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Tag Archives: yorkshire terrier

marvelous macy ~ {Ontario dog photographer}

19 November 2010 – 9:23 am

you saw her sneak peek here, and now i get to share her full blog splash with a sampling from her Standard session.  yup, this is sweetiepie Macy, and if she can’t put a smile on your face, i’m not sure what will …

now there’s something you should know about Macy.  she is not your typical yorkie.  yeah, she’s tiny … like, really tiny … far tinier than her sister Bischa …

but she’s got a big spirit, and she’s far more confident than any yorkie i’ve shot in the past.

she’s just an absolute doll, and a supremely willing model.

and she loves her mommy and daddy.

like a lot of clients these days, Macy’s parents wanted to head out to my favorite spot for the forest and the beach …

i do have other locations up my sleeve, but too many people love the “tunnel of trees” and i admit, i do love the light at the beach …

even on a grey, overcast evening, we can still pull some lovely, subtle colours out of the sky …

and i did mention that Macy loves her momma, didn’t i?

oh yeah, and Macy loves to run …

and she tolerates being set up into trees … mostly because there is the promise of squirrels …

and she really has the cutest hair-do …

thanks, Macy, for being such a fabulous little model.  and thanks Michelle and Shannon.  looking forward to seeing you at your studio consult.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (16)

macy sneak ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

6 November 2010 – 11:51 am

this is macy … don’t tell her she’s little …

… cuz she owns that stump and that beach … and this fence post …

and she totally owns the hearts of her people.

you’ll be seeing more of Macy soon as we scramble to catch up on all the lovely fall shoots we’ve had across the province.  stay tuned!

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (9)

sweet man oswin ~ {Dundas Ontario dog photographer}

29 June 2010 – 2:22 pm

meet Oswin …

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he’s tiny.  he’s handsome.  and he’s exceptionally-loved.

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he’s also blind.  he’s deaf.  and he doesn’t get around very well, but he knows you’re there …

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most of all, he knows his mama’s  love.

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as Oswin’s health was failing, and since it hasn’t been that long since i lost my man morley, this shoot wasn’t easy.

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but it was important to me that i not only captured images of Oswin, but also of his incredibly deep bond with Deb.

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when discussing the shoot with Deb prior to the date, i was informed that Oswin was no longer mobile.  i’ve certainly had shoots in the past of dogs with severe mobility issues, and — with patience and enough rolling around on the ground — there are always ways of working it and still coming out with a huge variety of angles and unique images.  with a little guy like Ozzy i imagined that for most of the shoot Deb would be holding him up and i’d do a lot of head-and-shoulder shots against a variety of backdrops … kind of like this:

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the unexpected problem with this, however, was that without his sight and hearing, Oswin almost continually looked down.  however, through the miracles of acupuncture administered by my girl matea’s own vet Lisa Burgess of Millgrove Veterinary Services, Oswin was actually up and on his feet for the first time in a while for our shoot.

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and he was quite determined to use them too!

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next, it was important to find some Oswin-sized wildflowers for a backdrop … early mint sprigs worked fine … plus it had the added benefit of leaving me smelling delicious for the rest of the shoot!

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even some lovely yellow flowers along the side of the road can be beautiful.  in fact, i’m a sucker for ditches; the scruffy-dog mobile can often be found parked along the shoulder of some road even if it’s just to waypoint a great location into the GPS for future use.

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and then home, where Oswin was able to rest.

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and his favorite spot is by the fire.

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but of course, i couldn’t resist a few shots of him on this lovely leather chair …

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thank you, Deb, for sharing your amazing man with me.  it was a honor to work with him, and i hope i have captured his character and essence in the images throughout your gallery.

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By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , , | Comments (35)

another sneak peek …

23 June 2010 – 8:37 am

… of a sweet old man.  this one’s for Deb, to tide her over until i get to the rest Oswin’s images.

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i hope to share more of this mighty little man’s shoot with you all very soon.  hang in there, Ozzy!

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

why scruffy dog photography?

15 October 2009 – 11:59 am

dogs like Layla is why …

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Layla — weighing less than my Nikon — is barely a handful … a handful of wiggling sweetness and sheer, squirming love.  however, she’s also a handful of nervous energy who flinches at any click or noise, and whose recent introduction to her owner’s DSLR has unfortunately been done with a flash.  this can often cause even more fear of the looming camera and the shocking noise of the shutter.

add to that an allergy that forbids her to partake in the absolutely irresistible scruffy dog treats which accompany me on every shoot, and bringing this wee girl around took more than the average camera-shy subject.  as previous clients know, i don’t watch the clock at a shoot, so i honestly don’t know how many hours it took for sweet Layla to come around.  honestly, there were times when i worried it would be hopeless.

you can see from the depth of field in this photo (the focus on the brick much in the foreground) that at the first click of the shutter, Layla has scurried back by at least five feet, much out of the focus of the camera where she’d been only a second earlier between the first and second shutter release.  terrified.

however, as past clients will know i don’t give up.  i will move on when the dog clearly shows me that they need to, but i’ve been known to spend twenty minutes or more just on one shot, on one ‘sit’ in one setting with a dog or puppy who perhaps isn’t as highly trained.  it’s times like these when i sometimes feel the owners’ frustrations rise, and i often find myself having to assure them that i’m in no way frustrated and that this can be perfectly normal.

but Layla was a challenge … and as i worked with her through some of my behavioral tricks, kept watch of her body language as well as my own, rewarded, marked and encouraged, i often found myself thinking: how on earth would a regular photographer ever handle a case like this?  a photographer without the experience of working with and understanding dogs? and the truth is, they wouldn’t.  or rather, they wouldn’t get this:

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or this …

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this isn’t Layla’s official blog entry.  i’m sure i’ll be putting one up of her other shots from her day.  i just wanted to share the experience.

i’m left wondering only one thing … would Marci have noticed if i’d stuffed this ball of sweetness in my camera bag at the end of the shoot?

By illona | Posted in about us, clients & sneak peeks | Also tagged , | Comments (4)