but yesterday, after five shooting days in a row, we decided to drag the equipment out on a walk to capture a few photos of the scruffies in action.  a few have been posted up on the scruffy dog photography facebook page already … but here are some more.

just heading out …

the look i get when i ask her to ‘wait’ at the top of a hill … first i get some awesome, alert stances, and then it’s like: “seriously, take a picture!  it’ll last longer, lady.  i got places to be!”

merrick always stops when he sees me stop …

and if i’m squatting too long with the camera, he comes flying back …

while matea is all about the hunt … always searching to scare up something … although this hike didn’t turn up anything to chase.

and merrick has become quite an adventurer himself, in spite of his very miserable beginnings … in spite of being at least 7 years old, merrick still acts like a puppy (i have no doubts he was removed from his mother too early) … and as a result, he turns to matea to direct and guide him through this new world of his.

and with matea as has guide, it’s no doubt that his hunt drive has gone from zero to ten … always on the lookout for voles (a much wiser quarry than the coyote he tried to chase down last winter!)

still with his eyes on matea …

a year and a half since his rescue, i think you’d be hardpressed to find a happier dog …

and at ten years of age, matea sill has the moves …

in all the years of photographing my girl, countless running shots, i don’t have a single shot like this one … with he ear fringes flying …

and, as always,  matea’s tongue was definitely along for the hike …

and this is why i love shooting in November … all the dried grasses are absolutely beautiful.

weeee!!!!

and near the end of the hike, we had some awesome light to work with …

and no dog … but a spider …

i hope you enjoyed this little break from scruffy clients.  i know matea and merrick certainly did!  have a great Monday, everyone.

and this entry will be more photos than text.

my little goober has become such a poser, even downtown Lunenburg, me belly-in-the-gutter, people passing by, he just sat there watching the people …

i almost chose this image as our new large, studio canvas, but i was voted out by my partner …

no worries, you’ll be seeing photos of the new canvas soon.

in the meantime, more fun at the beach …

and the iron rocks we discovered along a back road … there was a lot of coyote scat in this location, so we kept a close eye out and played it safe.  matea’s already picked a fight with a coyote to save her brother, so she’s got a taste for ‘em.

it’s not matea i worry about though, it’s merrick.  since being rescued, he has learned a lot about navigating the world from his big sister, and although the drive is already in him, hunting and going after ‘game’ is something that has been accentuated by hanging with his sister.  merrick seems to think he can take on coyotes too … and since he doesn’t yet have the level of training that matea does, i have to be extra vigilant.

of course, all that time in the freezing water and cold wind, wears a little goober out …

even matea, at the end of our one long day of shooting, was pretty much done …

sometimes the boy can sit peacefully …

… for a few moments at least …

merrick’s first experience with waves … i’ve got some other shots of him in the waves that i’ll share later.

and what can i say, i love beach grasses …

enjoy your weekend, everyone … even if it might be a little wet.

… or my girl’s butt, perched on a big rock.

… or how about a little, windblown goober mcscruffy?

of course, when i look at these images, i’m so glad to have them, but i gotta admit, it was no walk in the park to actually get them.  the above image was taken under almost zero degrees temps, with — as you can see — some pretty strong winds.  fortunately my shutter speed was high enough that it compensated for merrick’s shivering as he watched my partner and matea off in the distance.

and in all of these images, i’m looking for a large canvas — 5′ wide — for over our bed.  the big red wall has been empty for the nearly two years we’ve been in the new house, so it’s high time.  this one of my girl is definitely a contender … i love her stance and energy here …

… but i had hoped for more water.  ah, decisions, decisions … it’s always easier when i’m helping clients choose their canvas.

either way, i think i need to have this next one hanging up in the studio … although i’ve long ago run out of wall space.  this shot was taken at the side of a back road that our GPS sent us down … huge rock formations with tons of iron deposits.  a wonderful find.  of course, not every back road the GPS took us down resulted in quite the pay-off.  most led us right into someone’s barnyard or eventually narrowed into some rutted, muddy lumber trail better suited for mountain bikes than the poor Matrix.

but eventually we found our way to the beaches … often having to ask the locals since not all of the beaches are very well marked, or marked at all.

i should mention that the goober is real poser … a much different dog than the fearful, abused puppymill boy from a year ago who was terrified of the cameras.  of course, i have to work on his ‘stand’ … anytime i ask him to ‘stay’, he automatically sits, which is great for obedience and taking him places around town.  but for photoshoots, i often prefer a ‘stand’ as a more natural looking stance.

his sister, on the other hand, has got the ‘stand’ down pat … she’s a pro.

of course, i can get the little dude to stand if i take out his ball, but it’s got to be just the right level of energy … too much and he’s barking his fool head off at me, not enough and he’ll just sit there …

of course, merrick would rather be in any kind of water than posing …

and matea would much rather be hunting.  no doubt, the birds were already starting to nest in the grasses, and this is the reason that some of these beaches are “leash” beaches.  it’s only because of the years of training i’ve put into this girl, that i’m able to set the boundaries for her when out in an environment like this and am able to 100% keep her out of the grasses and keep the wildlife safe.

and, as always, with any scruffy dog photoshoot, even those involving my scruffies, there is much running …

but for every minute he spent getting wet, merrick spent double that shivering …

matea is much wiser … she’s a shore hunter, and in the colder weather like we experienced, she pretty much stayed out of the water and is more than happy to sniff around in the sand.

but the mcscruffy … even posing, you can tell by the angle of his ears that all he’s thinking about is the water behind him …

i still have more east coast images to share with you after this entry.  it’s been hard to narrow it down …

oh, and i should note that, yes, i know merrick’s nails are long.  as a grossly neglected puppymill stud dog they were much longer than this when we rescued him a year ago.  they are trimmed weekly in an attempt to force the quicks back.

have a great monday, everyone!

]]> http://scruffydogphotography.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/09/more-salty-scruffies-from-out-east-canadian-pet-photographer/feed/ 9 http://scruffydogphotography.com/blog/index.php/2011/04/28/salty-scruffies-part-1-canadian-pet-photographer/ http://scruffydogphotography.com/blog/index.php/2011/04/28/salty-scruffies-part-1-canadian-pet-photographer/#comments Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:11:51 +0000 illona http://scruffydogphotography.com/blog/?p=5465 well, for those who haven’t been following the blog or the scruffy dog facebook page (and if you haven’t, why not?), we’re back from the east coast.  our return is a little premature due to the seriously unfavorable weather.  out of the five days we toughed it out — literally — we had a day and a half of no rain … and that didn’t include the five, super soggy days on the road.

so, we spent rainy days scouting locations, and then in that extremely narrow day and a half of no rain, i squeezed in the equivalent of a dozen photo shoots … regrettably, none of which were the several clients we had originally lined up prior to and during the trip.  it is my hope that we will be returning to the southern shores of Nova Scotia in the near future, on our schedule, in a more favorable season, to make good on those east coast sessions we’d arranged … and actually have a bit of a vacation too.

i thought i’d share some random photos from the different beaches and locations we shot … i’d say “visited”, but honestly, it was so cold, it was all about getting the shots and then getting into the car to warm up and get to the next location.

this is just a brief and initial dip into the many photos shot … so you’ll be seeing a lot more …

we shot under dark, dramatic skies, just before more rain hammered down …

… in cold blustery wind …

… and under the boardwalk.

and when the sun shone, well, we grabbed it.  there was no waiting for the soft light of late afternoon because it would only start raining again … so even at high-noon, we were shooting …

when the sun is at its height like this, casting harsh shadows, it’s not the most ideal shooting situation … but hey, it raised the windchill temps above freezing.

other times, down at Carter’s Beach — my favorite spot –  the wind was so strong that the sand coursed across the beach like a mirage … getting into the dogs ears and eyes …

of course, none of these elements slowed down the goober.  show this boy water, and he’s gotta be in it.

out on Hirtles Beach was probably the only long-term sun we got …

dogs are supposed to be on-leash at Hirtles, of course, but merrick, and especially matea, are highly trained.  out of respect, we kept them on-leash until we were far enough away from anyone else, and then stuck to one little area to shoot.

in fact, matea is so well-trained and such a consummate model, that she actually drew a bit of an audience at Hirtles, Carters, in Lunenburg, and then on Sanddollar Beach when part of the shoot entailed getting some shots of me shooting for an upcoming piece in Popular Photography Magazine. we’d put merrick back in the car as he can become a bit of a mouth-piece when he’s not the centre of attention.  at the shore i’d walk matea out a couple hundred feet, quietly ask her to ‘wait’, then walk back along the shoreline and kneel into position.  when everyone was ready, i’d whistle her in …

and here’s the shot …

with a half dozen takes of this run, my partner/assistant shooting from different angles, we attracted a few bystanders before moving to some rocks for some different shots. and fifteen minutes later, when one of the couples wandered by, they couldn’t resist engaging, and i released matea from her ‘place’ on a big boulder, telling her to ‘go say hi’.  this girl loves people, and lapped up the attention before running back to her ‘place’ like a pro.  i love this girl.  such a high work ethic … whether she’s posing or hunting.

and i know, having worked with her for 9 years now, i’m spoiled by how amazing she is.

it’s the goober who keeps me on my toes with his antics and unpredictability …

but my girl … it’s like she just knows what i’m after …

… even when she’s wet and cold and tired.

i have a lot more photos to sort through, from a lot more locations, and i’ll be sharing them on the blog … so stay tuned for more salty scruffies.

i’m trying to get my cameras out more with my own pack.  it’s not always easy, with merrick still in training … but the little goober has some amazing recalls.

i love my pack.  big.  but i can’t help wondering how much more amazing it would be with morley in there with them.

and this is crazy macy … matea’s best friend for the past seven years.

it was a glorious day for a hike … alas, the girls flushed no rabbits for chasing, so it was pretty quiet …

have a good weekend, everyone.  love your dogs and enjoy the fall weather we’re still having.  i’m off to meet another brown pointer.

so this past week we headed up north … to the shores of Georgian Bay where i grew up.  just a quick day visit, but no trip would be complete for these two water dogs without a trip to the beach.

this was Merrick’s second trip to the “big water” … the first was back in May, and those who know Georgian Bay know it’s damn cold in May.  well, it’s a different story in September … the water is soft and warm, and i think Merrick believed he’d died and gone to heaven.

Matea, too, was pretty thrilled to be dipping her achy spine into the warmer waves.

but i’m getting ahead of myself.   before the lake, there’s always a hike first … and this time of year, it’s a muddy one.  and with a little white fluffy dog, flying through puddles on 3″ legs, his fine, flowing hair attracting burrs and seeds like flypaper does flies in a horse-stable, well, we wondered if the lake would even take care of this mess!

of course, it’s no wonder he hits every puddle he sees … this former puppymill stud dog learns about the world through his big sister Matea … and no dog does mud like Matea.

so …

can you believe this is the same little goobernuts that sleeps in our bed with us?

the big orange band Matea is sporting is just a slip-on collar i keep in the car for such occasions.  i couldn’t remember if hunting season had started for turkey or anything else, so better safe than sorry.

then, off to the lake to get clean … and to fetch, of course.  throw it! throw it! throwitthrowitthrowit!!!

we used Merrick’s new fetching toy … the West Paw Design Hurley.  unfortunately, you won’t be seeing a blog entry of this toy in the “things we love” series.  yes, Merrick loves this toy, but it’s not very suited for what it was recommended to us for — a water retrieving toy.  the thing is so heavy that it sinks quite deep with each throw, and is excruciatingly slow to come to the surface … meanwhile, my dog is circling and dunking and circling and dunking.  and if i dare to use this in even a slow moving river, Merrick can’t find it in time  … the Hurley is headed downstream and i’m having to send Matea in after it.

now i see online that West Paw recommends it as a “chew toy”.  well, my dogs chew on venison necks or other big hunks of dinner, treats in a kong maybe … but not just some hunk of “zogoflex” rubber.  so, although Merrick might give the Hurley two paws up, sadly, it’s two thumbs down for us.

and the more Merrick has to dunk for the ever-sinking Hurley, the more his hair ends up in his eyes.  it’s a wonder he can even find the shore sometimes!

of course, he’d have no clue what to do with all of this water or a tossed toy without his main girl, Matea.  she taught him everything he knows.

and man, does this boy need a trim.  his hair just keeps growing and growing.  i actually took the thinning shears to him today, but i need some better ones.  his coat is difficult to maintain if he’s to be a trail dog … and i can’t even imagine how winter will treat him with snow balls sticking to his fine hair.

i hope you enjoyed this scruffy interlude.  i’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of my awesome clients who have spent a little time with this gooberhead during their studio consults.  every little bit has helped this boy come out his shell and become the dog he is today in the short six months he’s been with us … learning to trust the world, to be a dog, and to love people.  thanks, everyone!

… may it be filled with many biscuits!