Client Session ~ Pippi the English Cocker Spaniel

Meet Pippi, a gorgeous, super well behaved and very photogenic pup hailing from Sanctuary Cove towards the northern end of the Gold Coast. Pippi is lucky enough to live in a beautiful house with a backyard designed (I’m sure!) with photographing dogs in mind! Her house even backs onto a park where she regularly meets up with her doggy friends.

I just love the colour and texture of the deck which brings out her melting chocolate brown eyes.

She had the full range of expressions too, from the super cute puppy dog look…

To the happy-go-lucky, “I’ll do anything for a treat!” look…

Her colouring and markings means she looks just as good in black and white!

After hanging out in the backyard for a while, it was time to venture into the park for some chasing ball games, plus a quick bit of modelling on the park bench, complete with well-timed gust of wind to send those furry ears flying. Anyone would think we set up a fan!

Then it was back to the deck for a bit more modelling in the late afternoon light.

Before heading inside to check out the light there. Luckily there were some nice big windows, so Pippi got to pose on the couch.

The white tiled floor under a big skylight also made for some gorgeous light we just couldn’t pass up. I think Pippi was really getting the hang of the modelling part at this stage, and pulled out some cracker expressions for the camera.

With all the hard work over, it was time for some fun! In true spaniel style, Pippi just loves the water and couldn’t wait to get wet.

Diving into the pool enthusiastically after her ball, making for some really fun splashing shots!

What a girl! I just loved Pippi.

Client Session ~ Aly the Thoroughbred

Aly is a special boy who shares an even more special bond with his owner, Lorelle. Lorelle specialises in re-training racehorses when they have finished their racing careers. Here’s an extract from her website, Re-home Horses, about Aly:

“My next horse and the most important horse I will ever own is Aly.  I still own Aly and he is my life.  Aly is an unraced thoroughbred and was a very well educated rising 5 yr old when I first brought him. He is now almost 20 yrs old and has had a magnificent life with me.  I see Aly as my partner in this endeavor to retrain horses.  He helps me by spending time with these young, usually highly strung and worked up babies who have come from a very stressful and intense lifestyle to that of complete calmness and love.  Aly is wise and loyal.  He constantly helps me with my riding. He is well educated and forces me to ride correctly or he will simply not co-operate!”

Lorelle and Aly have built up an amazing connection over the 15 years they have been together, something that’s immediately obvious when you meet them.

He follows her around, no halter or leadrope, comes when he’s called (sometimes) and generally acts more like a dog than a horse!

Aly looks pretty amazing for a 20 year old horse, don’t you think?

Aly also has a funny side, he’s a real character! We hung out with him for a couple of hours and I got to witness one of his interesting little habits… he’s a licker!

Gotta love the little drool trail coming off his bottom lip here, classic!

Finishing off with my favourite shot of the session.

Horses are right up there with dogs to photograph for me, so if you have a gorgeous horse you want some relaxed, casual non-posed shots of, please get in contact, I’d love to meet you both!

Client Session ~ Harley the Labrador Retriever

Harley is the second black Labrador Retriever I’ve photographed in the last few months. I love working with Labs as in my experience they are always friendly, happy and willing to please! Harley was no exception to this rule, what a lovely dog.

From the moment I arrived and he greeted me with a wagging tail and lots of enthusiasm, he was always there, willing to pose anywhere we asked and just happy hanging out and being the centre of attention.

He loves to camp out at his favourite spot on the deck, watching for visitors and waiting for his owners and other exciting new people to come up the stairs and say hello to him.

A well behaved boy, he also is happy to hang out in the front yard looking gorgeous.

By the end of the session, he’d completely mastered the ‘how cute am I? now just give me the treat!!’ look.

To finish up we moved to the back deck. I just loved how the blue rails worked in so well with his colouring.

Big paws!

Friend Session ~ Archie (and the chickens)

Meet Archie, a four year old mixed breed boy. Devoted to his Dad, he spends his days hanging out supervising any projects going on, competing with the chickens for scraps and generally being a cool as dude.

You might notice that Archie only has one eye. He lost the other one in an unfortunate accident, it was touch and go for a while, but he pulled through and is pretty much back to his normal self now!

Archie shares his yard with a couple of bold, cheeky and rather shiny chickens – Henrietta and Georgetta.

This would have to be my favourite shot of the day, Archie waiting patiently for his Dad who was fiddling around in the car in the background.