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Commercial Client Session ~ EzyDog

Posted on 1 April, 2010 by admin

This week I was fortunate enough to be asked to work with the fantastic guys at EzyDog to produce some lifestyle photos for use in their latest brochure. Most dog people should be familiar with the brand as it’s stocked in most pet supply stores in Australia, not to mention selected stores worldwide!

If you’re not familiar with the brand, EzyDog produce functional, comfortable collars, leashes, harnesses and accessories focused on the outdoor dog. Soft rubber neoprene (the same material used in wetsuits) is reinforced with nylon webbing for strength, with hooks and rings to make each item customisable and adjustable.

So onto the photo session! Billy and his Mum were chosen as the talent, with the aim of getting some outdoorsy style photos as well as some urban shots. I suggested Pizzey Park in Miami on the Gold Coast as the park location as it contains a fantastic off-lead dog area with cool features such as a pine forest, lake, paths and open grassy areas. Perfect! I actually found a video from 2007 of my two girls enjoying the park – you can watch it on YouTube here.

We met bright and early at the park and were delighted to discover the weather was going to co-operate – light cloud interspersed with patches of gorgeous early morning sunlight.

If there are any potential Gold Coasters out there thinking about a session with their pooch, please consider this awesome location! The pine forest was just beautiful in the early morning light and at this time of year with all the fallen pinecones on the ground, what a fantastic backdrop.

If you’re wondering what has Billy’s attention so firmly in it’s grasp in these shots, it was his new toy for the session – a DogStar Flying Disc. What a cool retrieval toy, he just loved it! Here he is with a similar product, the Fido Flyer. Billy was clearly asserting his ownership in these shots!

I just loved Billy, a two year old Border Collie x German Shepherd. How cool is his colouring! So energetic, but also so well behaved. What a great model.

Pizzey Park features a lovely lake complete with ducks, along with a cute little jetty sticking out into the water. We took Kaya and Luna to this park when Luna was just a little tyke, and soon had Luna jumping off the jetty fetching sticks – what a brave girl! You can watch the video on YouTube here.

Although I’m sure he would have been more than keen to do the same, there was no dock diving on the cards for Billy – he had serious modelling work to do. Our next location was urban Hedges Avenue in nearby Mermaid Beach. Pretty well known on the Gold Coast as the most expensive real estate in the region, Hedges Avenue is home to many flash houses and is constantly busy with walkers, joggers, cyclists and expensive cars!

I took advantage of the manicured sidewalks for some detailed product shots.

I also used some of the trendy houses as a backdrop for Billy and his Mum taking a stroll along the street.

Billy and his Mum are pretty dedicated running partners, so this was nothing out of the ordinary for them!

I couldn’t resist a black and white conversion on this street scene, the high key light suits it so well and I loved capturing the bond between these two.

By the end of the session, we’d pretty much managed to wear poor Billy out! There was just time for a couple more close-ups of the EzyDog collar and leash he was modelling.

And of course I couldn’t resist one last shot of the handsome Mr Billy.

What a fun session! I hope to be working more with EzyDog in the future, so if have a young, well behaved and energetic dog and live on the Gold Coast, keep an eye out for any casting calls I might put out there. Make sure you become a fan on my Facebook Page to stay updated!

Client Session ~ Dixie and Sam

Posted on 24 March, 2010 by admin

Driving through the countryside north of Melbourne towards my last session of the visit, I was a little concerned about the weather. I’d driven through intermittent rain and patches of fog and hoped that my destination would miraculously be clearer and brighter. Danielle had given me a hand-drawn mud map of how to get to their property so I was busy following this, my GPS most unhappy with me as it thought I was driving in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly I noticed that I was surrounded by burnt-out forest and realised this must have been one of those areas devastated by the Black Saturday bushfires a little over a year beforehand. Blackened stumps and lush green regrowth peeked through the heavy fog all around me as I wove my way through the bush on rough dirt roads. Eventually the road opened out into a pocket of cleared land – my destination was just a little further down the road – past new fencing and guide posts.

Out of the forest it was a little clearer, though still trying desperately to rain us out. We got started right away just in case we didn’t have much time to work with!

I was greeted by Dixie and Sam. At the respectable age of 11, Dixie the Border Collie + Shetland Sheepdog cross can only be described as an absolute darling.

I love older dogs as they always seem to possess a sense of wisdom and understanding that the younger ones have yet to discover. Dixie is no exception, this girl is super smart!

Her younger companion, Sam, is a Labrador + Kelpie mix and just a baby at two years old. He’s rather tennis ball obsessed, and for about the first 15 minutes this was my view as he dashed off down the paddock retrieving his beloved ball again and again.

It wasn’t all blurry running-through-the-grass shots though, he stopped for moments of focus and concentration as he eagerly waited for his ball to be thrown.

Even when it was time to go back up to the house for some more relaxed shots, he still wanted to bring his beloved ball along for the ride!

We decided to put Sam in the house for a little while to settle (as his Mum says “Sam doesn’t have an off button”) while I concentrated on Miss Dixie for a while instead. When the bushfires came through, the family decided to stay and do all they could to save their house. It proved the right decision; while most of the unattended houses in the street were unfortunately destroyed; they managed to defend and save theirs, even after a couple of very close calls! The doggies were safely tucked away inside during the inferno, the best place for them to be. After hearing horror stories of other families, livestock and homes that hadn’t been so lucky, I’m so glad these guys managed to save their house and their beloved dogs.

Dixie actually came with the house when they bought it, many years ago! The old owners moved on and she stayed put, so Danielle and her husband inherited her along with the property. She was an outside dog with a rather bad habit of chasing cars up until they took over, but she now has run of the house and is very well behaved. What a good turn of luck for Dixie!

When Sam came along a few years later, she took a little while to warm up to his crazy puppy ways. I’m glad to report though that they are now firm friends.

And at eleven years old, when having a game of rough and tumble in the paddock with Sam, it’s good to see Dixie gives as good as she gets! She leaves the maniacal running in circles to the younger of the pair like the smart girl she is, and instead carefully chooses her moment to pounce and attack! The light was a little low to get sharp action shots, but these should give you an idea of the two at play.

After a good ball session as well as a play session with Dixie, Sam was finally ready to settle down and do some serious modelling for me.

What a star!

His cooperation had to be rewarded of course. Sam’s other favourite thing to do? Like many dogs lucky enough to live in the country, swimming in the dam of course! We trekked off down the paddock, Sam leading the way.

It wasn’t exactly a warm day, in fact, I’d consider it pretty cold – but I do hail from from the Gold Coast! If the air temperature was anything to go by, the water in the dam must have been freezing. Sam didn’t hesitate for a second though. Seeking out an old tennis ball he must have stashed away for this very occasion, he proceeded to dump it at our feet then swim around eagerly waiting for it to to be thrown. Definitely a water baby at heart!

I think Sam would have happily done this for the rest of the day, but we thought we better get him out of the water and back up to the warm house and a nice dry towel!

I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to see some of the countryside around Melbourne as well as the city itself. I’m even more glad to have met this special family and their dogs! Thanks for having me guys, oh and special thanks for the amazing coffee and muffin afterwards, delicious!

Friend Session ~ Archie (and the chickens)

Posted on 12 February, 2010 by admin

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.

Client Session ~ Chopper the Great Dane Labrador Mix

Posted on 16 May, 2009 by admin

Chopper is the chilled out, mature big brother of Bozley and Giselle and yep, he’s a foster failure too, and it’s easy to see why! At seven years old he is starting to slow down a little, but still loves to get amongst the action every now and then.

Though given the opportunity (a lovely sunny front garden devoid of the annoying young ones) he quickly switched to lying in the sunshine, soaking up the rays.

A big solid boy thanks to his Great Dane heritage, Chopper also has the look of a big cuddly overgrown Labrador Retriever.

Big brown eyes and an old grey face are a beautiful combination.

I couldn’t resist making a feature of his lovely head wrinkles too of course.

Client Session ~ Bozley the Staffy Mix

Posted on 14 May, 2009 by admin

Where do I start with Bozley! First up, he was a foster failure. It must have been a combination of his endearing sooky nature and his exuberance for life in general that made him impossible to pass up. There are definitely two sides to this boy and I knew I was in for meeting a real little character when in the questionnaire, his owner gave him the following description:

“Bozley is cunning, sly, impetuous, loving, eager to please, dominant, the class clown and bad to the bone. He is also extremely cuddly.”

I certainly wasn’t disappointed – Boz was a complex character! Such a busy boy, so much to do, checking the fenceline perimeter, giving his Mum kisses and cuddles, rolling in smelly mushrooms along with sniffing absolutely everything in the front yard. A challenging boy to shoot but very rewarding.

Ok, so I admit I am obsessed with head wrinkles!

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