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Monthly Archives: February 2012

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the latest facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

yes, it’s true … i’ll never catch up with blogging the fall sessions.  there were simply far too many for me to even hope to ever get them all posted onto the blog.  but i can share the client sneak peeks, before-and-afters, and the general frivolity and celebration of “dog” that goes on on the scruffy dog facebook page.   if you haven’t already joined the SDP page by clicking the “like”, you might consider doing so, as you will be the first to see the latest goings on here at scruffy headquarters.

with a little bit of snow on the ground – finally – we had a lovely session with three sweet girls.

Penny is a 13-year-old lady …

i was told that this lovely girl was losing some of her giddy-up, requiring a lot of rests while on walks, but at our session there was a new pep in Penny’s step and almost no slowing her down.

Penny’s sister Lucy was a sweetheart as well … i’ll need to post more of this gorgeous, long-legged girl …

and then there was little tiny Pyper … and i do mean tiny.  this wee girl weighs less than even one of the SDP cameras.

Penny, of course, needed a little nap time in between her get-up-and-go …

then there was Bettis …

this big guy was a wild boy …

and when i say “big”, i mean B.I.G.  at only 22 months old this Dane/Mastiff cross hasn’t even started to fill out, but with the legs of a Dane, well, he’s a monster.  and i should note that dad Chris is no shortly like me!

we had a lot of fun at Bettis’s session …

it was a honour to photograph this gorgeous boy on his last afternoon with his dad.  due to a separation, Bettis is going with his mom out-of-province, so although it was lovely to spend time with Bettis and his dad, there was a sadness as well …

as usual, i also shared a little before-and-after from Bettis’ session.

another handsome man i met last week for his first scruffy session, to celebrate his one-year birthday, was Nerian …

and then there was five-month-old snowball girl, Nala.

Nala is a keeshond/chow cross … who, like any respectable puppy, loves to chew.

i also shared just one of several large canvases that came into the studio last week.  i don’t think the scruffies were overly impressed by some other dogs taking up what is designated as “their” wallspace.

of course, sharing this on facebook caused a couple of comments about how cool it would be to have this photo framed and hung over the couch, which led me to share an image from four years ago of a couple of scruffy clients — Reese and Rio.  the second i walked in the door of Reese and Rio’s home and spotted the pristine white  leather couch and shag rug, i had to ask whether we could let the dogs up there.  and then, as their walls were bare, i made my own little suggestion …

and staying in the vein of canvases, this image of the stunning Duke and Daisy will be printed in another large framed canvas …

and no week would be complete without a few shots of one of the resident scruffies … here is merrick goobernuts mcscruffy, doing what he does best …

but one photo of this mad-boy with his chicken isn’t enough …

and this is just a fun little video shot low-res with poor quality and no editing ability with a Bloggie … not something i’d generally share on the SDP blog, but it’s pretty funny …

yup, that’s the goober. and i should note that matea mcscruffy — lying there so patiently waiting for dinner — was wearing a t-shirt due to some surgery. i don’t normally dress up the scruffies!

another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

here we are once again with another recap of the images we’ve shared on the scruffy dog facebook page.

first up, the spectacular Indy, with her many expressions.

i just couldn’t get enough of this little model during our session  …

also on facebook last week, we shared a couple more before-and-afters from the post-production side of things.

and this is sweet little Sasha in some post-production … our last fall session whose post was delayed due to the heavy fall shooting schedule.

little Gizelle enjoyed the comfort of the scruffy dog chair last fall as well …

and then we finally got snow!  and i was finally able to meet this little girl for her winter session …

little Nala had a lot of fun in the woods.

we also had a session with handsome Nerian to celebrate his first birthday …

and at one year old, this young guy had a lot to say …

last week we also had a session with a lovely pack of three.  thirteen-year-old Penny:

and long-legged Lucy …

and last but not least little tiny Pyper, who danced a lot during our session …

stay tuned on the scruffy dog facebook page for more sneak peeks from these sessions and others!

have a great week, everyone!

another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

lord, it’s time for another facebook recap … blog entries are so slim these days due to the backlog of fall shoots and now the big orders coming in from those sessions.  but as of yesterday we officially completed the post-production work on all of our fall sessions (yeah, with that many squeeze-in sessions, it took that long!), and we celebrated that completion by going out and shooting two Starter sessions yesterday afternoon. what is it that they say about no rest for the wicked?  people who know me and know how little sleep i get already think i must have been a very very nasty individual in a former life. :)

so, while i contemplate the possible sins in my former lives, let me entertain you with a few of the images that you may have missed on the scruffy dog facebook page. i understand that not everyone is a fan of facebook, and if you aren’t, you can always catch up here on the blog … but if you are on FB, you might want to join the fun over on the SDP FB page.  it’s a pretty rockin’ place.

first up, one of my faves of the week … and one of my favorite models of 2011 … Indy.  her finished gallery was just a wee bit bigger than the typical client gallery due to her non-stop expressions …

and then the highlight (or rather lowlight?) of last week was the sudden loss of scruffy client Sprocket …

this boy’s session (along with big sister Basil) was shot in November and we were just finishing the post work on their session when mom Jayne emailed me from the OVC with the shattering news.

Sprocket was one of those dogs with an unquenchable love of life, an incredible spirit and character that touched anyone who met him.  his sudden loss was the result of a ruptured splenic tumor … something that is familiar to me, and, unfortunately, not a rare enough condition.

as a tribute to Sprocket, i put together a little slide show for this amazing boy’s parents …

i consider myself extremely fortunate to have met this boy and been able to capture his spirit and energy in these images.  my hope is that his premature loss is a message to others on the importance of having photos of your 4-legger.  take photos (and video) yourself, and if you don’t feel competent in capturing those images, hire someone to take some photos for you.  they are so important as these beloved 4-leggers of ours aren’t with us long enough.

and let’s not forget Sprocket’s lovely sister Basil …

over the past week, we shared a number of before-and-after shots from the post-production side of things. little Gizelle … i have got to do a blog entry on this snippet of a scruffy …

for those inquiring, this is Lightroom.  all SDP editing is done in combination with LR3 and CS5.

and a little before-and-after of Charlie showing off his Karma collar

and no week would be complete without at least one photo of resident scruffy merrick goobernuts mcscruffy … believe it or not these shots were taken mid-February in Ontario!

and then there was little baby Harlow … since she was another squeeze-in session this past fall and the post-work was delayed, i’m pretty sure this little girl is easily twice the size now!

and that wild Indy again …

and Jack and Fergus … these two scruffmuffins belong to fabulous photographer Chris Dupuis-Kufske of Click Photography.

and we’ll close out with an old archived image i stumbled upon the other day … taken almost two years ago during the goobernuts’ very first official photo session … when he was still terrified of the camera, but working hard to overcome that …

i hope you’re all enjoying your week!

marvelous macy ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

here at scruffy dog – with a fall shooting schedule that made all previous fall seasons seem like a cake-walk — we’re still behind in processing our fall shoots.  what this means, unfortunately, is less time for blogging.  so if you’re wanting daily photos and fun, let me suggest that you join the scruffy dog facebook page.  seriously, there’s a lot going on over there, including a win-your-own-scruffy-dog-session contest going on right now!  if that’s not enough to convince, i don’t know what is.  :)

but let me introduce you to just one of the lovely models from our past fall … this is Macy.

she’s got the most expressive eyes, as you’ll see in some of her photos, and i loved working this aspect during her session.  we started our session indoors, knowing that she might be getting a little wet and muddy during our session … and i think Macy was already imagining her wild, outdoor session.

one word, and this girl was ready to go.

and the high-in-demand scruffy location was the destination …

besides the tunnel of trees, we also hit the beach.  how gorgeous is this girl against a bright blue sky?

lots of fun at the beach …

and i can never resist the long grasses of late fall, especially with such a gorgeous girl like this.

i think it’s safe to say that this girl had a blast up at our location …

and all this running around builds up a bit of a thirst …

thanks, Tracey and Chris, for sharing your lovely girl with me, and trusting scruffy dog with her photographic memories.

i look forward to seeing you again at your studio consult!

another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet-exclusive photographer}

if you don’t follow the scruffy dog facebook page, you’ll have missed the following photos of client sneak peek and the resident scruffies!

first up is an image of little Indy from her shoot earlier in the fall …

it was a heavy-duty week when it came to processing orders last week, with five albums to design.  this is one page from the big Best in Show scruffy dog album of Rose, Ebony and Chase …

then there was wee little Nahla, one of my California clients, here for her second shoot … in snow!

i also shared a little before-and-after of the post-production on Duke and Daisy’s session …

this boy looks handsome whether processed in color or black-and-white …

i also had a little fun with the images of these guys …

then there was Toby …

i had a lot of fun with merrick in our new sink …

i should have known it wasn’t a good idea to torture him with a bath …

… because later that afternoon, merrick got his payback.  this photo was snapped with my new BlackBerry Curve …

and during a drive a few days later, i had to pull over and take this.  this was shot with the little Nikon V1 mirrorless camera … a fraction of the size of the regular scruffy dog cameras, which means i can actually take it along for our own walks, and not have to rely on the so-so quality of the Blackberry camera.

and finally, last week, my girl had to have surgery to remove a button-tumor off her back leg due to its growth-rate and the fact that she was always scraping it open when on walks or even in the back yard.  she also had one of her many fatty tumors removed from the bottom of her chest.  the lycra vests i made years ago for visibility on the trails have come in handy; snugly covering the stitches, great breathability and comfort.  today — five days post-surgery — all of her stitches look awesome …

thank you to everyone for your well-wishes on facebook and via emails.  i’m sure your positive energy is partly responsible for her quick recovery.

have a great week, all!