Slice of Nice

When I take photos of dogs, I love to capture them doing what they want to do.  Posed shots are always nice to have, but I seem to just LOVE a picture when you can see their true personality shine through.  The next two shots are of my girl Emma.  Of course I feel she is very expressive in her eyes.

I love Em's expression here

Almost the same expression, slightly different meaning though

In the interest in getting back into the swing of things, I’m going to do a series on my favorite pictures.  Get back in the swing of things you say, why are you out of the swing?  A little over a year ago we moved from Scottsdale, AZ to Longview, TX.  At the time it seemed like a logical move, because my Mom needed some help as she was being moved into assisted living at age 62.  However, the move to Longview has created such a culture shock for us, moving from a big resort town to a very small East Texas town, I got lost. I became caught up in family and moving and figuring out where exactly we had moved to.  I’m just now starting to come out of this fog and getting back to what I really love to do, while adding a few new skills and oh yes, we are adding a new family member, a baby this time, not a puppy.

So, here’s the first one that came from a photo shoot of Gail’s Border Collie’s, all of which came from Arizona Border Collie Rescue.

Profile of some gorgeous BC's

Tessa's eyes are captivating

In November of 2009 we added another new member of the family, one of a completely different color!  We have supported Arizona Border Collie Rescue for a long time, but had never owned a Border Collie.  We were a Golden Retriever family.  So, why support BC Rescue?  Simply stated, they needed me.  They needed and wanted a photographer who would help them to raise funds and Golden rescue had more than enough help. That is how doing their calendar came about and how eventually I would talk my husband into saying yes to a BC.

Actually, I can’t really take credit for Finn coming into our family.  It was all her.  I knew I would have a sales job if I wanted a BC and I never could find the right selling point for Gary.  But one day, at a show where I was working the NCCF booth and ABCR was there, I brought over one of their puppies to play with during our time there.  As I went to help a customer, I handed the pup to Gary and walked away.  When I turned to take her back, he was gone.  I saw him in the distance on his way back to the ABCR booth.  Of course, I thought he was taking her back to them, but when he re-appeared, he was still holding her and she was staring at me.  He said, if you want her, she is yours.  I was in shock.  Did my husband just say yes to a BC and I didn’t even ask?

It turns out that when I handed her to him, with her little speckled legs and big ears, she looked directly at him and then licked his nose.  She made him cry.  That was it, it was that simple.  He fell in love with her and voila, Finn was ours.  That is how we came across our first real rescue.

She loves to curl up with Armani:

And she will play ‘fetch’ endlessly:

We have known Armani for awhile.  I’ve competed against him in the show ring.  I always loved seeing him on the table, virtually asleep while his Mom was getting him ready to show.  When the offer was made to us to take care of Armani, I jumped at the chance.

Ball Guy

When he came into our house we found out what his true personality was.  He is the mushiest dog I have ever met in my life.  Soft doesn’t even begin to describe him!  He is so very sweet and is very practiced with his puppy dog eyes.  When you pick him up to take him off the grooming table, he is a rag doll.  Not one wiggle out of him, no matter what you do!  We’ve had 6 Goldens before Armani and none of them have prepared me for him.

I have always had respect for people who rescue dogs and I’ve always given to help rescue.  But my level of respect has gone up even further now for the people of rescue who foster and adopt dogs that they have only just met in their 5th year of life.  Armani is five years old and he is who he is.  He has adapted to his new home with us and has learned to love the early morning walks, that he’s never had before.  But he is a challenge to me since I am so used to dogs I have raised from a puppy.  What I mean is, that usually when I raise a dog, I know what makes them happy, what triggers the wild dog run around the yard, the good words to use when I need to get the proper cock of the head for a picture.  When you get a dog who is already established, you  have to find all of this through trail and error.  While this can be fun, it can also be a bit frustrating and I guess that is what I am saying about Armani.  He is teaching me  how to reach out to him and how to be patient because he is such a different personality than any of our other goldens!

It’s been two months or so now since we have brought this silly, mushy boy into our home and I love his eyes and enjoy looking for a tail wag.  My hats off to you who rescue dogs of all ages and breeds.  What a job you do finding out how to make a neglected or abused dog whole and happy again.

Mani boy smiling

And Romeo make 5, months that is!  I’m working on the 2010 Arizona Border Collie Rescue calendar.  I first met Romeo when he was a puppy at Travel Hounds USA.  Romeo’s Mom is my friend, Layne, who owns Travel Hounds.  Ever since I’ve know Romeo, he’s been a very shy border collie and only warms up to you if you are worthy.  I was delighted to take pics of Mr. Romeo when he was a pup and this is one of my favorite pics and probably will show you his personality more than I can describe.

Owning a store full of agility equipment, you would think that Layne would have an agility dog - and as I see it - she finally took a step to the dark side and was going to try out her BC agility dog.  However, Romeo had different ideas.  There was something about agility that he wasn’t really keen on, so one day, Layne does what every BC owner seems to do at one time or another - she went herding with her Romeo. Most of those who run off to herd fall in love with the sport.  I think it’s something about watching your dog do what they were bred to do.

As a photographer, it’s really hard to capture the herding shots you think you should be taking.  For instance - the dog working the sheep.  I have always wanted the shot with the herd in the forefront and the BC coming around them.  But, alas, sheep and herding dogs don’t go where photographers want them to go.  So, I go for one of my other favorites - the BC watching his sheep.

I also love to focus on the sheep - because they seem to be talking in some of the shots.  Or they just look plain vacant.  I would title this one “Sheep Talk”:

As a dog lover, I really enjoy watching the border collies herd.  It is just fascinating that they know this stuff to the core of their being.  Watching Romeo herd was especially fun because I have known him since a puppy and Layne’s struggles with his shyness and finding something that he likes to do.  Romeo, the herding dog, is COMPLETELY different from the Romeo I’ve met.  He is full of confidence and walks with a completely different air about him.  I have no doubt that the calendar picture we pick for him will be of this new Romeo on his way to being a herding dog extraordinare!

The Arizona Border Collie Rescue 2010 Calendar should be available for purchase in September 2009.  Keep an eye here for ordering information!

  As every photography pro or enthusiast knows, you have to keep your camera and lenses clean!  Since I work with dogs, I am constantly cleaning my lenses and the sensor in my camera.  Slobber is a work hazard for me!

About two months ago, I dropped one of my camera’s with a lens attached.  I was getting this weird error 99, so I sent it in to be fixed.  When it returned, I found a note from the technician that told me I might still get the error and if so, I needed to send in the lens.  Well, of course I got the error and I was NOT excited about having to send in my lens.  So, I decided to write them about it and complain, not that it was going to do me any good, I was still expecting to send in the lens.

As it turns out, I followed their directions of cleaning the contacts for the lens and voila - I got some NICE pics this morning from the offending lens and camera combo!  My moral of the story being - before you send in your camera for repair - email them and ask if there is anything you can try first.  

Here’s a small check list for your SLR before contacting your camera maker:

Clean all the lenses - including taking off their protective filter and cleaning it.

Take an eraser or soft cloth and clean off the contacts where the camera body and lens come together.  Be sure not to get anything in the camera body.

Clean your sensor according the instruction manual that came with your camera.

Check your cards and format them in the camera.

Just by doing this simple maintenance you may find an improvement in the clarity of your photos!

Have Fun!