Tag Archives: st helena pet photography

Napa Valley dogs: Ruby and Buster Brown

November 13, 2008 – 1:23 pm

First off, wow, sorry this post is 5 days overdue! I am deep in the swing of photo shoots, art commissions, print orders and studio consults with clients. The holiday work has officially began, and like every year at this time, I am very very busy! Christina has her work cut out for her today with emails. :-)

My final California pooches I want to share with y’all are the sleek and gorgeous supermodel Ruby and her adorable ‘little’ brother Buster Brown. I photographed them at boutique winery David Fulton in St. Helena and we had a fantastic time. 

Ruby greyhound- retired racer.

Ruby and her little brother Buster the basset in front of the David Fulton Winery. Their parents drove them all the way up to Napa Valley from Orange County for our shoot. I felt so deeply honored!

It’s hard to believe but Buster was in a shelter near his southern California home for 4 MONTHS before he was adopted by his parents. He is a lucky boy now as they love him dearly. He is a daddy’s boy and 100% lovebug.

For those who don’t know, retired racing greyhounds make the very best pets. Believe it or not, most greyhounds are total couch potatoes, preferring to laze their days away in various reclined positions. They are the sweetest companions out there, and Ruby is no exception to this. 

We held a couple of races in the vineyards. Who do you think won? hee hee 

I love these shots of Buster (and the one above). He makes me so happy. 

Winery kitty (name unknown). Winery dog- Tucker. Tucker is awesome. 

Hope you enjoyed Ruby and Buster’s images as much as I enjoyed taking them!

I have lots more new dogs to share with you guys. Hopefully sometime this week I can get those new images online. Happy Thursday! :-)

By Jamie 'Cowbelly' | Posted in Private client shoots, Travel shoots | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (7)

Sonoma/Napa Valleys sneak-peek II

October 28, 2008 – 4:24 pm

Photography continued over the weekend on Sunday with a lovely sunny trip up to Healdsburg and my final shoot over in St Helena in Napa Valley. I LOVE St. Helena!

I’m still not ready to give a proper sneak-peek of the dog photos because uh, my apologies, but I am on vacation now and I’d rather focus on drinking wine and relaxing in the sun, than punching buttons on the laptop, lol. (Sorry Sarah, Daniella, Janelle and Tristan- you gals will have to wait! sniff…). But I will share a few environmental shots today to whet your whistle for more to come.

Post-tasting. Sacked out Healdsburg pooch in background.

St. Helena vineyards.

The boutique David Fulton Winery. The winery is pictured below, and the surrounding property is where we did my final dog shoot. On the side of the winery is a very large deck overlooking the vineryards and Napa Valley. A bunch of us (my client, her husband, the winery owner down the street, his wife, David and his wife, their son-in-law, gee, who am I forgetting? oh! the dogs- yes, 3 dogs!) sat out on the deck and drank wine and chatted about all kinds of things late into the evening. It was one of the best nights I have had in a long time, and reminds me of my time in southern France. MaryLee offered a place to stay for myself and my dad the next time we are in St Helena and you can bet we will be taking her up on it! I will definitely be back. A huge thank you to everyone there for making that night so special! And for the incredible bottles of wine you sent with us. We even took home a bottle so fresh that it didn’t even have a label yet! Wow, thank you thank you. :-)

It wouldn’t be California without palm trees. :-)

After we said our tearful goodbyes and left the David Fulton Winery we went over to Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen restaurant and had a fantastic dinner. I highly recommend to anyone who goes to the Napa Valley to check out Cindy’s. You will not regret it!

Last night we also stumbled on one of the best sushi places I have ever been to- Sushi to Dai For in old town Santa Rosa. We devoured our food like it was the last meal on earth, and the asparagus will forever hold a special place in my heart. I read mixed reviews on the place today but honestly those people must have been high, the food was SO good. 

We are currently staying at the gorgeous Vintner’s Inn, surrounded by vineyards. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed. I promise to share more images when I have more time! I’m off to head back out on the vineyard-facing balcony to do some relaxing in the late afternoon sun. Please don’t hate me! I have worked sooo hard for this little reward. :-)

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! I promise to drink a glass of wine for you! 

By Jamie 'Cowbelly' | Posted in Private client shoots, Travel shoots | Also tagged , , , | Comments (9)