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Client Session ~ Ellie and Finn [Part 2]

Posted on 4 December, 2010 by admin

We had part one of Ellie and Finn’s photo session at the beach on the Gold Coast. Unfortunately we had to end the session early due to an angry swarm of sandflies that we were totally unprepared for! The next weekend I headed up to Brisbane to capture this gorgeous pair of pups at their home and took up where we left off.

These two girls play together so well! The first half hour of our session was spent running around with the girls as they enjoyed their new toy together. Sharing is caring.

Finn does tend to forget this at times though and runs off, hoarding the toy. Which sometimes means poor Ellie loses interest (and leaves Finn wondering why she’s not playing with her any more).

Finn was definitely the star and camera hog of the session so I made sure I paid special attention to capturing shots of Miss Ellie as well. The hard part with her was managing to capture her before she realised that I was within cuddle/licking/attention distance to her.

Upon which she would rush over and attend to all three tasks at once! Here I am trying to fend her off with my knees (with Finn still totally absorbed in her toy in the background).

Did I mention Finn was a major camera hog? This girl is the perfect combination. Happy to keep her distance but also totally happy to sit there posing it up – whether that be looking directly down the camera lens or staring off into the distance.

What a ham! I love the bit of grass on her nose.

A few times while totally absorbed in photographing the born model, I would lie down to get a good angle…

Only to have the inner reaches of my ear enthusiastically assaulted by a rather affectionate Ellie.

After much playing and hard work (my doggy models work hard for their glamour shots!) Ellie was quite happy to sit at a distance, giving her best blue steel impression.

Interspersed with looks of knowing and humour that can only come from a dog who has been on this earth for ten years.

She had both of these looks well and truly under control, methinks a certain someone had been holding out on me!

Towards the end of our session, it was time to bring out the treats for some focus.

Although these kinds of shots may be seen as cliche, I still love them as they represent a view of our dogs that we are so familiar with.

Bringing out treats however is not without it’s hazards! Among them, spit bubbles and crazy rolling around on the ground kinda reactions, apparently…

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, I played around with some gorgeous late afternoon backlight for these shots of miss supermodel herself, Finn.

I had such a fantastic time with these girls and their family too, thanks for letting me share your home for the afternoon! I stuck around for a while and had lots of lovely Finn cuddles afterwards, while Ellie crashed out on her bed and caught up on some well-deserved rest.

Client Session ~ Buddy the Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Posted on 17 March, 2010 by admin

For my second last Melbourne session I was due to meet with Kim and her best friend, Buddy the three and a half year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, first thing in the morning. The day was to offer me a taste of what Melbourne can dish up weather-wise when it feels like it. I awoke to oppressive heat, drove through a thunderstorm – thunder, lightning and bucketing rain – and arrived to clearing cloud and then finally sunshine, before a cool change rolled in accompanied by heavy cloud! Wow, what a morning! Despite this, we managed to work around the weather to get some stunning shots of both Kim and Buddy.

When I arrived we packed into the car and headed to a lovely and huge grassy park on the foreshore. There was also a great little boardwalk winding it’s way through the adjoining swamp, so we took a stroll along that to begin with.

Buddy was great, never going too far, just strolling along checking out the sights and sounds. Kim’s done some training with him so he was quite easy to plonk somewhere and give the ‘stay’ command to. This bench provided a good pedestal to display his handsome self!

Kim and Buddy are obviously quite devoted to each other. It actually proved a bit of a challenge to separate them at times, with Buddy always wanting to be within a few metres of his Mum.

There were lots of opportunities for quiet time, cuddles and kisses though, so cute.

How gorgeous is this boy in his studly new collar?

There was time for a bit of posing with his Mum before we headed back to the house.

Buddy is your typical Staffy – though perhaps a bit more calm and well behaved than most I’ve met! Such a good boy.

He’s certainly got the hang of that intense Staffy stare!

The deck provided some nice soft light and cool eye reflections.

Buddy gets to spend his days while his Mum is at work, hanging out at his ‘grandparents’ place – it’s like his second home! Here is is staking his claim on the deck.

And posing it up among the flowers along the garden path.

Kim and her baby boy are just the perfect match for each other, don’t you agree?

Kim owns and runs the website www.mystaffy.com.au – which sells plush staffy toys of her own design. Kim has also donated her time and expertise to establish a website for Stafford Rescue – a rescue and rehoming service run by The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Victoria Inc. If you are an enthusiast of this wonderful breed, make sure you check out these great sites!

Client Session ~ Molly the Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Posted on 14 December, 2009 by admin

Note to future clients – early starts are most definitely worth doing! This was another very early session – we kicked off at 4.45am to catch that gorgeous first light.

Molly the Staffy is a gorgeous, well behaved little girl who is lucky enough to have a totally devoted owner who obviously loves her to bits.

She gets regular early morning walks to her favourite park where she can run and sniff and cruise around spreading that famous Staffy smile and cheer everywhere she goes. And what an amazing tongue!

And very cute ears.

After we’d finished our walk through the park, we headed back to Molly’s house and chilled out in her backyard. The patio was nice and cool, a good place to stretch out on a hot morning.

It wasn’t long though, and her energy was back again, ready for a game of tug!

I somehow convinced her that modelling was a career path she should seriously consider.

This is probably my favourite shot of the session.

With this one running a close second. I’m so stoked that Molly’s dad is getting this one as a nice big gallery wrap canvas, I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

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Client Session ~ Baileys the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Billy the Fox Terrier

Posted on 30 October, 2009 by admin

These two lovelies live on waterfront on the gorgeous Gold Coast, what a great life they lead!

They have a big deck and a fantastic garden to while away the hours.

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Baileys is a 10 year old Staffy with a such a laid back and cruisy attitude.

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Her best mate Billy the 7 year old Fox Terrier is a serious boy but very attentive and was constantly trying to steal food out of my treat pouch, very sneaky!

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But very cute as well, posing here on the garden path for me.

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The little beach and jetty was a great spot for photos.

Couldn’t resist a shot of the two of them, when they paused for a second to check out a boat.

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Gotta love those wise old staffy eyes.

I had a great afternoon chilling with this gorgeous pair and we managed to wrap up the session just as the rain came and it bucketed down! Thanks for a lovely afternoon guys.

Client Session ~ April the Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Posted on 17 June, 2009 by admin

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In the words of April’s owner, this is April’s story:

April came to me about four years ago as a rescue dog. She is an English Staffordshire Terrier, I think she is about five years old. We decided to have her join our family officially on the 1st of April – our own ‘April fool’. She was found abandoned in an industrial site and was extremely persistent in her quest to be taken home as she sat with her rescuer all day while he worked all the while with her little paw on his back.

It was evident that she had had some puppies herself and was very timid – especially around men. With lot’s of TLC and good nourishing food and a fearless leader she could look up too (her big sister Jess – a fellow Pitbull who is now chasing rainbows on the other side) there was no stopping her rehabilitation. She is the most sweetest, cuddly and affectionate little girl and those chocolate drop eyes have a way of placing a permanent stamp on everyones heart.

April is a darling little girl, such a sweet face and so cuddly and affectionate, even when she didn’t really know me!

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Doesn’t she have the coolest ears? One black, and one spotty.

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Those eyes definitely melt your heart.

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Of course I couldn’t resist some delightful head wrinkles.

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But it was gorgeous spotty pink and white belly that got me every time. All recovered now from the litters she had, she just loves to show it off.

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