Charlotte Reeves Photography

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.

I’ve known Narelle from Jazzebella Great Danes for a few years now and during that time, have had the privilege of photographing her gorgeous harlequin Great Danes at various dog shows. I also designed her logo and created her website! When two litters of puppies came along in 2009, I was up there in a flash to photograph the little cuties, at just a few days old and then again at 5-6 weeks.

The thing I like about Narelle’s dogs is though they are successful show dogs, they are also beloved house-dwelling members of the family. When Narelle told me she would like some nice relaxed shots of them at home just kicking back and doing what Danes do best, I was happy to oblige. The three girls from left to right are Jazzie, Bella and Keisha.

Keisha, officially known as RUBISS Aust Ch Daneforce Grand Tsunami, has been her star show dog and had just had a litter of pups. Narelle has kept two pups from her litter, a harlequin boy and harlequin girl, both absolutely gorgeous – I hope to share them with you soon.

Jazzie was Narelle’s first serious show dog. She’s now retired from the ring and also had a litter of pups in 2009, around the same time as Keisha.

Last but not least is Narelle’s special girl, Bella. Bella was Narelle’s first Dane and was the dog who she started off with in showing. She’s also now retired and is living with the good life. She has simply the best David Bowie eyes!

And a very special relationship with her Mum.

Towards the end of our session, the girls were getting sleepy and in true Dane style, crashed out somewhere comfortable and settled in for a nap.

A few weeks ago I ran a competition on the Charlotte Reeves Photography Facebook page, giving away a free photoshoot to the most deserving entrant to celebrate 100 fans. I had renowned Seattle dog photographer Erin Vey judging, and the dog she chose was Lupe the Great Dane, with the following entry:

“This is Lupe our 22 month blue boy. He is the center of our world and knows it. He love the dog park and the beach (but not the waves – still cant swim). Poor baby has had a rough time this last year. We nearly lost him earlier this year when he got pneumonia and spent a week in ICU. A few weeks ago he got bit on the hind leg by another dog at the spit (beach) and had to go back to the same hospital for surgery to open the wound up. Thankfully despite being spoilt rotten he’s a trooper.”

I’d actually already been in contact with Lupe’s owner as we were going to organise a play date with our two blue babies, so it was an added bonus to be able to tell her that she’d also won the competition!

I visited Lupe and his devoted Mum and Dad in Brisbane on a fine summer afternoon. They had a fabulous back deck that we spent a while hanging out on.

Being a blue Great Dane, he felt quite similar to photograph to my own Luna, except maybe a tad more photogenic and not so prone to pulling silly faces!

In fact he is a rather serious looking boy most of the time.

Who still manages to be super cute when it’s called for.

And very good at the head tilt! Most dogs have a particular sound they do this to, for Lupe it was a quiet high pitched whistle, very effective!

Lupe has an unusual ridge running down the back of his neck – as someone cleverly pointed out – a mohawk!

Along with at matching little strip of white on his chest, very classy.

After the serious modelling business was over, we took Lupe for a walk to his fabulous local park.

Where he said hello to the equine resident…

Puzzled over his Dad up a tree…

Said goodbye to the horsie…

Then topped it off with a guzzle from the drinking station, in true Great Dane style.

If you want to see more photos from Lupe’s session, visit his gallery on Facebook.