THIS MAKES ME GIGGLE LIKE A GIRL!

I'm really NOT the kind that "giggles"!  I'm happy...  I laugh ALOT, but I rarely giggle!  My brother sent this to me after he asked for a picture of one of my parrots.  He didn't specify which parrot...just ONE of them!

So, the backstory...  We've been looking for a LONG time for the right builder to enclose part of our patio so I can put the bird cages out there and get rid of some of the daily cleaning.  For those of you that aren't 'Bird People', you may not realize how messy birds can be.  It's a continuous cycle of cleaning!  Before work, after work, before bed...I don't ever want my home to LOOK like I have animals!  I'm almost obsessive about it!  Well, okay, I AM obsessive about it!  But, I also know how important it is for birds to be part of the action... part of where everyone hangs out.  They're social beings and to put them in a back room or away from people just for convenience is something that breaks my heart.

So, we're tearing out a wall and making it a large sliding door; enclosing part of the patio, and that, as well, will have a double sliding door to the outside.  They will have the best of both worlds.   They will still be in constant visual contact with us and they will have the chance to be out in the fresh air.  But...Best of all...  NO. MORE. MESS!  I can't wait. Construction should begin soon.  All the permits have been pulled and they're waiting for all the supplies to arrive.

So... this is what my brother sent me:

DOGGIE DOOR LOVE!!

How cute is this??  I think I might have to work on creating one!  Not only does this doggie door have it's own awning and planters on each side of the entrance... The dog has HIS OWN ADDRESS!

Source

WHAT AM I ???

Oh...  I LOVE this Giant Rodent!  I've always playfully called my dog, Squirt, a Giant Rodent (hence the name of this blog!), but I got to play with a REAL giant rodent last week!  I have many more photos to come... but in the meantime...  Who knows what this is?  (Liberty Wildlife volunteers... you can't play this game!)

Oh... what BIG teeth you have!!

MEET CHEDDAR!

I've had cats my entire life, but have never had an Orange Kitty!  Everyone tells me that orange kitties are special.  Well, if Cheddar is any indication, they could be right!  What a personality!  He lives with two St. Bernards and pretty much uses their huge, soft, furry bodies as a place to nap!  Cheddar is going through some 'ear issues' right now, so we're hoping for a quick cure!  Love this cat!

NEED FOREVER HOMES!!

These three adorable kittens are looking for their forever homes!  They are all so sweet that I almost didn't let them leave the studio the other night!  They purr louder than any kittens I remember!  I'm such a sucker for kittens because it's been so long since I've had one.  I always seem to adopt the older kitties that I think will be harder to place!  Or... rescues from the desert that I know will soon turn into 'coyote food'!  That's how my last two sweet cats came into my life!

Please pass this on to anyone who might like to add a sweet little kitten to their life!! Contact me if you're interested in meeting one (or all!) of them!  I can put you in touch with the girl that is fostering them...

THE BOYS OF SUMMER...

In a minor deviation from Pet Photography I had the chance to photograph a great group of kids during their last baseball game of the season!  So much fun!

 

DOG BEACH PHOTOSHOOT!

Okay, I'm a couple days behind with details on Dog Beach but that's just the way things seem to be running lately!!

As I posted on Facebook a few days ago, Squirt and I are going to be in San Diego at Ocean Beach/Dog Beach on Sept. 4, 5, and 6th.  I'm going to be staying at the Ocean Villa Inn.  It's not the Ritz, but it IS right on the beach and most rooms are dog-friendly.  I would have stayed over a weekend to make it easier for people that work Monday through Friday, but the difference in room rates between Friday, Saturday and Sunday versus Monday through Thursday was almost $100.00/night!

I will be able to photograph only a limited number of dogs because I'm going to make this a vacation too!  If anyone is interested, please contact me as soon as possible!  Regular session fees apply and Gift Certificates will be valid for these sessions as well!

CREATURE OF THE NIGHT!!

I'm taking a break from our regular posts on cats, dogs and birds so I can show you this awesome creature I had a chance to photograph a couple weeks ago!

This cute little guy is a Pallid Bat.  Yes...  I really DO think he's cute!  I LOVE bats!!  These guys range from Canada to Central Mexico and are between 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 inches in length, so they're pretty good size!  They have big eyes and giant ears!

Pallid Bats feed on insects and can consume up to half of their WEIGHT in insects every night!  Even though they catch most of their prey on the ground they'll ususally take it back to their roost to eat it!  They're my heros... they actually help keep the scorpion population down.  Obviously not enough though, because we still have them skitter though the house MUCH more frequently than I would like!  Well...  in a perfect world, that would be NEVER!!

I'm hiding... You can't see me!

Oh...  You're still there??

Time for my close-up!

Check out my spikey little teeth!!

I'm outta here!  I LOVE the crepe-y, transparent skin on their wings... 

EMMA, TOOTSIE & TATERS | Phoenix Pet Photographer

A couple weeks ago, after being rained out once, I finally had a chance to do a session with Emma and her two beautiful Great Danes, Tootsie and Taters!  It was a blast!  And, her mom Kathleen, who owns A-1 Animal Talent came along as well, so I actually had someone ELSE who was positioning the dogs for me and getting them to look at the camera!  Geez...a girl could get used to that!  I didn't have to get up and down off the ground 750 times during the session like I ususally do!

Emma was up for ANYTHING! She has tons of energy (even though she really isn't a 'morning person') and an unmatched sense of humor! She threatened to show up in her jammies before she had to change into the outfit she brought! She really wasn't kidding about that part though!

Look at her rock those heels!  She can actually RUN in those things!!

She's dwarfed by these two gentle giants...

Tootsie is her sweet older girl.

Does anyone remember the reruns of Marlo Thomas in "That Girl"?  Well, Emma reminded me of her when she took to the fountain at the end of the shoot!  I TOLD you she was up for anything!

Thanks, Emma...  for being such a good sport about anything I wanted to try and for keeping me constantly amused with your hysterical e-mails!  And a special thanks to Kathleen for all your help!  I'm forever spoiled now!  There are lots more images waiting for you when you get back!

Now...  go off and 'save a species'!! 

INSTAGRAM LOVE!

I know it's been more than 'forever' since I've posted anything here, so I decided I either have to start posting regularly or just delete this poor forgotton blog!  I LOVE reading other people's blogs way more than I like writing my own!  But I also really like their purpose!

It gives people a chance to find out a little bit about me personally that they wouldn't otherwise know unless they hung out with me alot!  Well, no one is hanging out with me a LOT anymore because I've been so buried in work that I haven't had time to 'hang out' at ALL!

But I want to quickly tell you a little about my latest obsession!  I sort of have 'serial obsessions'!!  I think I might be a tad ADD!!  Well, maybe more than just a 'tad'!

But... my latest love is INSTAGRAM!  I'm having a blast with the camera on my iPhone.  When I stop to think that the 8 MP camera in the phone is of higher quality than my first DSLR, it amazes me that I can carry such great technology around in such a small package!  Even though I did just get a brand-shiny new full-frame DSLR (more on that in another post!), I'm having a great time playing with the iPhone's camera! 

Maybe what makes it so much fun is that I've decided to shoot ONLY for ME with the iPhone.  No expectations of what I think a client might want...  Not just adorable little animal faces...  I pretty much shoot EVERYTHING!!  I use all the high saturation that I don't get to do on a regular basis!  I can play with lots of grunge and HDR looks!

So, I've embedded the Instagram widget on the right-hand side of this blog so you can see some of the madness for yourselves! 

THE BEAUTY OF POLLINATION

This was a YouTube video passed along to me by friend and fellow nature lover, Megan Mosby.  I'm sure this must have been filmed with a high-speed camera in order to slow down the speed of the video this much. 

It's beautiful footage...   What do you think?

SHADOW AND NORA | Scottsdale Pet Photography

The first part of this shoot was in in the studio back in 2011.  We finally got the chance to do the 'on-location' part of their shoot!  Shadow and Nora are both Agility Dogs and were so much fun to photograph!  It was one giant 'play session'!

Here are a few images from the second half of their session...

Check out the great expression on Shadow's face!



 Paul and Cher...thank you for letting me do photos of your pups! 

HAPPY 'BELATED' NEW YEAR! | Phoenix Pet Photographer

Better late than never, I guess!  While most people are making resolutions to blog more, promote more, use Facebook more, I seem to have gone in the opposite direction for the beginning of this year!  I've purposely tried to spend less time in front of the computer; spend less time on Facebook; and to go out and PLAY more!  I think I was a little burned out by the end of the year!

I look back on 2011 and realize that I spent the majority of my time glued to the computer "working".  Some of it was fun, don't get me wrong!  I love editing the photos of all those sweet faces that I photographed, but I don't think I really used my time wisely!  I can get completely lost on the internet jumping from website to website, blog to blog of different photographers and realize later three hours have passed!  I love all the online tutorials, but I never really took any time for myself.

So, that's my New Year's resolution!  Use the time I spend working more effectively!  Focus on one task at a time and stop multi-tasking!  I really am not more efficient while trying to do 5 things at once! So, that being said, I've just finished updating my website and want to post a few photos here from a shoot I did in late December.

Meet Baxter... Baxter is an American Curl Manx who was adopted in 2008.  This cat is so "dog-like" in some of his behaviors!  First of all, he LOVES people and just hangs around with them.  No running to hide by this cat!  And he learns tricks, just like a dog would!  While we were shooting, Jan and Joe taught him to jump from bench to bench so I could get a shot of him leaping through the air!  He was such a blast to shoot!  Thanks, Jan and Joe, for letting me photograph your awesome kitty!

THE KITTY CAT PROJECT | Phoenix Pet Photographer

I've been working on a really FUN project over the last couple weeks, but unfortunately, I can't really say much about it just yet!  Suffice it to say that I've had so much fun playing with shelter cats lately!

Foothills Animal Rescue was so great to work with on this project and all the sweet faces you see below, (and many, many more!) are still waiting for their 'forever' homes!  If you're ready to welcome a little furry feline friend into your life, check them out!  And FAR (Foothills Animal Rescue) has lots of great dogs, too!

Are these the cutest faces you've ever seen??  :)

SANTA PAWS PHOTOS ARE DONE! | Phoenix Dog Photographer

We had SOOOO much fun photographing all the adorable pups that came out last weekend to the Villa La Paws Santa Paws Event!

Thank you so much to all of you that brought your dogs out to benefit seven of our local rescue groups!  We all had such a great time while raising money for these awesome organizations.   I hope you enjoy your images!

I have lots of fun events planned for the new year, so make sure you subscribe to our blog and "Like" our Facebook Page!  This is where all the events and special Mini-Sessions will be announced first!
 
This is just a sampling of some of the dogs we had a chance to meet...

SANTA PAWS AT VILLA LA PAWS...

The Santa Paws Event at Villa La Paws is coming up soon... Next Sunday, Nov. 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  This event will benefit 7 different local rescue organizations.

There will be a choice of two backdrops...  One with "Santa Paws" on a holiday backdrop and a second set-up where headshots of your four-legged friends can be done with all sorts of holiday scarves, bandannas, antlers, hats...etc!  You get your choice of one of the two.

The fun part of this event...  along with the beverages and cookies of course, is that you can choose which organization you want your donation to go to.  There will be a jar for each organization and you will be given a 'chip' when you pay for your photo.  Just drop your chip in the jar of your choice.  Or for those that can't decide... there will be a jar that will be split equally between all the organizations that are there!

So, mark your calendars!  Printing will be done on-site, and you'll receive a holiday frame to display your photo!

CANVAS CLUSTERS | Scottsdale Pet Photographer

With the holidays right around the corner things around here are crazy busy!  I have so many photos and events to share with you!

Today I wanted to show you how images from your photo sessions can be used to create clusters.  This cluster was made from a single shoot that I did last week during the graduating class of Hollywood Dogs at Villa La Paws!  A series of images (really any number of images from 2-12) all with the same color tones work best for this effect.  The secret is to make sure to use images that compliment each other in the color spectrum!  These can be images done in the studio or on location.  We just want to make sure they are all shot with the same quality of lighting.

And this hysterical laughing dog is Shylo!  I could hardly take the photos because I was laughing so hard!

If you're in the market for a fun, personalized piece of artwork for your home consider a grouping of your images.  Although most of the time these are done as canvas prints, you can just as easily do them with the new metal prints or we can mount your images on backer board and make them seem to 'float' off the walls. 

The cluster below was done with (1) 24" x 32" and (3) 10" x 13" gallery-wrapped canvases.

HANK AND EMMY | Phoenix Pet Photographer

This shoot was a blast!  Both of these pups are adorable!

Hank and Emmy belong to Tom Murry, the owner of Villa La Paws.  This is where Hank's story begins... Hank (the light beige pup) was boarded at Villa La Paws when his owner became ill.  Weeks turned into months and sadly, the owner's health was deteriorating.  Tom had been keeping in touch with her and visited her at the hospital...weekly!  Just because that's the kind of guy he is! 

After four months the owner was distraught because a relative who lived in California that was going to take her beloved pup had decided not to.  She told Tom she didn't know what to do and Tom assured her Hank had a home.  That very night, Christmas Eve, Tom went back to Villa La Paws and took Hank home with him...for good!  He's lived in the lap of luxury ever since!

And, according the their website, Hank earns his keep as their "VP of Media Operations"! 

His little sister, Emmy helps keep Hank young and active.  Even though Hank is starting to lose his eyesight, he romps and plays and chases Emmy around the house!

Emmy is a little star in her own right!  Check out those feathered ears!  She is so expressive and she never stops smiling!

Thank you Tom... for allowing me to photograph your pups!  Here is a 'sneak peek' of some of the photos to come!

Meet Hank...

And here is Emmy...the little dancer! 

MEET BRYANT! | Phoenix Children's (?) Photographer!

In a RARE departure from photographing all our furry and feathered friends I had the chance to play with some new ideas and photograph my beautiful nieces 10-week-old baby when they were in town at the end of August!

He is SUCH a great baby!  He is always happy... never fussy!  Not at all what I assumed babies to be like!  And since my 'kids' are only four-legged or feathered, I really don't know what else to DO with a child other than photograph it!

Here are some of my favorites from their visit...

Look at those eyes!!

HOLLYWOOD DOGS | Phoenix Dog Photographer

I had a chance to photograph the graduates of the "Hollywood Dogs" class at Villa La Paws last Thursday, and it was so much fun!

Celeste Richardson, whose uber-talented dog 'Singe' has traveled the country doing photoshoots, movies & commercials, and whose picture is now on the front of Petsmart's dog treats, teaches the class!

Kathleen, from A-1 Animal Talent, was there to scout out new dogs to sign with her agency! This is such a fun class!  My little rodent-dog 'Squirt' and I took it a couple months ago and had a blast!  Wendi Faircloth, the Training Director at Villa La Paws, was in our class and she's already done a commercial with her dog 'Secret' for the Arizona Lottery!

Check out some of the great dogs from the last class...