Double Present Month!

 

 I love this saying and think it will be my motto for 2015! 

Poor Kodee doesn't have much say in the fact I so often make her look silly! December is her birthday month and this year she turned 8 yrs old! Don't tell Kodee she is a senior though - she is still a very active and spunky girl!

   

 Last year I joined in a group on Flickr where we had to choose one dog to photograph each month for the year. 2014 was all about Kodee. I loved having to push myself each month to follow the monthly themes and think of new creative compositions. It was loads of fun getting to know other dog centric photographers and their dogs! These are a few of my shots for the theme "Festive Holidays".

   

 For 2015 my focus will switch to Becky! That will be a challenge because she is a bit harder to photograph some days with her all black coat.

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12 Months For Dogs 2014 ~ Kodee

Wordless Wednesday - Darkness & Light

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“When darkness falls, beauty is lit from within.” 
~ Jonathan Jena

Christmas Villians

Fact 22 About Me ~ I Hate Shopping

[Part of the "30 Things About Me" Series]

What an expression - my thoughts exactly Kodee! This week I am terrorized by the thought I might have to forge my way into the mall to shop. Nothing kills my Christmas spirit faster than crowds in a store.

I woke up and saw the sun streaming in the window and instantly knew just what would redeem my Christmas spirit. I called down to my husband and said "get ready I want to take the dogs to Cobourg to walk on the beach and head up to town to see the decorations.

Tra la la la la

(((Screech!)))

Have you lost your mind, he screams?! Maybe you should go stand outside and note it's -3C and that wind will be brutal at the end of the pier. OK so the first few times I asked him if he was happy he came, he snapped "I'm cold". I swear once his feet had frostbite and he couldn't feel his toes were cold, he really enjoyed watching the waves crash on the railing and then freeze into icicles.

Yes, it was an Iphone sort of day.

What are your tricks to keep your Christmas Spirit true and keep the madness to a minimum?

Enjoy more Friday Finds

Whoa. Little Flying Things

A little bath time fun! Becky is such a poser - she sat in this tub for over 30 min and didn't move! She just loves posing with props. So odd! The bubbles amused her.

"Hey! Rubber Duckie, you'd make bath time lots of fun if you'd quit falling out of the tub dude."


I had this idea floating (pun so intended) in my head for a while. It will be my January photo for my series "Studio 12 Cav". I started in October doing a monthly flash photo and hope to have a a set of 12 photos ready to print in a calendar by next Christmas for family gifts - could be the year after that though, I'm known to procrastinate A LOT! Good thing my family never visits my blog ;)

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I belong to a fun FlickR Group called the "Daily Dog Challenge". Each day they provide a prompt to help us create fun photos. You don't have to participate daily - just join the fun or stop by for a visit when you can!

Be My Valentine

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentines Day!
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Joining the fun at "Daily Dog Challenge" FlickR group.
If you like the idea of a daily prompt for your dog photography, come join our group. You can post as little or as often as you like. I find this group really helps me to stay inspired and challenges me to improve my photography.

Oh My! Boudoir Furtography

 

Well obviously the girls were just thrilled to "volunteer" to pose while I practiced with my flash and umbrella. NOT.

Dad! Your supposed to be the SANE dog owner out of the two of you! What gives?!

Seriously Becky. I personally think I look charming and find the crown quite fitting.



I've made a promise to myself to not let this winter's cold weather and bleak skies get in the way of my photography. To help, I have come up with a personal challenge to keep me motivated. I've decided to seek out natural light in my house as well as devote some time to setting up a home studio.

Natural light can be a bit of a challenge in my house. I have 2 rooms with good natural light so on those bleak days, I am also going to get acquainted with my my flash, umbrella and reflector.

Kodee and Becky are at the top of my list of things I love to photograph but they will only tolerate a few quick shots with a flash before becoming agitated. To make it easier on them, I make use of stuffed toys till I am confident I have the right settings. Their contract demands high reward, quality treats as payment.

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Participating in: Camera Critters & Daily Dog Challenge Flickr Group #394 Formal Portrait

What's Cook'n Miss Kodee?

Halloween is a family favourite - so much so, my 20 something girls are still busy each year sewing costumes. As children they told me if they could pick just one holiday, Halloween would win hands down.

I can't say this is my favourite photograph of the month but it is the one I enjoyed most; planning the scene, hunting down the props and finding the perfect $5 baby costumes which fit the dogs perfectly.

Becky for some reason loves this tub and once put in it, will never get out. Kodee on the other hand is like a child wound up on too much candy moving all over the place. The scene goes like this "sit, NO, stay, WAIT... arghhhh" for quite some time! But once I see my edited photo a big ol' smile comes across my face so it's all worth it! 

Fact 20 About Me
[Part of the "30 Things About Me" Series]

I used to sew all my girls all their Halloween costumes. I've long since stowed away my sewing machine and must say I do not miss the costume making days! However, not wanting to disappoint the neighbourhood children I source out ready made props and gear now for the dogs. I can't resist their squeals in delight when the dogs trample down the hallway to greet them

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Participating in Click It Up A Notch Monthly Photo Contest and the Daily Dog Challenge "Trick or Treat"