Bender's 4th Gotcha Day

 I thought I would dust this blog off a bit with some recent photos of my pibble, Bender. We celebrated his 4th Gotcha Day at the end of July, and I managed to get some snaps of him. 

Bender doesn't love having a camera in his face so he will look away a lot, but I find I can get him to look at me if I move my face away from the back of my camera and talk to him. And hope like heck I have it pointed in the right spot!

My serious dude...

Gimme that treat, Mom!!!

Jo Totes and Other Things

I thought I would dust this blog off a bit as I've been sorely lacking in updates, whether it is pet photography-related or not! Like many people with a photography business, I wrestle with the idea of expanding what I blog about, but without boring everyone with the daily minutia of my life. So I figured I could jump start this idea by writing about a lovely recent purchase.

Like a typical gal, I love accessories! Jewelry, makeup, purses, etc. After several social photography outings, I realized I wanted something a little less, "Hey, I'm carrying an expensive camera!" and a little more, "Wow, cute purse! Oh it's a camera bag?" There were quite a few options out there to choose from but when I stumbled upon Jo Totes, I fell in love.

Initially, I was drawn to the vintage-style Rose purse, but went with the Millie because it was smaller. And because my sister said she liked the Millie better, and she's the bees knees when it comes to style choices. Anyway, I ordered the Millie in Sugarplum because it looked to die for online. I wasn't disappointed! It is truly gorgeous and the faux leather exterior is really soft. I love that there are adjustable pads inside so you can easily fit things.




My cat, Spree, investigates this purple thing on HIS floor:


With my 430EX II Speedlite flash inside, wallet, phone, and keys in the pocket:


A more detailed look inside. This photo was taken with my point & shoot camera, since I wanted to show what the Jo Totes looked like with an actual camera in it! From left to right is my flash, camera w/50mm lens, and phone.


And finally, this is how Spree felt when I coaxed him away from the purse so I could finish taking photos!


I am looking forward to next month when my husband and I take a trip to Florida for our friends' wedding, and I can take my Millie! Except now the world will know that there really is a camera inside. Hmmm...maybe I should use Millie as an actual purse to keep people guessing. Haha! No camera in here today!!

Chester vs. the Ear Hematoma

Chester, our Great Dane, has a tough time as far as his health goes. He has allergies for which he receives a shot every 10 days. He will usually get a skin infection about once a quarter which has him on antibiotics for a month. The antibiotics kill all the good bacteria as well as the bad, so his ears start to itch, and we give him ear drops for that. We have this medicine routine down after dealing with it for the last five years. Poor dog!

In a recent bout of itchy ears, Chester managed to get a hematoma in his ear flap. It was probably caused by his head shaking or rubbing his ear on the floor or the bars of his crate. (He's too big to scratch his own ears with his back legs, thus the rubbing & shaking.) His ear flap looked like a balloon! We took him to the vet and had it drained with a syringe. It was fine for a few days, but then slowly puffed back up. Our vet had us wait for awhile to see if it would go down with the help of time and corticosteroids, but it didn't, so back we went. His ear was drained and this time the vet put a compression bandage on it. It has to remain bandaged for about two weeks, and then Chester will go back to be evaluated.

He seems okay with the bandage thus far. I, of course, took some photos: Notice the puffy balloon ear in the BEFORE photo.



Hopefully his ear will heal soon!

Spree - Dallas Cat Photography

It's no lie, I love my cat to pieces even though he can be a real brat sometimes. I love that Spree greets me with a meow whenever he sees me (or maybe he's just asking for food!) He insists on being our chaperone at night and sleeps right in between my husband and I. He isn't a lap cat, but instead prefers to sit next to me or somewhere in my vicinity. He also loves his food bowl and will remind me of this fact every time I walk into our laundry room.

But mostly, he is Spree. A kick in the mouth!

Spree and Chester

Any photographer who wishes to practice their craft invariably winds up shooting their pets. Mine are no exception!

Spree the cat was surprisingly more cooperative than Chester the dog. Spree is easily motivated with treats.

(click image to see a larger version)

This was a lucky shot of Chester. I had my camera focused on him, but moved my face away from it and talked to him. He finally looked over and I quickly managed to grab the shot without looking through the viewfinder.

(click image to see a larger version)

*sigh* I love my furbabies! :-)