AT LAST: New Website

New site is well on its way, which means before too long this link won't bring you to this site. The new format is going to be a website at the http://www.denverdogphotography.com/ URL, with a separate blog (www.DenverDogPhotography.com/blog). If you forget that blog link, you can just click on the "Blog" section of the website (under "About") and you'll be able to click on the link from there.

I've been working on this site for longer than I expected, so nobody is more excited than I am that it's finally ready to be launched. So many of you will see your dogs in the portfolio sections - THANK YOU for your support thus far! I am so excited about this photography business and can't wait to see what the future holds.

The blog will be new, too, allowing me to put up bigger photos. If the links don't work right away, stick with it. Fingers crossed everything will be up and running the next couple days.

See you over there!

Angel's Gate

I just took a mini break from working on the new website and caught the Oprah section about Angel's Gate.  It's an animal hospice where they take in special needs animals (many are critically and/or terminally ill).  The segment totally touched me and made me want to do two things immediately.  First, I am going to make a donation to Angel's Gate.  (They also have a sponsorship program too, which is worth checking out.)  Second, I wan to run out and adopt as many dogs as I can fit in my house.  

My grandfather was the truest animal lover I've ever known.  He just communed with animals in a way he never did with people.   He'd have helped any animal he could, no matter the inconvenience or cost.  I'd like to believe I've inherited some of that quality, and I've been working to establish relationships with various breed-specific and general canine charities in the Denver area.  Starting September 1st I am going to donate 5% of my total proceeds to the canine charity of my clients' choice.  Eventually I'd like to do more - but that's at least a start.

Whatever you do with the rest of your day, take a few moments to think about how you can help.  It's way too easy to get caught up  in our own routines - so consider this a reminder to think outside the box for a moment.  And give your own dog a big kiss.

Rowan

I've known Rowan + his mom (Nadia) for a while through various online forums where our paths have crossed. Nadia and I have a lot in common, not least of which is the fact that she got her Ridgeback puppy not too long after we got ours. In fact, she nearly got a puppy from Roux's litter. And after meeting Rowan it's hard to believe she didn't, they look so similar. Rowan is absolutely drop dead gorgeous, and I know I'm biased because I adore Ridgebacks so much, but he really is a lovely dog. He's super laid back and really well manered (especially for a 7-month-old puppy). And I'm not the only one who noticed. Roux got to meet Rowan as well and is pretty much in love.

I have the photos to prove it.

Once again I am going to just post a couple of Rowan because I am still waiting on the new site for the full post. I know, I've been saying that for an entire week now. But it's true; I really am going to update the new site with additional photos from all these shoots this week, because I love them all.

I just don't have the patience to wait on all of them. So here are a few select Rowan photos. . .








And last (but certainly not least) definitive proof that Roux + Rowan are in love:




How cute is that???

Baz

Brace yourself for huge quantities of adorableness. My shoot yesterday was a 13-week-old Golden Retriever puppy named Baz, and he's off the richter on the cute scale.

(...new website still in the works....)

Stella

The new website is officially in the making and I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can have it launched by the end of this week. I won't be posting full stories here in the meantime as I'm working on the new site, but I'll keep you in the loop with little updates.

This is the super photogenic Stella. Her mom is Susanne, who owns and runs Pupsicles Dog Care; if you're in the Denver area and need a dog sitter (be it an hour or a day), she's fabulous. We are so picky about who watches Roux, but never worry when Susanne is coming over. Anyhow, Stella translates rather well in black and white. She is also hands down one of the most expressive dogs I've ever photographed. She's so in tune with what's going on around her that it wouldn't surprise me if she opened her mouth and out came a sentence.









She is still really wonderful in color as well.

Benny, Part I

A new website for Denver Dog Photography is in the works (!) and I am going to wait until it's up and running to post Benny's whole shoot, that's how much I love how his photos turned out. But I don't have the patience to wait for all of them, so here's a sneak preview of the lovely Benny (a 10-year-old English Sheepdog).

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Hiatus

I have a shoot this morning and then we're heading out for a 5 day backpacking trip; hence the posting hiatus for the next few days.


I'll leave you with a few shots of Roux's recent adventure at a local dog park/reservoir. The dogs there were so crazy happy I think it was like the canine equivalent to a college kegger party.



This is Roux's friend, Ellie, who is much braver than Roux and shoves her entire face in the water. I have catalogued Roux's inefficency when it comes to swimming before; it's still something we're working on. Someday I hope she'll walk around with her head submerged because it makes for a cute photo.

Stella

I loved my shoot with Stella. It probably had a little to do with the fact that she's a 4-month-old puppy (no one can resist a puppy, least of all me), the fact that she looks a whole lot like a Rhodesian Ridgeback (she's actually a Rottweiler/Boxer mix) and the fact that there's never a dull moment when she's around. Stella is such a puppy; all curiosity, trouble, energy and kisses for just about anyone in sight. I'm also really jazzed about how some of the lighting in the photos came out. (Yes, I said "jazzed"; that probably qualifies me as permanently uncool). Sometimes I think I'd like to get into studio photography - it would be nice to know exactly what kind of light I was getting every time. But then I come home from a shoot with photos like these and I can't get over how exciting it is to find awesome light naturally. There's something so basic about that, just you and your subject and natural light - I think it makes me feel like I am capturing something instead of creating something.

Enough babbling. Here is the lovely Stella:

I always post additional photos of shoots on my Flickr site, but this time especially you should check it out if you want to see more of Stella... there are about 20 more photos I love just as much as these.

Smile

I am constantly amazed at the range of facial expressions dogs have. I'll never understand how some people think they don't have emotions.

This is Stella, and she is obviously smiling.

More from Stella's shoot soon...

Frank + Susan

Yesterday I did Frank + Susan's shoot. They are both Cairn Terriers (I'm told this is the same kind of dog as Todo in the 'Wizard of Oz'). I've never had little dogs, so I never know exactly what to expect when I meet them, but these little guys were downright hilarious. They're a little pair of wizards; they move so fast it's almost impossible to keep up with them (especially with a bulky camera). Still, they were a blast to photograph - and I had a great time photographing their parents, too.

Frank:




Susan:






and the whole beautiful little family...

Emma + Otis

Otis - unlike his sister Emma - is definitely a little trouble maker. He's a sweetheart and while he loves attention, it might come in a close second to how much he loves getting into trouble. It's a good thing he's so cute - I'd imagine it's pretty much impossible to get mad at him. Amy and Mike rescued Otis from a shelter in Wyoming (although how anybody could not want a face that looks like his is beyond me). He's coming up on two, which means he's basically still a puppy and that probably accounts for some of his antics. Otie is one of those dogs who will always look like a puppy; he has one of the sweetest little faces you've ever seen. If you can look at these photos and not want to kiss that nose, there's probably something wrong with you.

Emma is a 9-year-old mix (probably has some Skipperkee in there). She's a rescue dog that Amy fell in love with when she dog sat for some friends who were fostering her, and after meeting Emma, you can see why Amy had to take her home. She lives for human attention (unlike Roux, for example, who would rather shove her face in a strange dog's mouth than cuddle in my lap). In fact, Emma was probably one of the more difficult dogs I've photographed, partly because she's pitch black, but mostly because she's so friendly I had a hard time keeping her far enough away from me to get a decent photo. I ended up liking them quite a lot, and feel like a few of these are really quintessentially Emma. When I was editing some of these I did notice that Emma looks a lot like a mini bear (especially in the 3rd photo of this set).

...and the kids together: