I finally finished designing adorable Emma and Vegas' Decopaw art proofs. Emma's mom (Vegas belongs to her friend, and will be having me do art later on), wanted simple design proofs in warm tones that go with the colors in their home.

These are my 3 favorite proofs, although I might like to see some green or something in the last 'berry' proof.

These will be hung in a row as a triptych of canvases, in the order you see them below, with the middle proof of Emma with her head cocked the biggest canvas of the 3.



































































Emma's mom will be getting back to me shortly on what she'd like in the way of changes made to each proof. There are 3 different color versions for each of the above proofs, and I decided to throw in the bar elements to make the simple proofs a little bit more dynamic. Stumble It!

These gorgeous gals were photographed last Friday by yours-truly at Three Tree Point in Burien, a super cool little beachfront community that is ironically just a stones throw from 2 other Cowbelly clients who live on Seola Beach Drive, which is right around the bend but inaccessible by car.

Three Tree Point was an ideal setting for these energetic and fun-loving labs, who were equally at home in the sand and surf and on the beach house couch. I had never been to the area before and I loved it so much that all the way home I fantasized about having a house there- it is so cool!

I had a blast shooting them- so much so that I didn't want to leave.

A big 'thank you' to Rio's mom for getting a gift certificate for Ruby's mom, to both of them for having me come down, and an even bigger thanks to my dad who told Rio's mom about me. Yay. :-)

Here are some of my favorite shots of the girls, in the order they were taken.

Ruby on her porch, looking stately.
























Ruby watching for visitors. Her house is set high above the street.
























Ruby and her sister (littermate) Roxie, waiting to go to the beach.

























Ruby's ball obsession rivals Fergie's. I can just hear them having a conversation over a beer "oh yeah? Well I caught a ball that was thrown ONE HUNDRED FEET in the air", "that's nothing, I swam 500 yards into cold water to get MY ball..." hee hee hee
























Oh yeah, crazy labs in action.....
























This is my favorite shot of Rio. She reminds me so much of someone else I know, but I can't put my finger on who....

























The shot below has some exposure issues but I love it. Rio is in the front looking sweet and gentle, Ruby is behind her, coming in for a landing to see who has her ball.

























Ruby was so incredibly well-behaved and was a really stupendous model.




















This absolutely adorable guy below is 'the neighborhood doggie' and popped in for a drink of water. He was delighted when he discovered that not only would he be getting a drink, but some yummy stinky treats too.

























A Cowbelly signature 'big nose' shot.
























Ruby discovered that modeling is hard work and at one point went outside on the deck to crash in a chair.
























My 2nd favorite thing on a dog is little teeth, which Roxie totally has going on in this shot. She's too funny....
























And one of the very last shots I took and the reason why I always keep my camera out of the bag until I am out the door.

























Ruby's mom is going to do a triptych of canvases and I can wait to see which images she picks!

Labels: beach dog shots, black lab sisters, cowbelly blog, dog photographers, rio, roxie, ruby, seattle dog photographer, seattle dog photos, seattle pet photography, three tree point

Stumble It!

This special little guy is Monty. He is a German Shorthaired Pointer + pitbull mix puppy. We did his shoot at Discovery Park last week where it is clear to see Monty had a fabulous time. I did too. :-)

Enjoy. :-)

Discovery Park is a beautiful place for pet photography. Monty's dad knows of a little-known hidden area in the grass that is perfect for dogs to run around in.
























I have gotten lots of fun shots of dogs at the water fountain at Discovery Park, including this hilarious one of Monty hugging the base as he slurped up the water. At first he wasn't sure about the fountain, until I held him up to get a drink, and then he was totally sold on it as you can tell.
























In the shot below you can just feel the coolness of the green grass contrasted with the hot day. I picture all kinds of little bugs and earthworms making their homes in there.























I am always irritated with myself when I discover there was something on the lens that I didn't notice during the shoot, until I realize that what I am seeing is actually a bug...
























I was pretty thrilled with the shot below because when I met Monty in the parking lot I knew that the best way to capture who he really is is to get him in action. This little guy has lots of energy, is positively obsessed with his 'bird' and is a true hunting dog genetically. If 'leaping through the air after bird decoys' was an olympic sport, Monty's skills would be legendary.


















....and another one that totally cracks me up.... wheee!






















and no good summer shoot is complete without a trip to the beach....
























Hope you enjoyed Monty's images as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Labels: discovery park, dogs in seattle, dogs on the beach, seattle dog photography, seattle dogs, seattle pet photography

Stumble It!

This is Mia. She is an 11-month old English Bulldog puppy.

Her dad found me through a google search and was sold on my shot of Henry the English Bulldog, who you can find in the dogs gallery on my new website: http://www.cowbelly.com/dogs.html.

We did her shoot last Friday at Kerry Park on Queen Anne, a Seattle park with possibly the best view of the city outside of the Space Needle (where dogs sadly are not allowed).

She and her dad were a joy to work with so I wanted to share with you some of my favorite pictures of this cute little girl.

I love this one of Mia because it looks like she has blue heart-shaped wings. And look at the little lip!! This is my favorite feature on a dog.























Mia had that great bulldog curiosity and inquisitiveness. This is the same look that Henry gave me in his 'through the fence' shot.






















Her ears go straight up when she is in the right mood...























This is her dad's favorite shot.



















I hope to see both Mia and her dad in the future at doggy events around Seattle!

Labels: dogs on queen anne, kerry park, mia bulldog, seattle dog photographer, seattle dog photography, seattle dogs, seattle pet business, seattle pet photography

Stumble It!

It's done and live!!


















Pardon the bugs you see this week, I will be working on fixing them along with catching up on client work.

You probably also noted the new look to this blog, which matches my cowbelly.com site, and proofs website and store.

To say that I am thrilled that I have (finally!) finished these things would be an understatement. Yippidee-doo-dah!! You can't see me but I am dancing a little jig. :-)

I'll post more on my story behind my design process later in the week and also will (I promise) finally post photos for PawsWalk and the City Dog cover model contest this week.

Have a fabulous day! Stumble It!

I have been enjoying creating screensavers for clients recently. Each of my feature shoots comes with several custom designed screensavers from each clients favorite images and colors.

While it seems such a little thing, if you are like most people and spend a lot of time sitting in front of your computer, a pretty screensaver goes a long way in beautifying your daily life, and helping you stay connected to your truest of furry loves.

This is what my mac desktop currently looks like, with a screensaver of my own furry true love Fergie on Double Bluff beach on Whidbey Island. :-)
















PawsWalk update: we had a blast last weekend and I am working on getting the images online. I promise to put a post up before the weekend with both a link to the gallery of all of the event photos + the photos from the City Dog cover model search.

Stay tuned! Stumble It!

For those who live in the Seattle area, I want to remind you that PawsWalk is this Saturday from 9am-1pm at Magnusun Park on Lake Washington. It's a chance to bring your pooch, hang out with other great dog owners, and help raise money to support one of the region's finest animal rescue organizations. See the PAWS site for more info: http://www.paws.org/

At PawsWalk this weekend City Dog Magazine will be looking for their next cover dog to grace the cover of their Winter 2008 issue. Normally the photography for these events is done by my lovely friend J. Nichole Smith of Dane & Dane photography (who shot the winning dog Jessie on the left), but Nichole is out of town this weekend so I will be filling in for her and shooting each of the pooches that comes and signs up to have a shot at winning the cover. I am really looking forward to this fun event and can't wait to meet all of the people and their fabulous dogs. And I promise to capture each of them in their best light. :-)

Be forewarned that there are only 25 spaces available, so get there when they open at 9am if you'd like your dog to have a shot at winning the cover!

For more information on the City Dog cover model contest click here:
http://www.citydogmagazine.com/html/model.html

COVER MODEL IMAGES ONLINE NOW, click below:

City Dog Cover Model Contest PAWSWalk image gallery

Labels: city dog cover model contest, pawswalk, seattle dog events, seattle dog photography, seattle's dog magazine

Stumble It!

This darling girl is Nikki. Her mom commissioned me to create a quad art piece for her recently because Nikki is sick. She is only 4 years old and has a terminal illness.

We did a decopaw sitting at her house a couple of months ago and the canvas is now ready to ship to her mom, who tells me that Nikki isn't doing well. My heart goes out to the sweet girl and she is on my mind this week so I wanted to post her art for all to see and think warm thoughts about this special creature who really touched my heart.

Sadly Nikki is one of many young dogs who have passed this year whose likenesses I have designed art from. It's so heartbreaking for me to think about an animal in pain or nearing the end, but I do feel grateful (and incredibly honored) that I have the opportunity to create something special for their owners, something that reflects not only the style and preferences of the owner, but also speaks to the spirit of the animal. I have long believed that the art and photos are a touching way to stay visually connected to our animal family members long after they have passed.

Memories are fluid, and fleeting, but images last forever.

When I am not feeling so fragile emotionally I will create a 2nd post, a special tribute, dedicated to the pets I know who have passed this year. Stumble It!

These guys are an adorable 'Odd Couple' who live in the Seward Park area of Seattle. We did a Decopaw sitting recently at their house to get shots to use for the Decopaw art process.

I just received Emma's mom's image picks for use for proofs, which means that I get to start the designs this week. I am really excited to work on these awesome dogs' art! I love Emma & Vegas!



































































Vegas playing 'keep away' with his bone. Hilarious...


Emma does the 'little lip stuck' thing so well. :-)
































labels: seattle dog photos, seattle dog photographer, seattle dog photography, american bulldog photos, boston terrier photos, decopaw art, seattle dog art, seattle pet portrait artists Stumble It!

I feel honored that Purina sought me out to be included in their artist review section of their dogcentric website, and that they consider Decopaw to be among "cool products & services for your pooch". Awesome! Go check it out here:

http://www.petcentric.com/reviews.aspx?T=0
Stumble It!