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Tag Archives: Waterloo dog photographer

camilla and sarah ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

20 December 2011 – 11:37 am

strap yourselves in and make sure you’ve got the safety belts on tight because you’re about to take a ride in ultimate cuteness, the likes of which you will not have experienced before!

now, some of you who follow the scruffy dog facebook page will already have seen a couple of sneak peeks of these two darlings, but now you’re going to get to see a whole lot more!

we had so much fun at their shoot … well, perhaps not Vince so much, as he was designated as the chair-sherpa …

so this is Sarah …

and this is Camilla … a.k.a. Cammy.

and anyone who thinks that these two look alike couldn’t be more wrong.

Camilla is a foxy little girl …

… and Sarah is rounder

… with your typical corgi poof-rump … “does my butt look big on this boardwalk?”

you’ll see a lot of these looking-up shots since these two girls were pretty determined to stick near me.

still, we were able to get them out exploring …

Sarah is actually afraid of cameras …

… she’s skittish of a lot of things, even the sound of Velcro, and that fear was immediately noticeable as i took the gear out of the car.  in fact, she tried to hide in the scruffy dog mobile.  but with a few tricks and working with her energy, i was able to bring her around pretty quickly and she ended up being a bit of a poser.

these girls definitely love balls …

and that Camilla has a lot of giddy-up …

and check out that ski-slope tongue!

but Sarah’s no slouch either …

thanks for a fun afternoon, Jennifer and Vince, and for sharing not just your two little darlings but also your grandfather’s gorgeous property.  i’m looking forward to working on your big canvas and album!

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , , | Comments (5)

orville love balls ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

9 December 2011 – 10:50 am

this is Orville …

you may remember him from his short train tunnel/graffiti shoot earlier this year.  Orville is also one of the KW Humane Society calendar winners, and is featured in the 2012 calendar.  adopted from the KWHS, Orville is — without question — leading the good life.

you could call him Mr. Happy …

… or home jester, as he elicits a lot of laughter from his parents …

Orville’s proud parents wanted more than the mini-shoot for the KWHS 2012 calendar, so we took their scruffy session to the park …

normally a ball- or toy-driven dog is a pleasure to photograph since you can more easily direct their attention.  but the kind of over-the-top ball-intensity/obsession that Orville has can make a photosession difficult … that is, until you have a good handle on his particular energy — if you don’t want every photo to look unnatural due to the extreme intensity and focus on the ball, you need to determine how close is too close before he starts to look unnaturally intent, how much you can manipulate the ball to bring his head to a more natural angle.

most of all though, it was about having fun chasing the ball …

thanks, Orville, for a fun shoot!

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , | Comments (8)

the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society 2012 calendar is now available! ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

18 November 2011 – 12:33 pm

do you have your KWHS 2012 calendar yet?

as part of our ‘giving back’ initiative here at scruffy dog, for the past several years, scruffy dog has photographed and designed the KWHS charity calendar which raises thousands for the Centre to help the orphaned animals.  and this year’s calendar is filled with dogs and cats who have been adopted from the KWHS Centre!  this is extra special for me since the ultimate ‘giving back’ is not only raising significant funds, but — of equal importance — raising awareness of the plight of abandoned cats and dogs, and the overpopulation of shelters just like the KWHS.

part of raising awareness is to show people the amazing dogs and cats available … contrary to popular belief, most shelter pets don’t come with a laundry list of problems or behavioral issues.  almost always it’s their former humans who had the issues — buying a puppy of a breed that is not suited to their lifestyle or abilities, or a change in living situation which forces people to give up their pet, or just plain laziness.  for almost as many pets as are in shelters, there are as many reasons as to why they have wound up in their desperate situation … but in most cases, the issue is not with the pet, it’s with their former human.

i hope that the extremely happy, well-loved dogs and cats in the pages of this year’s KWHS calendar this year — some of which are purebreds — will not only demonstrate the amazing companions that can be found in any shelter, but perhaps — even in a small way — alter at least a few people’s thinking and beliefs on adopting from a shelter instead of buying that cute, cuddly puppy from a store, a backyard breeder, a farm (which is almost always a front for a puppymill situation), or from listings on Kijiji or Craig’s List.

these are just a few of the amazing pets i met this year during the calendar’s shooting …

… big boy Figaro, one of several extremely loved cats in the home …

and awesome doodle Dixie …

then there’s fun-loving Static …

and ball-crazy Orville, whose guardians opted for a full scruffy dog session.  you might remember Orville from his graffiti shoot back in the summer … or from the sneak peek of his big session in the early fall.

and little, smiley Milo …

these are just a few of the happy faces of rescued pets you’ll find in the KWHS 2012 calendar.

and with scruffy dog’s clean design, it is our hope that this calendar will appeal to just about anyone, as all the profits go to the animals of the KWHS.

these 2012 calendars can be purchased directly through the KWHS website or picked up in person at the shelter for only $15.  get yours today!

By illona | Posted in news and rumblings | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (7)

Oakland turns 10 ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

6 September 2011 – 7:38 am

this is Oakland …

or as his family lovingly refers to him as Oakie, Oz and puppers.

and he loves his family … always keeping an eye out for them as i took him down the boardwalk …

fellow photographer, Hilary Camilleri of One for the Wall wanted to get Oakland’s photos done for his tenth birthday …

so we headed out to the conservation area with Oakie and his girls …

how adorable is this little elf?

… coming or going.

this was just a short session for Oakland since what Hilary is after most is a couple of big wall pieces of their scruffnut.

i think it’s going to be tough choosing though … this boy is such a character …

so many expressions.

and this is Oakie showing off his luxurious beard …

thanks, Hilary, for trusting me with Oakland’s birthday images and for introducing me to your fabulous little man and your wonderful girls.  hopefully we can both make time in our busy fall schedules for a quick studio consult … and maybe even a coffee!  fancy that!

and here’s hoping the girls had a stellar first-day-of-school!  i’m going to imagine Oakland waiting on the front step for his favorite girls when they come home today!

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , , , | Comments (3)

the incomparable mabel ~ {Hamilton, Ontario dog photographer}

29 August 2011 – 10:08 am

well, she’s not completely “incomparable” since she looks a lot like my original scruffie Murph — the soul and impetus behind scruffy dog photography — but this s-wheaty cross is certainly one of a kind.  yes, this is Mabel …

you met her zany brother in our last blog entry, and since these two really were a couple of absolute super-stars at their shoot, they each deserved their own blog entry.  in fact, you’ll be seeing a yet third blog entry of photos of the two of them having a blast together, since there were simply too many fun ones!

because mom Kelly was after some red in her images, i confirmed that the red caboose was, indeed, in the station.  and we started off there, because we knew these two were going to get a little dirty.

dirty dirty girl!

i had such a blast with these two in the water, setting up shots …

and yeah, i got a little, a lot wet.

not as wet as the dogs, fortunately!

and is there anything happier than a wet dog?

from here, we headed to one of the wheat fields that i’ve been using since it’s been cut.

one thing you should  know about Mabel is that she loves to roll … she even tries to roll when she’s IN the water.  so it was no surprise that she enjoyed a good back scratch as soon as we hit the stubbly wheat field.

and a blow dry …

Mabel and her brother just loved being themselves no matter where we went.

but after three hours, unlike her brother, Mabel was finally starting to slow down a bit in the last rays of light.

but … where there’s a Cuz ball, there’s always a second wind!

thanks for being such a stellar model, Mabel.  i’m sure i’ll be talking to you soon …

this past weekend i just finished designing and laying out Mabel and Murdock’s 10″ scruffy dog Signature album as part of their package … yup, i’m that far behind in blogging clients.  stay tuned for some together-shots of these two awesome models to come … and lots more client shoots.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (3)