Monthly Archives: January 2009

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Poppy + Sally

01.28.2009 –

Over the course of the last few months I’ve felt something of a shift in my general style.  I still value the crisp, clean perfection that some portraits afford, but I’ve been falling more and more in love with the idea of capturing a moment and a scene, too.  It is by no means easy to capture that perfect portrait, but capturing a scene that actually tells you something about the people or animals you’re photographing takes even more skill luck.  Aiming for these shots ups the ante in that you’re incorporating more variables into each shot and are therefore increasing the number of things that can go wrong with it.  I tend to think that makes it all that more rewarding when you end up with something fantastic.  And your end product feels so much more organic.

Last week I met Nan and her Keeshonds, Sally + Poppy.  Nan is something of a photographer herself and has some really great portraits of the girls, so I felt like the best way to contribute something was to bring my own style into the mix.  I’ve often wished I could have a dog photographer do a session with my dogs because they would undoubtedly see them in a new light and come away with something wholly unique, even though I’m shooting my dogs every day.  Also, Nan has a really special relationship with both of these dogs (both rescues), and I wanted to try to document that.

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Sweet Sally:

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Poppy undoubtedly possesses that super-model quality.

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The other thing I loved about this shoot were the bunnies.  My sister and I each had a bunny for years growing up (Flopsie + Mopsie – we were nothing if not original), and I’d almost forgotten what wonderful pets they can be.  These bunnies were so calm, and the dogs were so gentle with them.  Truly adorable.  Now that I’ve talked Alex into a second dog, it might be time to start working on him for a few bunnies…

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And, as usual, I’ve saved one of my favorites for last…

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WALDO

01.26.2009 –

Lauren has been my best friend since we were 8 years old, and I don’t mean we happened to know each other when were 8 years old and reconnected later. Lauren and I have actually been pretty darn close since we were 8 years old, which is just about 17 years now. We’ve always been crazy in love with animals in general and spent a long time riding horses. Lauren never had her own horse, but that didn’t stop her from always being happy for me when while I had my horses. When we got Roux and Kinley Lauren wasn’t in a position where she could get a dog of her own, but she nonetheless listened tirelessly to me tell story after story about these puppies, even though I’m sure at times it made her sad not to have her own. So you can see just how exciting it is that this weekend Lauren brought home her very own puppy.

Waldo is a 7-week-old Rhodesian Ridgeback (ridgeless, like Kinley). He weighs 8 pounds. He’s approximately the same size as a large bag of uncooked pinto beans. Neither of my dogs were that little when we got them (and I am therefore skeptical that they ever were that little – it takes a rather generous stretch of the imagination to believe Roux could ever have been so tiny). As fate would have it I was in Seattle the weekend she picked him up and we arranged a photo shoot. And, thanks be to the weather gods, it was actually sunny.

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As if he’s not cute enough as is, baby Wally has developed this unbelievably adorable habit of burrowing into Lauren’s coat head first and taking a nap in there. I’m beginning to think this something of a breed characteristic, because both of my dogs would surely burrow into my jacket if they thought they could fit. Instead, I routinely tuck them into blankets – on the couch for naps and every night before bed. It may sound a little overboard, but it’s our silly little routine and I’ve even caught Alex participating in it a time or two, so I’m not the only one.

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I think a scientist somewhere should do a study on what happens to the human brain when it encounters a puppy. It’s like the cuteness overload short circuits all other functions. Everyone who comes across little Waldo is rendered basically speechless, except for the occasional declaration of how darn cute he is.

(You photogs out there will notice I have become very fond of my new tilt shift lens. Very fond indeed).

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Congratulations, Lauren.  I know you’ll be a great puppy mama to little Waldo and I can’t wait to hear about all the adventures you’ll surely have.  I love you!

(And Waldo, too).

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Up + Running (!)

01.20.2009 –

At long last, we’re up and running!  As luck would have it, I’m on my way to Seattle for a few days, but regular posting will absolutely resume Monday, January 26 – YEEHAW!  I’ll be shooting my best friends seven week old puppy, so I’ll be back with some fantabulous puppy shots as well.

In the meantime, check out the new site!

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There may or may not be a few hitches here and there with the switchover still, and this blog is in a little bit of a state of flux right now, but by and large things are getting there.  I am definitely ready to be done with this website building and back into just the photo stuff!

Last – if you’re still accessing this from the old URL (www.denverdogphotography.com/blog) change your bookmarks to:

http://www.rouxby.com/blog/

Have a great week + Happy Inauguration Day!

By admin | Posted in Canine | Comments (2)

rouxby.com/blog

01.16.2009 –

As expected, the moving over of my site and blog is turning out to be a huge headache. It’s looking like I may not be able to have an automatic redirect from this URL (www.denverdogphotography.com/blog) to my new blog (www.rouxby.com/blog), so you might just have to remember it. YIKES. I realize how inconvenient that is, but hopefully you guys will all take a minute to write it down and/or remember it. However, if you go to my old site (www.denverdogphotography.com) it should (eventually) redirect you straight to my new site, which will of course have a link to the new blog.

See, wasn’t that confusing to read? Try orchestrating it. For all my technical savvy (which isn’t a whole lot to begin with), I am really out of my element with some of this website stuff. Basically, remember these two things:

www.rouxby.com

and

www.rouxby.com/blog

The site is actually up and running, although it’s a little rough around the edges at the moment so don’t be too harsh. However, if you do head over I’d love to hear your comments on what you think and/or any suggestions you might have.

And because I love deadlines I’m giving myself until next week to finish everything up and then I will resume regular posting, which I am missing like crazy.

In the meantime, here’s a look at my new branding. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to create a little dog that would be unique. This dog is a hybrid between tracing a photo of Roux as a puppy in Illustrator and my best friend’s artistic touch. I love the kink in the tail – so very Roux. I wanted an authenticity to my branding, so for the footprint I actually dipped Roux’s paw in paint and had her walk across posterboard, scanned it in and cleaned it up in Illustrator. I’m actually really pleased with how both elements came out.

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By admin | Posted in Canine, Personal, Roux | Tagged , , | Comments (7)

Ch-ch-ch-changes

01.5.2009 –

With the holiday rush behind me I’ve been devoting my time to rebranding/renaming/redesigning this business. I’ve done this enough by now to know not to expect it to be an easy transition, so hang in there if things are looking a little wonky.

The biggest and most obvious change is going to be my business name. Denver Dog Photography, while functional, doesn’t really encompass everything I do. I don’t do just dog photography (although I mostly do and aim to keep my business directed towards our canine friends), and I also wanted an umbrella name with which to operate my freelance graphic design. I’ve been scheming about a new name for months and have had a heck of a time choosing something. I didn’t want to use just my name, didn’t want something too generic or something too abstract. And most of all, I wanted it to mean something.

That’s why I’m calling it Rouxby. Pronounced Roo-Bee. Like Ruby. I realize I’m going to spend all of my time explaining how it’s pronounced. And I realize that’s not usually the best way to brand yourself. But here’s the thing: there’s no better and more appropriate name when you think about it. Rouxby is what we often call Roux (hence the wacky spelling), and without Roux there would have been no Denver Dog Photography at all. She has been my inspiration for this business, my guinea pig for lots of photo practice and my daily companion while I’ve put in the blood, sweat and tears that starting your own business requires. And that is why she will be its namesake.

This means several things – mostly that I’ll have a new website address and blog address. I’m planning to set everything up so that if you forget and still type in Denver Dog Photography you’ll get redirected to where you need to be. In the next few weeks I’ll be rolling out that new website (in the works), this blog will be updated and fixed to be cohesive with the new name and design, and I’ll begin regular posting again.

In the meantime, I want to say one thing:

THANK YOU

…to all of you who read this blog, to all of my wonderful clients and friends, and to all the lovely dogs. I start every day knowing that I love what I’m doing, and truly feel like I’m making a genuine contribution.

And, of course, thanks to Rouxby for being my inpiration and my friend.

By admin | Posted in Canine, Personal | Comments (10)