Slice of Nice

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!

Most handlers before doing their down and back cinch up their lead, do a courtesy turn and just do it.  Stephanie is so proud of her boy, that she bent down and gave him love before showing him off to the judge.  She is just showing off that human animal bond  :).

Here she and TAG are while the judge goes over him.

Here’s Lori with Noble.  Last time I saw Noble, he was dressed in a Christmas outfit and sound asleep in my studio.  Noble was one of the most popular Slice of Nice models during Christmas this year.  Click here to see him as a puppy.

Getting up at the crack of dawn does have a few perks, the lighting is great!  I just love this effect on Goldens.  And the best thing is, it’s not an effect, it’s just plain ol’ sunlight.  

Tasha looking for cookies

Vicki was trying to set Tasha up for her stand and she couldn’t figure out why she was so figity.  The judge was turned looking at the dog showing to her with her hands behind her back, facing Tasha.  Turns out that Miss Tasha was wondering if the judge had cookies for her!  

Jackie watching the judge

Just another little puppy who found the judge interesting that day!

Get this card in our store for Valentine's Day! Click on shop.

  It’s a great sign isn’t it?  I found it at Michael’s one year and Duncan was kind enough to model it for me.  I wanted to do this picture because I’ve always seen all those videos where they are holding up signs instead of speaking.  I thought it was great that Duncan could finally “speak” with words.  I Love You is definitely what Duncan wanted to say, well, that and “do you have any cookies”, but I couldn’t find that sign.

So, this picture became one of Slice of Nice’s Valentine’s cards for this year!  The inside reads: Be Mine.  You can pick it up in the Slice of Nice store here.   We can send it out for you or send it to you so you can give it to your Valentine!  And remember if you use this as part of your Valentine’s experience you will be supporting the National Canine Cancer Foundation also!

Alot of people that I talk to about what I do are always amazed that I find dogs easier to take pictures of than people.  We always have a great working relationship, but we do have our fair share of out takes.  So, between now and Valentine’s Day, I’m going to share several of the potential shots for our V-Day line up and some of the out takes for your fun and enjoyment!  We’ll start with the prep shot for this card.  This one was taken right when I brought the sign home, as you can see, Duncan wasn’t quite in the modeling mood at the time…

Prep Shot for the VDay card

You can also see the patch of hair that is missing on his leg, this was for an IV.  In January 2007 he had his spleen removed because he was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma.  We were hoping to get it all out by doing the removal, but Hemangiosarcoma Cancer is very aggressive and it had already spread.  Duncan’s last formal photo shoot was this Valentine’s one.  He fought the disease as long as he could and we lost him March 2007.  This is one of the reasons that we feel very strongly about supporting the National Canine Cancer Foundation.  A Cancer diagnosis is a very devastating one because most owners don’t know that dogs fall victim to it.  Duncan was our third Canine Cancer diagnosis and while we knew who to turn to and what to do, we still lost in the end.  If you have any questions about a Cancer diagnosis, please feel free to contact me.  While I am only a photographer, I can point you in the right direction of questions to ask your vet, how to find out some good information and things like that.  

Visit the Slice of Nice store and get your Valentine’s Day cards!!