Wrapping up some editing before I head to WPPI @ Vegas tomorrow. Not only have I never really done Vegas, but I’ve also never been to anything even remotely resembling a photography workshop/class/gathering. To say I’m excited would be a severe understatement.
I’m finishing editing a session with the lovely Lily + her parents and thought I’d share this quick one:
Regular blogging will resume midweek next week…
I’ve known Erin, a talented writer since I interned for a magazine in California years ago. She’s been a faithful blog reader and avid supporter of my photography work and has said if I’m ever in San Fransisco that she wanted to do a shoot. A few weeks ago I was there for a wedding, so we took the opportunity to do a shoot with her Jack Russells, Stella + Joey and her horse, Kermit. The location in the hills outside the city was gorgeous, so gorgeous I didn’t mind the spitting rain or occasional cloud cover. This was one of those shoots that was so much fun it didn’t for a second feel like work.
Stella:
Joey:
Kermit:
And a parting favorite:
Sorry to have gone MIA; a recent road trip was extended when the alternator in my car inconveniently died in the Middle-of-Nowhere, Oregon.
I’ll be catching up with clients this week, and then am off to WPPI this weekend/next week, so blogging will be light. In the meantime, here’s a quick shot of Roux’s first beach experience:
For about a year I’ve wanted to photograph the whole puppy process: the birth + the eight weeks leading up to when they go home. Partly I liked the idea of documenting a process over the span of two months; partly I liked the idea of having a good excuse to hang out with brand new puppies week after week.
The project fell into place with the Elick family + their Golden Retriever, Bella. They added my phone number to the list of numbers to call when Bella went into labor and graciously had me over just about every week thereafter until the puppies went home in early February. (I missed weeks five and seven).
Put aside the fact that baby Golden Retrievers are irresistible, it was also fascinating from the perspective of someone who is utterly fascinated by dog behavior. Instinct is an amazing thing, as firm and unwavering as gravity. That Bella knew exactly what to do without ever having seen it is mind blowing. Somehow the abundance of technology makes me forget how extraordinary nature is.
The other part of this process that totally blew me away was how the puppies go from being hamster-like blobs to actual individuals in the span of just a couple weeks. I know there’s evidence on both sides of the age-old nature versus nurture argument, but holy cow these little dogs each had their own distinct personalities as soon as they were coordinated enough to exhibit them.
So here’s a comprehensive slideshow of Bella + her babies. It is 5 minutes, 18 seconds long. I know that far surpasses the 30 second attention span most people have for watching slideshows online, but I couldn’t slim it down any more than this. Eight weeks of puppies is hard to turn into 5 minutes.
A big thank you to the Elicks, and to Bella.
