scruffy dog photography | best professional pet photographer blog serving Toronto and Ontario header

Monthly Archives: September 2010

Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.


he’s not a girl ~ Darby ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

28 September 2010 – 9:32 am

lord, this boy is cute …

he’s certainly got some giddy-up …

and an attitude.

Darby is a JRT/papillion cross and you can totally see it … the coat and ears of a papillion but the bone structure and snout of a jack …

and the classic underbite of unfortunate breeding from puppymills.

yes, Darby, too — like our newest little scruffy Merrick — is a puppymill survivor.  but he’s living the good life now with mom and dad, Jennifer and Bruce …

just chillin’ on the beach … how pretty is this boy?

of course, boys can be pretty too!  … even though i joked upon first meeting Darby, sitting in the lap of his ruggedly-handsome dad Bruce behind the wheel of their big diesel pick-em-up truck: “You look like a girl!” I couldn’t resist.

don’t misunderstand though, this boy is all boy …

… and i truly enjoyed his spirit and energy, even when he wasn’t up for posing.  just look at that adorable bottom lip though!

always on the move …

and of course, my favorite stand of trees …

and yes, as you can see in the photo above, i always travel with model-fans just to get that windblown look.   ;)

i was surprised that Darby actually got into the water … then again, with the “You look like a girl!” insult still ringing in his ears, no doubt, he was determined to squash any and all potential comparisons to the opposite gender, including a reluctance to actually get those delicate twinkle toes wet.

“Hey, did you catch that, crazy lady photographer?  Hrrmph.”

thanks for being such a sport, Darby.  you were a most wonderful model and some of these images are absolute favorites of mine.

and thanks, Jennifer and Bruce, for introducing me to your amazing little boy.  i hope you enjoy your gallery of images.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (10)

happy monday ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

27 September 2010 – 8:32 am

i’m headed up north very shortly … backing up yesterday afternoon’s shoot so maybe i’ll pack up one of the camera’s to take along in case we take the dogs for a run … and as i’m going through Stella and Riley’s shoot just now i was cracking up.  and being as it’s a monday, i figured i shouldn’t be the only one getting a good laugh.

so … follow along here.  as you’ll see from the numbers of the photos (hover your cursor over the images) this is the actual sequence of the photos.  and — as is often the case while i’m shooting — i don’t have time to review all the photos as they’re taken, so a lot of them are a surprise.  well, the last one in this sequence certainly was.  i had no idea it was on the card until i downloaded it.

but … follow along as i did … here’s Riley … one of the first shots when we arrived at the quarry, peacefully surveying … (note: not a lot of post work on these)

and he’s on the move … (not a quality image; only posting for the experience)

the grass is long, so i turn my camera onto Stella … lock focus, compose.   she’s so peaceful and calm …

… serene.  let’s take a couple of frames, just in case she blinks …

hmm … i wonder where Riley went … oh, there he is!  RAWWRRR!!!

have a great monday, everyone.  :)

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (15)

my crazy friday evening ~ {Hamilton, Ontario pet photographer}

25 September 2010 – 11:02 pm

thought i’d share just a few images of the insanity of my recent toy poodle shoot this past friday.  Tush and Scout …

there was much running, and even more jumping …

i tell you, when you’ve got little buggers that move this fast, it’s time to switch the camera to the continuous high-speed mode … i call it the ‘yorkie’ setting because, up until meeting these two, i didn’t think little dogs came much faster than a yorkie.  i may have to rename that high-speed mode the “Scout & Tush setting”.

you’ll be seeing more of these two wild boys soon, but thought i’d perk up the weekend with some of the fun shots.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (15)

old girl cassy ~ {Oakville, Ontario pet photographer}

23 September 2010 – 12:58 pm

this is Cassy …

if she happens to look a little moth-eaten and frayed around the edges, well, that’s because she’s 120 years old …

… that’s 17 1/2 in human years.  that’s a lotta years of loving.

the old girl seems to have a perpetual smile on her face …

like me, a lot of my clients often have such dramatic colours in their homes, and it makes for awesome photos.  but the soft, lilac tones of owner Christine’s bedroom so suited Cassy.

as you can expect, Cassy is a little wobbly on her feet but definitely loves to get out for her walks, so we headed to the beach for a little jaunt.

still, this sweet girl needed her beauty rest along the way …

as with some shoots, we’ll sometimes stop along the way to a location if i spot a great patch of grasses or flowers, an outstanding backdrop, or some awesome light.  at one point, as we let Cassy rest in the grasses and goldenrod  in a wide area off of a side road, a couple came across the street concerned  Cassy might have been hit by a vehicle, especially since Christine had carried Cassy to our spot.  but as the couple said themselves, even from the distance they were initially watching, they could tell “this was a dog well-loved”.

at home, Cassy still had some get up and go …

… and it actually took me quite a bit to get her to relax on the couch.

thanks, Cassy, for being such a trooper through your photo shoot.  i hope you enjoy your gallery, Christine, and i hope your sweet girl is still going strong.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , , | Comments (24)

darby sneak peek ~ {Waterloo, Ontario dog photographer}

22 September 2010 – 9:28 am

this is Darby …

and you’re going to be seeing more of this charming little man very soon on the blog.  his shoot was a little over a week ago but with twelve doggie clients being shot since his session, poor Darby’s sneak peek kinda got lost in the shuffle!

hope you enjoy this little taste, Jennifer and Bruce.  stay tuned for this handsome little dude’s fuller blog entry earlier next week!

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)