Here is the official and somewhat boring blurb:
Cowbelly Pet Photography is a Seattle-based business established in 2003, that specializes in fun, candid, expressive location dog and cat photography and custom modern dog art. Serving individual clients in Seattle & environs and nationwide, as well as commercial and editorial clients worldwide.
“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Woofs” is the company trademark, and the business is owned by photographer Jamie Pflughoeft. Jamie has been shooting pets for 8+ years: 3 years as a hobby and 5 professionally with her business Cowbelly Pet Photography. She works full time as a pet photographer and lives in the beautiful city of Seattle within spitting distance of the Space Needle.
Jamie doesn’t shoot weddings or events or babies or children; just pets (85% dogs; 15% cats.)
For more information on Cowbelly Pet Photography, check out the main website here:
And the more interesting stuff:
Just so you know, this is written by me- Jamie Pflughoeft (”flew-hoff”), owner of this fine photography business. What can I tell you about myself? Well, I think I have kind of an interesting story.
After leading a very successful career as an adventurer/slacker in my 20’s, and doing things like falling in love in France, snowboarding down some of the West Coasts best mountains and becoming immersed in the Seattle punk rock scene, I decided to finally join the ‘real world’ and finish school and get a ‘real job’. The end of school came and with it a horrible economy. No real job in sight. So I stuck with my part-time job that served me well at school at the UW- that of a dog walker and petsitter. During my furry forays into the pet care world I learned that great photographs could be gleaned from just a short time spent with an animal. With an old Pentax film camera in hand and some black and white film, I set out to capture the funny candid moments shared between furry roommates and myself, in backyards and bedrooms, bathrooms and patios, all in the Emerald City and all of animals.
So over time I created a silly little portfolio, and showed it to only a few friends and petsitting clients, and when I got ’stuck’ in life, as one often does after graduating from an illustrious educational insitution, a friend who knew me well suggested I turn my ‘hobby’ into a ‘business’. “Is that even a job?” I thought, until I realized that yes indeed it was a job, and one that I already loved doing. Then I was all over it like a bee on honey. And so were my 2 clients and all of their friends.
In July of 2003, on a shoestring with a meager $500 loan, a converted basement closet as an office that was prone to flooding, cheap homemade business cards with a generic logo, and a client list of 2, I officially started Cowbelly Pet Photography. It has been a long road to get to where I am today- lots of work, many all-nighters, some late-night phone calls to the parents “rent is due tomorrow!”, a couple of full-on burn-out stages and lots of mistakes and trial and error, but now I have a business that I am really proud of. I no longer have that closet/office, I finally have a place of my own, I lease an office in one of the most beautiful photography studios in Seattle, I have a fantastic assistant who helps run the business and takes care of all of the things I don’t have time for, I have a client list that is much longer than 2, a consistent waiting list for new shoots and art, and a network of friends, clients and colleagues that fills me with warmth and joy every day. And that I did it all on my own (no spouse! no savings! no severance check! yippee!) makes me even more proud.
As I mentioned above, I don’t do any other photography besides pet photography- or related to pets in some way. 85% of my shoots are dogs. I dabble a little in editorial photography for CityDog Magazine (did you see the summer 2008 cover? With the pugs? That was mine, whoopee!). I also do some commercial photography (check out the dog food bags in a certain major retailer- photos by yours-truly!), and supply images for stock. But please don’t get me wrong- I am #1 a dog lover, and #2 a photographer. My love of dogs could never take second place to anything else.
I have an extremely busy schedule (a behind-the-scenes look would shock you!), am constantly on the go, and am a very passionate person, and by that I mean I feel intense joy about life and take great pleasure in the small things- there is so much I find fascinating. I love my dog Fergie more than life itself. (Come on, did you see her picture above?). I have an eternally curious mind, I love meeting people, I love helping people, I am a vehement defender of the underdog and highly value integrity, kindness and compassion. Being a friendly person goes a long way in my book.
I cry over commercials (can no longer watch that Sarah McLaughlin commercial about the HSUS), I love to snowboard, and create art in some form (check out my Decopaw: modern dog art), I have some serious skills in the interior design department and I wish I could cook but I am sadly no domestic goddess. I could program my microwave with my eyes closed.
I love animals more than anything else in life, and am grateful for every day I get to run this awesome business doing what I adore.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy life to check out my blog and my business. Welcome. 
