Tess in focus - for a minute... Back in October, the Espanola Valley Humane Society had an amazing fundraiser - a "mini" portrait session for your dog with professional photographer, Jane Bernard. All proceeds from the photo shoot were to benefit EVHS.
While we have hundreds; perhaps thousands of images of the past three generations of four-legged friends (both Canis lupus familiaris and Felis catus), I couldn't pass up the opportunity to support the miracle workers at EVHS and see what kind of magic Jane could bestow upon my dogs from behind the camera lens.
When I arrived with Tess and Ruby for the next-to-the-last appointment, the good folks at Bad Dog Design had already photographed a full day of dogs in all shapes and sizes, as well as dealt with varying degrees of fun, excitement and shyness. And that was just the dogs...They ushered us in with good cheer and heartfelt compliments on how sweet and well-behaved The Girls were. As we ascended the stairs to the photo studio, Tess decided RIGHT NOW would be a good time to test that "sweet and well-behaved" accolade, by galloping up the stairs three at a time in order to break through a cardboard barrier (there was a cardboard barrier?) at the summit with great fanfare. Her big finish was to jump straight up in 84 lb. Labrador fashion to greet Jane while she was changing lenses on a gazillion dollar camera body. "Well, hello there! You must be Tess!" In a split second I was both relieved that the equipment hadn't taken flight over the railing and at the same time, impressed that she knew the "black tank" that practically mowed her over was in fact, Tess. That realization didn't last long, as the saying, "your reputation precedes you" popped into my head. Hmmmm.... Funny how people are certain that a dog trainer's dogs must be perfectly behaved.
While we have hundreds; perhaps thousands of images of the past three generations of four-legged friends (both Canis lupus familiaris and Felis catus), I couldn't pass up the opportunity to support the miracle workers at EVHS and see what kind of magic Jane could bestow upon my dogs from behind the camera lens.
When I arrived with Tess and Ruby for the next-to-the-last appointment, the good folks at Bad Dog Design had already photographed a full day of dogs in all shapes and sizes, as well as dealt with varying degrees of fun, excitement and shyness. And that was just the dogs...They ushered us in with good cheer and heartfelt compliments on how sweet and well-behaved The Girls were. As we ascended the stairs to the photo studio, Tess decided RIGHT NOW would be a good time to test that "sweet and well-behaved" accolade, by galloping up the stairs three at a time in order to break through a cardboard barrier (there was a cardboard barrier?) at the summit with great fanfare. Her big finish was to jump straight up in 84 lb. Labrador fashion to greet Jane while she was changing lenses on a gazillion dollar camera body. "Well, hello there! You must be Tess!" In a split second I was both relieved that the equipment hadn't taken flight over the railing and at the same time, impressed that she knew the "black tank" that practically mowed her over was in fact, Tess. That realization didn't last long, as the saying, "your reputation precedes you" popped into my head. Hmmmm.... Funny how people are certain that a dog trainer's dogs must be perfectly behaved.
Is this okay? Do you want me to pose here? In less than a second, Tess cavorted across the white roll of seamless photography paper (the operative word here is white), jumped up on anything greater than 6" in height, and in what is her normal freight train fashion, inhaled every imaginable microbe that her 250,000,000+ scent receptor cells could absorb. After all, there had been at least a dozen dogs in that space prior to our arrival - it was a veritable canine scent smorgasbord. Ruby stood close to me wide-eyed and wondering what was so great about a bunch of white paper and a nice woman pointing a big black "eye" at her.
After settling in to what was a fast-paced yet calm, flash-and-snap photo session, I couldn't imagine that any of the final pictures would be much more than a blurry black blur; nothing more than a chem-trail like splotch across the frame. That couldn't have been further from the end result. Although I do not have children, I do know what it was like to have school pictures taken; you had to be careful about not caking dirt into the tops of your Mary Jane's during recess or splattering Spaghetti-O's all over your calico-print top during lunch in the cafeteria. Quite the feat for a little tomboy, I must say. That excitement was no less apparent in Tess (Can you get her to stand still?) as well as in Ruby (Do you think she'll jump up on the chair and lie down?).
The photo shoot fundraiser fee included a professional 8" x 10" pic of The Girls together, but of course you could purchase additional prints at a discounted price - large to ginormous - or have images printed on note cards, notepaper, mugs, mouse pads - you name it. I didn't go too nuts; I ordered two sets of note cards and two sets of notepaper. Several weeks passed and I received a call from Jane saying that she'd looked over the digital contact sheet and there was one image in particular that really struck a cord with her. It was one of the few images where Tess was not moving and Ruby didn't seem frozen in space, staring at that black orb...She encouraged me to consider a large format print and I jumped at the opportunity. Okay, no shopping at Whole Foods for a few months...
The pick up day finally arrived, and I was like a parent eager to see her child's school pictures. I recall those days when my Mom would carefully cut individual images from the photo strips (remember those?) and send each out to all the long lost friends and relatives, sealed in the ubiquitous holiday card. They were like gifts in themselves. Jane certainly gave me the gift of capturing the essence and soulfulness of my dogs on film. First, I was shown the fundraiser piece - my heart soared! Then the note cards (images of each in this post); then the note papers. I was like a kid in a candy store! And last but certainly not least, the unveiling of the large format photo that spoke to Jane; who spoke to me about ordering it. Ta-da! I was speechless. So much so, that I welled up with tears. Yes, they are my dogs and yes, I think they are beautiful - they are my "kids". We all feel that way about our four-legged friends. But what moved me to tears was the beauty Jane is able to capture from behind her lens; what we, the pet parents feel about our dogs. It's not that new collar or the fact that they'd just had a bath. It is the essence of your relationship with that dog which permeates from the confines of the photography paper. Again, although we have a gazillion super-duper shots of each dog from puppyhood on, I'd not experienced feeling overwhelmed with love and gratitude from a photograph until that moment.
Matting and framing ain't cheap, for sure. But life is short and even shorter for your dog. Don't wait to capture as many images of your furkids as possible. Today's digital processing makes it more convenient than ever to amass a life's worth of memories that one day, you will be glad you have. And if you can swing it, the next time the Espanola Valley Humane Society has a fundraiser with Jane Bernard, sign up for a session. She'll be waiting for you - with a big ole camera and a loving eye.
After settling in to what was a fast-paced yet calm, flash-and-snap photo session, I couldn't imagine that any of the final pictures would be much more than a blurry black blur; nothing more than a chem-trail like splotch across the frame. That couldn't have been further from the end result. Although I do not have children, I do know what it was like to have school pictures taken; you had to be careful about not caking dirt into the tops of your Mary Jane's during recess or splattering Spaghetti-O's all over your calico-print top during lunch in the cafeteria. Quite the feat for a little tomboy, I must say. That excitement was no less apparent in Tess (Can you get her to stand still?) as well as in Ruby (Do you think she'll jump up on the chair and lie down?).
The photo shoot fundraiser fee included a professional 8" x 10" pic of The Girls together, but of course you could purchase additional prints at a discounted price - large to ginormous - or have images printed on note cards, notepaper, mugs, mouse pads - you name it. I didn't go too nuts; I ordered two sets of note cards and two sets of notepaper. Several weeks passed and I received a call from Jane saying that she'd looked over the digital contact sheet and there was one image in particular that really struck a cord with her. It was one of the few images where Tess was not moving and Ruby didn't seem frozen in space, staring at that black orb...She encouraged me to consider a large format print and I jumped at the opportunity. Okay, no shopping at Whole Foods for a few months...
The pick up day finally arrived, and I was like a parent eager to see her child's school pictures. I recall those days when my Mom would carefully cut individual images from the photo strips (remember those?) and send each out to all the long lost friends and relatives, sealed in the ubiquitous holiday card. They were like gifts in themselves. Jane certainly gave me the gift of capturing the essence and soulfulness of my dogs on film. First, I was shown the fundraiser piece - my heart soared! Then the note cards (images of each in this post); then the note papers. I was like a kid in a candy store! And last but certainly not least, the unveiling of the large format photo that spoke to Jane; who spoke to me about ordering it. Ta-da! I was speechless. So much so, that I welled up with tears. Yes, they are my dogs and yes, I think they are beautiful - they are my "kids". We all feel that way about our four-legged friends. But what moved me to tears was the beauty Jane is able to capture from behind her lens; what we, the pet parents feel about our dogs. It's not that new collar or the fact that they'd just had a bath. It is the essence of your relationship with that dog which permeates from the confines of the photography paper. Again, although we have a gazillion super-duper shots of each dog from puppyhood on, I'd not experienced feeling overwhelmed with love and gratitude from a photograph until that moment.
Matting and framing ain't cheap, for sure. But life is short and even shorter for your dog. Don't wait to capture as many images of your furkids as possible. Today's digital processing makes it more convenient than ever to amass a life's worth of memories that one day, you will be glad you have. And if you can swing it, the next time the Espanola Valley Humane Society has a fundraiser with Jane Bernard, sign up for a session. She'll be waiting for you - with a big ole camera and a loving eye.
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