Jack’s daddy is on the landscape committee and board at Oakland Cemetery, so I was so excited when we decided to do our session there. The cemetery is so amazingly beautiful and since Jack LOVES to spend time there being the “unofficial” guard dog of the entire place, it was an absolute blast watching him do what he loves doing most! Plus, well, Jack is the most super cutest. Ever. 

When we set up our session, Jack’s dad told me that Jack is very very camera shy. He said he’s been able to get a few shots of Jack in his whole life, but that’s about it – and that he runs and hides whenever he sees a camera! So I pretty much came prepared for the worst.

The hiding behind the legs didn’t surprise me much at all…

Neither did the suspicious looks and lack of enthusiasm.

This look was a flat-out challenge. “You gonna keep sticking that camera in my face? It’s gonna cost you…”

But soon it seemed that a sufficient amount of treat bribery was reached – plus we found a stick!

And then we had a happy pup! Jack and I quickly became best buds, but it was clear that Jack truly is a Daddy’s Boy.

Oakland was truly such an inspiring place to shoot. The combination of the architectural elements and the gorgeous landscaping on a beautiful spring day – it doesn’t get much better.

Jack and his dad have this game that somehow turns Jack into Demon Dog…pretty scary.

The Boys. Love them.

Can you imagine anything cuter than that sweet little flat face?! I love Jack!

I love the black and white fur with all the gray stone and bright green foliage at Oakland.

I reeeeeeaaaaaaallllly want that treat!!!!!!!!!

If you haven’t visited Oakland Cemetery and you’re in the Atlanta area, make sure you take a trip out this year. You can also read about the ongoing restoration project that Jack and his dad are a big part of! It’s so important to restore and preserve this historic Atlanta site. Take a look, pay Oakland a visit, and you might just see Jack walking the grounds!

Fine Art Acrylic AND Weekly Date Book! 

These are excellent choices and I can’t wait to start making them for you! 

And there are more winners to announce – the winners of the SSP voters prize, of course! Congratulations to

Marissa

Joanie

and Deb!

Keep an eye on your emails ladies, for your official instructions on how to claim your prize!

What did they win, you ask? These:

A set of 10 notecards with matching envelopes from the ever-so-popular Man’s Best Friends series. These were some of the best loved images at the show, and I think (if I do say so myself) they make charming little notes. I hope you enjoy them! And if any of you who didn’t win would also like to enjoy them, check out the new listing in my Etsy shop!

Thanks again for voting!

I’m going to be adding a new product to the already fabulous line of pampered pet products that SSP offers, and I need your help!  I want to know what YOU think SSP should offer. And for your time and opinions, I’m going to randomly choose three commenters to receive an excellent SSP best of 2009 calendar, gratis!

The calendars are printed on recycled paper and measure 4.25″ x 8.5″, and are great for hanging at your desk, using as bookmarks, or clipping to the fridge! They feature some of my favorite images from the past year, and the starting month can be customized just for you – so pick when you’d like the calendar to start and you’ll receive the next 12 months! The calendars will also be available via my Etsy shop, Foglio Press, in the next month or so – and a portion of all the proceeds will be donated to animal charities.

So that is the giveaway, and now for the voting! Here are the items that are nominated for induction into the SSP products family.

Impression cases are custom-made boxes that house 4 x 6 prints of all of your session images. If you’re having trouble deciding on which images are your favorites, this is a beautiful and custom way to display all of them! The box itself is custom designed based on your color choices and your favorite image for the front.

The wall calendar is an excellent way to show off your pooch {or kitty!} at the office and keep him on your mind all day long! Choose your top 12 picks and we’ll add them to the calendar.

Another great option for gazing at your gorgeous four-legger throughout the day, the 52-week date book is spiral bound and includes - count ‘em – 52 images! Can’t choose just 12? Go for the 52-week.

The final product option is a Fine Art Acrylic print – perfect for display in the modern pet family’s home! While our current offering of Fine Art Metal prints is an excellent modern showcase for black and white images, the acrylic really emphasizes vibrant, saturated color. So if you just love that photo of kitty’s bright blue eyes, this is the way to go! They mount to the wall using the stainless standoffs shown at right for a clean and contemporary finish.

So what do you think? See why I’m having a hard time deciding for myself?! If you had to choose just one of these four options, which would you choose?

1. Impression Case        2. Wall Calendar        3. 52-week Date Book      4. Fine Art Acrylic 

To vote, leave a comment below and tell me which one you like best! The vote will continue through Friday, March 5th and the winners of the three free SSP best of 2009 , 2010 calendars will be posted on Monday, March 8th. So check back to see if you’re a winner! And spread the word to your friends… I want this to be the start of lots of participation on the blog from my SSP family!

Oh, and one more thing – check out the brand new SSP portfolio website, just launched! All information on booking sessions and client proofs, as well as our amazing current SSP product line will be available on the portfolio site from now on. And keep checking right here for the latest news, more pet events, and most recent session sneak peeks.

Happy Wednesday!

Those first two images look so much like Henry and Dakota’s personalities to me…Henry being feisty and always ready to play, and Dakota so chill and serene, with such a sweet elegant beauty about her! The two below show those personalities even more…

Even though Dakota is the older sister she still loves to get in on the action! Such a brother and sister moment.

We were a little worried about doing our session in the middle of winter…but the sky was blue, and the golden grass actually looked beautiful against Henry and Dakota’s fur. It ended up being a beautiful afternoon for a session!

The best part about this shot is that they each had their own bones…but they wanted to share. How cute is that?!

Playtime! Henry loves loves loves this toy…

Two new personal favorite action shots! Love the blue sky with a bit of cloud, and that golden light surrounding Henry!

All Dakota’s daddy had to do was step outside the screen door to the porch, and that little nose was glued to the screen…

And the same with Henry!

Another new set of personal faves…just look at those snouts!

“What’s that on the counter Daddy? Food? Is it food?”

Dinner time!!!!!!!

And with that, my work was done! What a fun day! Thanks for letting me come over and play Henry & Dakota…You guys are the best!

Of course, that is just an example of why you should Never Say Never. And now for lots and lots of baby photos! {mommy – tissue time.}

I love this photo to start because I think it is so completely indicative of Aiden’s big personality. At 3 moths old. Oh yeah, we’re in trouble.

I mainly had to include the one on the left because the blanket in the background was a home-made present from Aunt Sarah! Shameless, I know.

He was working SO hard at holding his head up to look at the camera! What a big strong boy…

Another quintessential Aiden expression…

Now, I could be wrong here, but something tells me this is what life is all about.

Why am I not surprised at the little attitude that comes out when in Daddy’s arms? 

Dude. Have you seen these eyelashes?

Proud Daddy working on a mobile that he and Mommy are making together.

Poor Javier! He’s used to being the star in the family…Especially when I have my camera there! 

Cutest. Family. Ever.

Ok, so don’t get used to this kind of thing. But I had to share my Aiden experience! This probably isn’t the last you’ll see of that dark brown hair and those gorgeous eyelashes. But in the next couple of weeks, things will get back to normal with some new doggie shoots and two gorgeous felines. Just the way I planned….

And don’t worry. I may have done a baby shoot, but I’ll Never do toddlers. So not a toddler kind of gal. ;o)

D5XXTDMQ4WSD

Some of my wonderful subjects take a little while to warm up to me when we first meet. Often they know how much I love pets, and so they are friendly, but maybe a bit cautious at the same time – until they discover the stash of treats that I always have on hand! Well this boy was not one of those pets! He and I immediately bonded, which I knew because of the onslaught of lovely kisses with which he greeted me – from inside his mommy’s car.

So our day was off to a fabulous start, and just kept getting better! Check out how happy this guy was to see his Daddy. 

Jack’s sweet little tufts of white hair on his belly are soooo cute…and so are those adoring brown eyes.

Jack brought his favorite Fishy toy to the park to play, and I kept feeling like I was talking to Cat when I would tell him “Go get your Fishy!”

Below, check out the crooked lip. Love.

Just look at that gorgeous, super shiny black coat in the sunshine!

Break for some good lovin from Mommy!

Do you think this guy is starved for attention? I’m gonna say no…

Tell me this isn’t one gorgeous little pooch family! I am one lucky photographer!

No words for the joy this brings to my heart…

Jack has a white beard just like my parents’ Abraham does! In fact, they have a lot in common. I kind of wonder if they’re related!

Wet paws = happy pup.

Yes, that is one sleepy, happy pup.

Jack, I want to bring you home with me! Happy New Year buddy!

Stick with me in 2010 SSP family…I promise more snouts, wagging tails, pet news and products and a more interesting and exciting blogging year! Best wishes and take care of those 4-leggers in the cold!

But apparently Stella has another favorite too..the classic Coors.

We took a little belly-rub break for a minute, and you wouldn’t believe some of the looks on this happy girl’s face – check out those teeth!

Crunchy fall leaves and a regal, beautiful pup.

I absolutely love Stella’s amber eyes.

Stella is yet another girl who love-love-loves her tennis ball!

Here Stella’s mom is holding the tennis ball but telling Stella not to take it yet…absolute torture! But what a good girl. You can see the anticipation in her eyes!

The next one is a personal favorite from the day – I just love how it captures her personality and spirit!

Beth, you should be very proud of your gorgeous, sweet girl! Thank you so much for sharing her with me for the morning!

Ivan has this gorgeous brindle coat that looked so amazing in the fall afternoon sunlight.

He is the older sibling, and it was fun to watch him just sort of chill out in the background while Maude played and ran around. Here he is just basking in the sunshine!

BUT, when Ivan has something to say, he’ll say it! He must be part wolf, the way he howls and howls!

“My turn!” says Maude!

What a happy girl she is…

Ivan & Maude’s parents saw the Man’s Best Friends series from last winter, and they wanted to see if we could get some shots of their best friends too. These are so cute! Just lounging in the yard, sipping a brew… Check out Maude’s shy flirty smile!

Action series!

I love how the leaves in this shot perfectly complement Maude’s coat, and how it all stands out against the bright green grass.

It’s so hilarious when dogs sit on steps like this! Can you see how she’s sitting?

Flying Maude!

Check out the drool shot, below left…nice, right? Drool in the wind…

You just can’t help but smile to see the loving, simple happiness in a dog’s gaze like this. Hope it warms up your November afternoon like it did mine!

Lucy and Ricky are two Pomeranians with such spunky and sweet little personalities. Ricky is 17 and has been a best friend to his dad for a long, long time – so his mom thought that it would be a nice surprise to have a special photo session just for Ricky. And of course, Lucy had to be included in some of the shots! But first, meet Ricky.

One of my favorite things about Ricky is the way his whiskers are all kind of crooked and bent. I think it’s fabulous.

You can definitely tell that Ricky is a happy little dog – he is always smiling! And he has this light in his eyes that just melts your heart.

At 17, he still has more energy than I do….

Personal favorites from this session next – love the colors, the light, the look in Ricky’s eyes. He has a puppy-like quality to me in the photo below on the left. 

So, for the beginning of our session, we let Lucy stay upstairs while I spent some time alone with Ricky – much to Lucy’s disdain. Then I met Lucy, and I knew exactly why we did that! Here’s Lucy!

“Play with me! Play with me! Play with me! Play with me!”

LOVE this next one of Lucy & Ricky together.

Another fabulous smile!

On the right, big brother protects the household… You’re so tough Ricky!

What a fun day I had with Lucy and Ricky! Thanks Gabby for letting me have such a great time with your little fur-balls! 

To refresh your memories, Dogtoberfest was a fabulous event organized by Taj Mahound, to raise money for improvements to the Oakhurst Doggie Park. Anything we can do to make our pups’ lives more fun and healthy is important in my book, so I was really excited to be able to be a part of the event. There were some other great vendors there as well, along with Frogs to Dogs  dog training giving tips and info on their new Emergency Pet Rescue Vehicle, and Animal Action Rescue with adorable adoptable pooches a microchip clinic! The turnout was even better than I think any of us had expected, and it was such a fun-filled day of pups in costumes, sharing with fellow dog lovers, and all-out canine chaos! But enough talk… let’s get on with the photos!

This was my “booth” at the event! Yes, ok, it was a table. But I thought it was pretty! We raffled off a full photo session, gave out info on our 2009 holiday card collection, showed off a coffee table book, pocket folio and Digital Tintype, and had a few Man’s Best Friends notecards for sale. Plus, the all-important bowl of Milkbones, of course!

The costumes were clearly the main attraction of the day, and truthfully, I had no idea what to expect – but I was blown away! It was so much fun to see what people came up with! I loved seeing the creativity and wit that went into some of these costumes…and the two above were a hysterical way to start the day. 

Not all of the dogs were in costume, but it didn’t matter to me! I was surrounded by puppy love! And every one of them was absolutely gorgeous.

This guy is just happy to be spending the afternoon with his person. So sweet…

The Chik-fil-A costume won Most Original in the costume contest! 

These guys might be two of my favorites from the day… those faces, juxtaposed with the frivolous, frilly collars….

There were all kinds of dogs at Dogtoberfest! Little dogs and big dogs…

Happy dogs….

Shy dogs…

Dogs with simple accessories, and dogs with Halloween Pedicures!

And just like Halloween for kids, these pups’ tummies were stuffed with treats by the end of the day.

This is Gracie Lynn. She has the most beautiful smile!

You had to see this one coming!

Tinkerbell and Peter Pan won Best Group Costume in the costume contest!

These two little sweethearts (above and below) came and sat with us at the end of the day, when things were winding down. I just fell in love with them! I’m used to spending a good amount of time with my subjects, so even though I had a blast meeting all those lots and lots of doggies all day long, it was nice to get to have a little quiet time with these two adorable faces.

What a wonderful, fun day we had at Dogtoberfest! We will surely be back next year, and if you didn’t make it this year make sure to mark your calendar early for 2010! There are lots and lots more photos to see, so to check out the full gallery click here! If you see any images of your Dogtoberfest attendee that you’d like to order, use the Contact form to drop me an email and I’ll tell you how to order! I’m giving all Dogtoberfest clients 20% off of their prints ordered before November 1st. Happy Fall!