• ... home of Ontario's premier pet photographer. This is where the photos of scruffy dog photography meet the heart and soul behind all of those fun and wacky photo shoots and the long hours in the digital darkroom ... a behind-the scenes peek into the zany life of a pet-exclusive photographer and her two trusty sidekicks. For more details on illona and the mcscruffies, check out the "about" section.

    What you will find here is the past several years of blog entries -- selected client shoots, sneak peeks, facebook recaps, news and announcements, promos and specials, as well as info on canine health and general dog chat. (NOTE: previous years of blog entries have been archived.)

    So, grab a cup of jo, give your scruffnut a beef tendon to gnaw on, and enjoy the photos and ramblin's.

Apr 10 2013

another autumn facebook mashup ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

yes, we’re this far behind in blogging … showing beautiful fall colours in the dreary early months of spring … but,  hey, i just want to get us all caught up.  and i figure if i can throw a few winter blog entries up here on the scruffy dog blog, that should inspire Mother Nature to finally warm up our days so that those poor robins aren’t so cold!

so … back in those glorious days of autumn — always our busiest season where we are typically quadruple booked — we had the pleasure of meeting so many amazing scruffies … some were high-energy, crazy scruffnuts, and others shared with us the wisdom of their years during their Honor Sessions™.

Cosmo had a lot of fun at his Honor Session™…

of course, like any respectable vizsla, Cosmo’s age hardly slowed him down.

look at that smile!
and speaking of smiles … how about this one on Bozley?
Bozley’s was one of those extremely memorable Honor Sessions™.
his giddy-up — in spite of his arthritis, three legs, and cancer — just never quit  and he ended up waiting for us a lot of the time along the trail!
i also had the pleasure of meeting the very handsome, ball-crazy Charlie for a short session down by the river…

love those ears.

and then these two!  Jemma and Tohben — two Welsh springers — came from Oakville for their session, and they had one thing on their mind: hunting!

 

they could hardly sit still … and even if they did sit for a moment, their noses were still taking in all the new smells here in scruffy dog territory … we’ve got fabulously good smells here, apparently.
“birds!”

i also shared a photo last fall on the scruffy dog facebook page of the new graphics on the scruffy dog mobile.  these are just to tide us over for another year as the plan is to get a new vehicle soon … although we’ve been saying that for the last couple of years, but this 2005 Toyota Matrix just keeps on going!  best dog car ever!

never underestimate the scruffy dog mobile!  it can hold a TON of client artwork … this was just a third of our orders from our fall clients this year … all ready and in time for Christmas … an absolutely Herculean effort by SDP as well as the lab.  I think they devoted an entire week or two just to SDP clients this past December!  what you see here are several huge pieces — 54″ canvases and large framed storyboard prints — as well as a number of other framed fine-art prints and framed canvases of varying sizes, packed two rows deep!   this was not a run where the goober came along as there wasn’t even room in the front seat as it was stacked with albums and smaller prints.

and we’ll sign off with … the smell of Fritos!

hope you enjoyed this little facebook mashup.  if you would rather not have waited so long to see these scruffy dog images, join the SDP facebook page and stay up-to-the-minute with all the goings-on.  honestly, i don’t think you’ll regret it.

BUT if you’re not a facebooky, no worries.  we get it.  you can always catch up here on the blog … eventually.  but be sure to use the handy slide-out tab over there on the left and “subscribe” to the blog.  you will then receive a notification via email whenever a new blog entry is posted!  how handy is that?

  
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Michelle Bradshaw - Great blog illona. Thank you so much for all the time you spend preparing these. I love them!

Anne Alter - Spectacular!

Apr 08 2013

an autumn facebook mashup ~ {Toronto, Ontario pet exclusive photographer}

can you believe how far behind we are with blogging around here!?  still with the fall images?  no worries, i’m going to catch you all up with the fall stuff, then hit you with a few winter images … and that oughta give Mother Nature the kick in the a** she needs to finally give us spring!  what do you think?

i want to share with you my two favorite sessions from the fall … and i don’t mean my two favorite scruffies from the fall because there is no way that i could possibly choose a favorite!  i’m talking about favorite fall days, fall locations, just everything aligning … perfect weather, perfect models, wonderful wonderful wonderful …

first up, there was Rico …

LOVE this boy …
this was not Rico’s first scruffy session.  i had the pleasure of meeting this spunky, bouncy boy when he was still a wild youngster.  look for him at the end of this blog entry … yup, he was barking at me even back then!

we had a great time out at Rico’s parents’ chosen location …

… enjoying what had to be the absolute best day of the fall season.

and it should go without saying that, yes, Rico loves his ball.

and then there was sweet, sweet, sweet little Lily.  just look at that face!
Lily’s mom drove eight hours from Quebec for their session, and i’m so honored to have been entrusted with capturing Lily’s images.

you all know i’ve got a bit of a soft spot for those wirehaireds … just look at that face.

thanks, Rico and Lily, for being a part of our fabulous fall season.  you are both definitely firm and unforgettable fixtures in the scruffy dog family!

  
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Ted Covey - I really enjoyed your images of these beautiful dogs. Thank you!

Katy Brunkard - Illona, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – your ability to capture these images is mind-blowing AND then what you do to them in post is just magical. Jaw drop-ingly gorgeous.

Holly Garner-Jackson - Wow, just when I think you can;t get any better, you prove me so very wrong! These are spectacular!

illona - thanks so much, Britneye. most of the photographers who come here for mentoring fly in from all over the US — WA, CA, MS, etc. If it’s something you’d like to explore, feel free to email me for more information! happy shooting!

Britneye Ladner - You amaze me constantly. Just love everything you post, this included! Oh how I wish Canada was closer so I could mentor. If you ever feel like you need a break from the cold weather, the MS gulf coast would be an awesome place to visit. Just saying… :)

AnnaRachelle Luketic Fitzsimmons - these are absolutely spectacular…your captures exhibit their personalities……. Soooooo beautiful.

Melody Henkel - Both. Perfection!

NIna - wow! these are absolutely adorable!!

Mar 26 2013

another facebook mash-up ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

as i always say, if you want to keep on top of what’s going on here at scruffy dog, see the latest client sessions, and hear the latest news, it’s a good idea to follow us on facebook.  SDP‘s facebook page is where you’ll not only see new photos daily, but catch up on all the latest goings on … like our new contest coming up next week to win your own scruffy session to celebrate Merrick Goobernuts’ re-birthday.  and our call for models for our One-on-One mentoring sessions for visiting photographers from across the US and Canada throughout March and April and into the summer.

yes, all of this and more on the scruffy dog facebook page.  it’s the place to be!  and if you are already following SDP but we’re not showing up in your feed (because facebook is severely throttling business pages’s feeds these days, and we are reaching less than 14% of our followers), here’s what you need to do:

1. hover over the “Liked” button (because we’re assuming you already “Like” SDP!); a drop-down menu will appear;

2. make sure the “Get Notifications” is selected;

3. make sure the “Show in Newsfeed” is selected;

4. if you want to get even fancier, you can create an “Interests Lists” and add SDP to that.

And if we’re STILL not showing up regularly in your feed (as we have received reports from a number of followers who have done the above and are still seeming to miss out) …

5. make a couple of comments under some photos on the SDP wall, and “like” or “share” a couple of photos.  even just a little activity on a business page demonstrates to the FB gearheads that you’re definitely interested in the page, and they will supposedly start filtering that page’s posts more regularly into your feed.

in the meantime, if you’re not following SDP on facebook, we’ll always try to keep you caught up here on the SDP blog … although we might be a few months behind!  and remember, you can always subscribe to the SDP blog and be notified via email whenever a new entry is posted by using the “subscribe” tab over there on the left!

not unlike a lot of very busy photographers, SDP uses the quieter winter months to catch up on archiving.  in so doing, i ran across a number of gems i hadn’t shared before.  … like this gem of sweet Sarah from her scruffy summer session.

… and this one of the very handsome Charlie showing off his Karma collar….

and the super adorable Gus … one of my favorite scruffy clients ever.

of course, i simply had to share this one of the adorable Buster in the Distillery District.

and this is Abby, enjoying the summer grasses …

… the very handsome Duke.

and a little black-and-white conversion of Penny on her porch.

one of the most stunning dogs i’ve had the pleasure to work with is Boots from New York City.  you can see her and her sister Mollie’s full blog entry here.  diagnosed with cancer prior to her Honor Sessions™, Boots’ family had to say goodbye to their sweet rescue girl some months ago.  it was an absolute honor to have been entrusted to capture her images.

and then there is the sweet sweet Mabel … and her pesky brother Murdoch.  one of my favorite sessions ever.

Data came from Toronto to scruffy dog territory for his session …a little fun on the beach …

and in the big woods…

and what about the handsome Domi?

… using his brother as a pillow?

this handsome boy is Bentley and belongs to photographer Katy Brunkard

…and this is Tikka … i have no words.  but you’ll be seeing more of this monkey in the fall.  hopefully she’ll be a little more … um … mature by then.

how handsome is Rocky?

i just love Scout’s wag and happy face…

of course, no facebook mash-up would be complete without at least a couple of contributions from the resident scruffies.  merrick mcscruffy had to show off his new ball.

…it pretty much tuckered him out.

and an older shot of my me and my old girl matea

…and who doesn’t love a bath shot?

we hope you’ve enjoyed this latest facebook mash-up!  as i always say, if you want to keep your paw on the pulse, join the super-active scruffy dog facebook page!

  
Make a Comment

Pam Purves - These are fantastic. I, too, am doing dog portraiture – just started – and saw your images in Orangeville at the vet’s. You are my new inspiration!

Michelle Bradshaw - Awesome blog illona…went on an emotional roller coaster ride again. Every shot just warms my heart. Thak you!

Kaylee Greer - The light in the image of Rocky in the pond is absolutely to die for!! Magical! :)

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