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Welcome to the scruffy dog blog . . .

... this is where the photos of scruffy dog photography meet the heart and soul behind all those fun and whacky photo shoots and the long hours of digital editing that go into your dog's images ... a behind-the scenes peek at the madness of an exclusively pet photographer, and her two trusty sidekicks. for more details on us, check out the "about" section at the bottom of the blog.

what you will find here is the past year or so of blog entries -- selected client shoots, sneak peeks, news and announcements, promos and specials, as well as info on canine health and general dog chat. * previous years of blog entries have been archived.

so, grab a cup of jo, give Rover an organic, free-range beef tendon to gnaw on, and enjoy the photos and ramblin's.

don’t readjust your cute meters …

28 July 2010 – 12:20 pm

what better way to get through hump-day than a whole pack of puppies?  and these puppies are so seriously cute they’ll utterly busticate even the most advanced of cute meters on the market.

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these … er … little nibblets are from a litter of nine from great pyrenees Oriana …

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seriously now, how adorable are these guys?

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we decided that the best time to book these little terrors was early morning while the yard was in shade versus glaring sun, and also not too hot for the pups yet.

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still, we needed a cooling-off period … water all around … which meant very messy puppies.  but even with all the wet and muck, they’re still pretty darn cute, aren’t they?

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just don’t ask me their names.  i have no clue!  i don’t know how Sue tells them apart, but she does.  i only hope that i managed to get a good array of photos of each puppy!

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puppies are always fun, but never easy to shoot.  and a whole pack of puppies, well, this was certainly an experience.

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i can’t even tell most of them apart, but i do know that this flower-sniffing guy here is Big Boy, and he’s staying with Sue and her other Pyrs.

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i’ll post Sue’s adult Pyrs in a later blog entry.  just wanted to brighten everyone’s mid-week with a good dose of cute.

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i hope you enjoy all the images, Sue.  i know i haven’t made your selection process easy with such a huge client gallery … blame Oriana for having such a huge litter of cuties.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , | 16 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

… and cats, when we have to.

26 July 2010 – 6:53 am

it’s almost our motto here at scruffy dog — “… where all we shoot is dogs … and cats when we have to” — accompanied by a roll of the eyes to emphasize the humor.  yes, cats can be difficult … not as easily manipulated as dogs, not as quick to gobble down treats or become enchanted with a new squeakie, and no matter how giddy you make your voice their level of disdain will only deepen.  so the approach must be different … it must be calm and respectful, geared to the individual cat’s own pace … it must be accommodating of their sense of personal space, and, as with dogs, never forceful.

this month i had several cat clients, so over the course of the next week i thought i’d share a few of them with you to show you the drastic difference that can be found in feline subjects.

first we have Tigger …

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… and yes, this is how i initially met Tigger — crashed out across the back of the sofa … or maybe that’s his sofa?   in fact, when mom, Christine, greeted me at the door her voice was hushed as she informed me: “he’s still down for his nap.” at first i thought she was referring to a wee two-legger she must have tucked away inside in one of the upstairs bedrooms and we should proceed quietly.  but no, she was referring to none other than Tigger.  and down-for-his-nap he was!  truth be told, “utterly immovable” might have been a better description.

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in fact, Christine had a couple of small paintings hanging over the couch directly above Tigger which I asked her to move to declutter the images.  and in spite of the bustle of the quick redecoration and the clacking of the camera’s shutter, this was about all the reaction we received.  only after a few pokes and a stroke on the head was i able to assure myself that there was indeed life.

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once carried to the back yard — because walking would be far too much effort for this groggy boy — Tigger seemed to waken enough for his session.  well, sort of.   i admit, i felt a kindred spirit in Tigger — needing that extra time to wake up after a good nap.

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and when he did finally wake, it seemed like he realized for the first time that he had company.

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Tigger and his other cat housemates have a fabulous set up … a gorgeous, landscaped back yard with a secure fence, topped with high netting so that the cats are all safely contained.

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here, brother, Sequoia, took a special interest in the camera …

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while Eddy and Sweet Pea really could care less.

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thanks Tigger for being such a great model. and thanks, Christine, for introducing me to your fabulous pride.  i hope you enjoy your client gallery.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , | 6 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

holiday cards … really? already?!

22 July 2010 – 2:41 pm

yeah, already. really.

if you’re stumped as to what to send family and friends this year, or maybe you haven’t sent cards in years because you simply haven’t been inspired, well, how about something just a little bit more personal?  scruffy dog offers a variety of designs of high-quality, ultra-trendy, press-printed cards to show off the images from your one-of-kind photo shoot.

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but here’s the thing: if you want your holiday cards in plenty of time for mailing to all your family and friends, you’ll need your photo session to be shot before the end of September, if not sooner.

and if you’re already a member of the scruffy dog family, and would like to use some of your past images for your holiday cards, well, you know how much we love you!  if you order before September 1st you will receive 10% off of your holiday card order.

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cards are printed in sets of 24, with greatly reduced rates for 4 sets and over, and, yes, they come with envelopes.

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of course the text can be altered to read anything you’d like, and other custom flourishes can often be incorporated.

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and, as always, plain cards can always be ordered, without all the flourish … as well as non-seasonal cards.  press-printed cards can be ordered for any occasion from blank cards to invitations, announcements and even moving notices.

so if cards are something you’re interested in for this holiday season, contact us today.

By illona | Posted in products and promos | Tagged , , , | 1 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

weiners in the badlands

21 July 2010 – 8:11 am

this is just a sneak peek … just had to share a few images from a shoot the other night that i’d been looking forward to for some time …

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these two little dollfaces — Fritz above and sweet little Greta here on the bridge — belong to fabulously talented photographer couple Dave and Charlotte, human-photographers extraordinaire.  if you’re not already familiar with their breath-taking work you definitely need to check them out.  and after that, visit Charlotte’s Rainbow Eleven site to see her baby and newborn photography … although you’ll want to be sure the batteries in your cute-meter are fully charged before venturing on over there.

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you’ll be seeing much more of these little wieners very soon, as i scramble to catch up with the crazy July we’ve had here at scruffy dog, so stay tuned!

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , , | 16 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

can i borrow your sky?

19 July 2010 – 7:46 am

with probably 80% of the scruffy dog images being shot in the great outdoors, throughout all the seasons, Mother Nature definitely plays her hand in the scheduling.  ask any scruffy client who’s anxiously watched first the long-range, then the short-range weather reports … then turned their eyes to the skies, and finally picked up the phone to discuss the logistics of having me drive to Toronto or Hamilton or London.  “So is it raining there right now?” “What direction are the clouds coming from?”

sure, it’s always a gamble, but so far we’ve never gotten wet and it’s always been fun.  and if shoots have to be rebooked, we rebook.  no big deal.  the scruffy dog schedule is laid out specifically to keep room for rain dates.

what we can’t always book for is those perfect skies.  sometimes it’s just flat and overcast.  and quite frankly, that diffused light is the best, but it doesn’t make for a very appealing back drop.  so sometimes i have to get a little crafty to take an image from drab to ‘finished’.

in this case, sweet old man Oswin here was lacking a little zip in his sky …

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so i went to previous client Riley’s shoot and borrowed his sky for a bit … (he didn’t mind. he had lots of sky over those wheat fields)

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and voila … the finished piece:

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and here’s another example:

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having said all that, i will admit that i’m something of a purist: although the post work on your finished images is careful and extensive, and i remove leashes and other background clutter on any images that go to print, i generally won’t photoshop in anything that isn’t truly there.  and yes, i’ve had some pretty weird requests, but we won’t go there.  :)

By illona | Posted in your images | Tagged , , | 1 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment