And Now For Something Completely Different

In the last couple of weeks, I have been really busy with the photography business - photographing Goose and his mother, photographing a basset hound named Molly (whose photos will be posted when I finish processing them and get them off to her family), and photographing at the animal shelter.  All of which is good.  But it dawned on me today that I hadn't actually taken any photos of Fi and Abby in quite a while.

So, of course, I had to take the camera out for some frisbee action.

While we may not have much snow, some things never change....

Tomorrow it will be back to work on other photos, but it was fun to get some shots of the girls!

Back in the Studio

Not perfect, but a simple preset rather than a bunch of steps.....

A Little of This, Some of That

I spent a little time in my studio today messing around with lighting to see if I could get a white background.  I ended up with a bit of an electric background.  I think moving the strobes lighting the background further to the side of the background might help (the strobes are as low-powered as I can get them).  The other possibility is to get the front light bright enough that it offsets the bright background.    More tweaking will be required, but this is a better result than with continuous lights. I think....  I was able to use Lightroom to tone down the neon light background (the tone curve is my new best friend!), but I'd like to have my SOOC (straight out of camera) shots look more like these....

Practice, practice, practice.  Luckily, I enjoy it!  *grin*

I also got a few frisbee shots late this afternoon.  Our snow has almost completely vanished, but that doesn't seem to have slowed down the frisbee-crazed ones...

And what does Abby have to say about our abnormal lack of snowfall (and abnormally warm weather)?

Pfffth.

Goose

On Friday I had the opportunity to photograph Goose, a 15 year-old Weimaraner, and his Mom, Michelle.  BTW, 15 years old for a Weimaraner puts him way past being a 'senior' dog and moves him into the Methuselah category; while he's a little bumpy in spots and doesn't move as quickly as a young pup, Goose is very spry and alert for his age.  And he's a total sweetie.  He (apparently) doesn't really kiss anyone other than his Mom, but I was graced with a few smooches from Goose!   I have 'known' Goose through the miracles of the internet for several years now, but never met up with him, despite his being fairly local.  However, I have seen a lot of photos of Goose with his Mom, and Goose is a total Momma's Boy in the best possible way - his Mom is his whole life and he is hers.   I knew going into the shoot that the two of them share a very special relationship, and I was really hoping I could do the relationship justice.

I am still sorting through the photos, but I am very confident in saying I was able to capture the very special relationship Goose and his Mom share.

Saturday was Goose's 15th birthday, so I (of course) brought along some party hats.  Goose is vastly more tolerant of hats than Fi and Abby are - although I think Goose would probably do just about anything his Mom asked of him.

Do Goose and his Mom have a special relationship?  You betcha.  And I was lucky enough to witness it and capture it.

True love, and I am so thrilled I was able to capture these images.

I'm At a Loss for Words

Really.  What can you say about this?

Or this?

Or even this?

Other than possibly this makes my back hurt!

At least Fi caught the frisbee....

Herding Cats

Yesterday was another photo day at the Salt Lake County Animal Shelter.   They had a ton of cats that needed photos taken, and I set about herding cats.  Ten of them to be specific.  Unlike dogs who can usually be bribed in one manner or another to cooperate for photos, cats clearly think accepting bribes is beneath them.  So, I just let the cats do their thing and hoped for the best....  Which sometimes worked out, and sometimes not.  I actually have several more good photos of most of the cats that I'll post when I get to them (I've got a busy couple of days ahead of me), but I was trying to get something to the shelter as quickly as possible.

First up was "Cat 02" - he didn't have a name yet (Cat 02 was his kennel designation), and I believe he actually got adopted about 10 minutes after I photographed him  (his potential family asked me what I knew about the cats, and I was able to say he was playful and enjoyed cuddles - of which was true, and clearly a selling point for his new family).

With a face like that, you knew he wouldn't stick around long enough to get a name!

Zip was also on my list, and was very interested in exploring everything he could climb on/leap off of.

"Why are you not letting me leap out of this box, Lady With Cat Treats?  There are things to explore."

Quebert was still recovering from some surgery (the shaved patches on his legs are where they put IVs in for surgery) but he was all about getting scratchies.  Which meant that I had to give scratchies with one hand while holding the camera with the other, and hope that I could get a picture as soon as I took my hand away!

Fritz just looked like he needed a bowtie.  I'm not sure Fritz completely agreed with me, but I had enough cat treats to keep his complaining to a minimum.

Skeeter, on the other hand, didn't mind the tie, but was really interested in exploring (which is a nice way of saying I couldn't figure out how to get him to stay put long enough for a decent photo...).

Patriot, on the other hand, was a big mush - all he wanted were scratchies, and so the give-scratchies-with-one-hand-and-use-the-camera-with-the-other technique came in quite handy with him.

Seahawk was another 'explorer'.  Yes, I need to develop some better cat handling techniques.

Bruno Mars was a kitten with a strong desire to leap up to the highest spots in the room.  Which made him a great cat to play with, but another challenge to photograph.  One of the great things about working with the animal shelter is that I will have plenty of opportunities to hone my dog and cat handling and photographing skills!

Catch me now, lady!

More photos to come, but at least the shelter has something beyond a cell phone picture, and I had a grand time!