Puget Sound were beyond incredible and I am excited to share the images.

And I also finished with Gus, Pez and Grace’s decopaw art and will post that as well.

Have a terrific Tuesday! :-)

By doggirlseattle | Posted in Fergie, seattle dog photography | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)

That’s The Spot massage therapy for dogs- Seattle

October 29, 2007 – 7:36 pm

I’d like to introduce you to my dear friend Andrea’s new business, appropriately called That’s The Spot massage therapy. I know Andrea because I used to be her dogwalker, and her dog Gypsy is the namesake of my business. Andrea and I have become friends over the years, and I am so excited about this new path she is on.

She quit her job at an insurance company and decided to follow her dream- providing massage therapy for animals. Andrea’s company vision goes beyond therapy; she is skilled in the overall health and wellbeing of our furry friends, and is truly a healer and educator.

Andrea is one of these rare people who has a very stable, gentle, calming spirit. She helps ADD people like me feel more relaxed just by being in her presence.

Although she hasn’t been in business even a year yet Andrea is already receiving rave reviews. Check out the yelp review of Andrea’s company That’s the Spot.

So if you need massage therapy for your pet (and we all do! see her site for all of the many benefits massage provides) please give Andrea a ring and be sure to tell her Jamie ‘Cowbelly’ sent you. Oh- and say hi to Gypsy for me. :-)

P.S. This post is the start of a regularly featured pet business on this blog. I know so many really terrific pet industry friends who own fabulous businesses, and want to be able to share them with you on a regular basis.

I will also be featuring a regular pet product, something really cool that is maybe a little bit obscure, that has enriched my life, and/or the lives of people around me.

By doggirlseattle | Posted in Cowbelly Family, miscellaneous randomness | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Lulu & Oliver- little ‘beasties’

October 29, 2007 – 2:35 am

I have been wanting to share these images for a couple of weeks now, but have been swamped with shoots and art proofs, so I am making it a goal to try and catch up on blogging, and post some content-rich posts this next week, starting with these guys tonight.

This is Lulu and Oliver. Some of you may recognize them. They are the August models in my 2007 Decopaw art calendar. I had never actually met them in person, havingworked with a pre-existing image for their (2006) art piece, so this was the first time I had the pleasure of actually shooting them.

They were 2 of my attendees at my last Beautiful Beasties event at the Pike Place Market. I had a blast during our shoot and was thrilled to finally see them ‘live and in person’.

It’s always so remarkable to me to see a dog or cat in person after spending hours working up their static image into art. I have that static image firmly ingrained in my brain, and when I see them moving, and being animated, and ‘live’ it is always such a trip, and just awesome!

Here are my favorite shots of Lulu & Oliver:

Oliver, on Rachel the pig, with a really funny look on his face (yeah, he’s saying “what is wrong with you human people”, lol). I love the guy on the right. The people in these Pike Place shots always make them more dynamic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lulu looking like a little vagabond alley dog. I love shots like this. Cute little dog in the big, tough city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dancing Dogs. Normally I’d toss a shot like this, but I think it’s cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I personally love the kind of weird, abstract black and white images. The shots that usually only appeal to me, lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who ever knew such a little dog would have such a big, long tongue?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE the following shot of Lulu. Believe me when I tell you I have had dreams about it. Why do I love is so much? Let me count the ways:

  1. the color of the sky
  2. the flowing shapes of the clouds
  3. the pastely-cyan-grey colors of the buildings, sky and waterfront
  4. the serene look on Lulu’s face
  5. the way the scene draws you in to her eyes (and nose. and cute little mouth.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was using a new filter for my camera that day, and it did really cool things to the colors. Speaking of filters, I never mentioned this, but I did a really stupid thing recently. During my shoot with Dozer at Gasworks park, I set my camera down on the grass (why? I don’t know- because I’m an idiot I guess), and stepped backwards ONTO MY CAMERA. I cracked the filter, necessitating a quick trip to Glazers on a Saturday afternoon (a horrible time to go there), to pick up a new filter before my next shoot, which was just an hour later. Along with the basic glass filter I got my new fun one, and that is what I used here. I guess that after all was said and done, the filter cracking accident was worth it. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed Lulu & Oliver! :-)

By doggirlseattle | Posted in Events, Private client shoots, seattle dog photography | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

You’ve gotta have it: the 2008 ilee and Noisy Dog Studios letterpress calendars

October 24, 2007 – 10:24 pm

Now, I know I don’t normally write posts that have nothing to do with pet photography, but in this case I just had to share my finds.

You see, late last year I went to a craft fair at the Seattle Center with a friend. It was my first foray into the world of handcrafted goods or ‘the Etsy set’ as I like to call them. Although I saw lots of cute things there, there really wasn’t anything I felt that I couldn’t leave without buying.

Except for one little letterpress calendar.

It was a beautiful calendar, with lovely simple graphics just like I like, and it was only $20, but I was feeling grumpy and tired and indecisive so left without purchasing it.

Of course, by the time I got home I was kicking myself, and spent the next year off-and-on searching for a copy of the much coveted, sold out desktop calendar.

This past weekend, I was blog-surfing, when I totally randomly stumbled upon the calendar I should have bought one year ago.

The calendar is made by a gal who owns a small local stationary company called ilee, and she sells her letterpress goods on Etsy.

Needless to say that when I stumbled on her calendar page I think it took me all of 10 seconds to put it in my shopping cart, pay for it, and input shipping info. I am thrilled it is on it’s way and can’t wait to receive it!

Click the graphic below to go buy the calendar. But don’t hesitate like I did! This cute little letterpress calendar is featured on tons of blogs, including apartment therapy, so it will sell out fast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if you have your heart set on a desktop calendar that speaks to your love of animals and art, check out the beautiful 2008 desktop calendar designed by my friend Leigh Jackson of Noisy Dog studios.

Leigh put together a beautiful grouping of dog paintings she did last year, and threw some incredible graphics in with the art, in the yummiest of colors, and is now selling them as the lovely Noisy Dog Studios 2008 desktop Calendar. Click on the graphics below to go buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, if you’d like a really unusual and pretty way to display your new letterpress calendar, check out the desktop photo tree I recently purchased (also a long coveted item).


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite stores Uncommon Goods, Chiasso and Umbra no longer sell them, but after an extensive web search I found them here: RevDesign

OR, if you’d like something with a bit smaller footprint, check out the Sputnik Photo Ball below (click on image to go to Well Dressed Home):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, go get that new letterpress desk calendar, put it in a cute photo tree on your office desktop, and Enjoy!!

By doggirlseattle | Posted in Private client shoots | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)