Taking photos at the beach

I have just returned from a wonderful trip to Oregon and thought it would be a good opportunity to write about taking pictures of your dog at the beach. There are some challenges in doing so:
Firstly, you are likely going to be at the beach on a sunny day, resulting in high contrast and strong shadows. This is even more obvious when you are photographing close to the water's edge and if the water is very shallow, resulting in strong glare.
Secondly, your dog (if he or she is anything like mine) is going to be excited, running around and splashing in the shallow waters - which of course makes you fear for your gear. Protect your gear at all times. Salt water is your enemy when it comes to your electronics. Make sure you wipe your camera clean of sand and salt water mist.

Rather than "fight" these conditions - make them work for you. Silhouette shots can have their very special appeal or try and capture the special beach environment by taking photos from further away or a high point. If your dog does not feel like the centre of your attention and just minds his or her own business, you may get some lovely shots of a "dog in heaven".

One of the rare moments for Sidney to sit still at the beach - I grabbed it!

I also try and have my dog sit while I walk away and then call him to me, taking a series of action shots of my dog running towards me. While only a few of these usually turn out, you may end up with a photo of your dog having the biggest grin on his or her face. Try and set your camera to 1/1000th of a second for these shots to get good focus.

I love this photo of Sidney running between me and my sister in the background. We all had fun!

My dog is quite dark, so I either go for silhouettes or position him so the sun is lightening his face. I also try and direct him to run through shallow water, creating a lovely reflection.

Sidney running towards me creating almost a silhouette and reflection in shallow water

The most important is - have fun and make sure your dog has it too. So you come back from your trip to the beach happy and refreshed - no matter if you managed to take the star photograph. There is always next time too.

Creating lasting memories

Recently I had the opportunity to meet Darlene C. and her yellow lab, Jessie, in North Vancouver for their own personal photo session. Darlene was my newsletter prize winner from summer 2011 and this was her photo shoot. Jessie is a very sweet 11 year old labrador. As you can see from the photos she still has spark in her but she is also a real lounger. Jessie was so cooperative during the shoot - despite the fact that she did find it rather boring and she had no idea why she was suddenly allowed on the sofa and in the flower bed.

I think she much preferred the outdoor part of the shoot, which took place at the Lynn Valley head waters. Running through the water and the woods was much more her taste.

Ultimately she was glad when she could retire to a sunny spot on the deck to rest from all the exertion.

For Darlene it means that she now has a nice variety of images to pick from.

If you want to create your lasting memories of your special pooch or kitty or horse - get in touch. No better time than now!

So how come I am allowed on the sofa?

OK, I'll relax if you say so!

A  bit more action, please! 

So this is the favourite look?

I said "action"!

Oh, much better!

Yes, I can handle this!

and this...

But this is the best!

Thanks Jessie! And thanks Darlene for letting me photograph the two of you.

Who let the dogs out???

18 September and a bunch of Cocker Spaniel were out and about for the first Annual Cocker Walk, benefiting the Angels under our Wings Cocker Spaniel rescue. Cockers of all colours mingled, sniffed, got treats, raced around, walked and - raised money for helping fellow Cockers. 

If you're interested to adopt a Cocker Spaniel, contact Angels under our Wings Cocker Rescue and fill in an application form. 

Lisa Atterby runs the rescue from Victoria and has dedicated volunteers in Vancouver who can help you with questions about Cockers and what you can do to help. The Cockers come from high-kill shelters in Los Angeles and most would probably be euthanized if it were not for Angels under our Wings. Milo on the picture above found a new home on 18 September. 

When you see these happy faces of Cockers who found a new and loving home, you will appreciate the difference that Lisa and her volunteers make to these dogs and their new owners. 

See the slideshow for all pictures from the event:

Did you participate? Do you want to order images from the event - 50% of the profit will be donated to Angels under our Wings Cocker Rescue. Please contact Petra at PPP-Photography for your order!

Like a family picnic - well of a very large and dog loving family

On Sunday 11 September 2011 the SPCA held its annual Paws for a Cause event in Stanley Park, Vancouver. It was a lovely day and had the feeling of a big family picnic.  People of all ages with their dogs of all sizes came to Lumberman's Arch to have a good time, chat with vendors and other animal lovers and show off their dog's good looks and talents - OK, also their own good looks and talents.

At 11.30 the sporty crowd went for a run, while at 12.00 the fun-loving crowd got their dogs in a row, ready for a 3km walk in the park. Dogs of all sizes and abilities participated!

I had a table at the Community tent and sponsored the prize for the popular look-alike contest. Glad I was not the judge with all those good looking look-alike teams....

The jury - read the audience - had a hard time to select between these talented participants. Susannah and her Papillon Gergie were just too sporty to ignore and walked away with the prize of a photo shoot and an exclusive album from PPP-Photography. With such a pretty and well trained dog it should be fun to create this keepsake for Susannah.

As per the SPCA website, they raised $740,000 during this event. Thanks for coming out and stopping by my table too. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to keep informed about upcoming events and special offers from PPP-Photography.

Family portraiture

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a family of four. A rather sophisticated gentleman, an exuberant lady and two little ones, both girls. A wonderful portrait opportunity!

The Lechner dog family!

Every time I show this picture I am asked - how did you get them to sit still? Did you glue them down? Of course not!!! I worked with these dogs for about 2 hours and there was a constant change of the primary subjects. I created beautiful portraits of the individual dogs but also many funny group shots. As you can see, the dogs were very cooperative!
My recipe is to work with the dogs and not to expect of them to work with me. Then things seem to fall in place. If the dogs are calmer in demeanour it usually is easier to achieve but usually most dogs at one stage seem to just be natural models.

Fany - my secret favourite!

Spike - only adopted the day before the shoot!

Bambi - the big baby

Paula - the boss!

Working with four dogs at the same time gave me the opportunity to create many different images. An ideal situation for creating an album or wall display. The individual portraits are wonderful in full colour or monochrome and I think Sabine found it hard to choose.

Three dogs comfortable with each other

Capture the moment!

I wonder what he is telling her!

If you want to have an offer for a photo shoot of your family - let us know! Fun families like this one will always get preferential treatment!

At the doggy beach - part two

While at the doggy beach that I reported on last time, I took a little "study" of my dog Sidney, playing for himself for a while with a red ball. He was so focussed on his ball, digging around it, nudging it, attacking it and then, finally retreating with it to a location from where to oversee the beach - content.
I am amazed to see him like this still. Sidney did not know what to do with toys when I adopted him almost exactly 1 year ago, then 3 years old. He has changed in that time. He is a stronger, healthier and happier dog and these pictures show this:

Enjoyment - that's what a dog's life is all about!

Tracking for dogs builds trust

Today, Maureen will introduce a Portuguese Water Dog, Naia with a breed typical hair cut. Naia, being so dark and "wooly" is a challenging dog to photograph so I was happy to capture the personal moments between her and her handler Luara.

guest blog by Maureen Fielding, K9Leadership

Naia is a young, mature Portuguese Water Dog. Naia has some insecurities, and Luara has been working with her in many ways to help her become a more balanced dog. Naia wants to work for Luara, and is very motivated in tracking. You can see in her photos how happily she indicated the prizes she finds along the way. Luara is working on developing trust and consistency in their teamwork, which spills over into other areas of their life together.

I like to work with insecure dogs in tracking and watch their confidence blossom. Fearful and insecure dogs who have been rescued, all benefit form the "therapy" of tracking along with good, consistent leadership. Dogs who are "clingy", i.e. not wanting to leave their guardians, will quickly develop confidence to move ahead in the track and problem-solve, while owners soon report more confidence in their dogs' daily lives and interactions.

As shown across these last four blog entries, tracking benefits most dogs and many dogs need it, whether to redirect prey drive, fulfil the need to work, build trust and respect, release pent up energy and build confidence. Along with good leadership, tracking helps create a balanced dog. Most dogs find it exceedingly fun, as do their guardians, whose eyes are opened to the incredible scenting abilities of their dogs.

The dogs introduced have had five weeks of basic wilderness tracking, followed by five weeks of advanced wilderness tracking which has given them the foundation to move on to urban tracking. They have all since graduated, but the journey of tracking never ends.

The goal of K9Leadership follows the goals of K9Kinship, that dogs and their guardians enjoy the journey of tracking at any level.

For more information on tracking contact Maureen Fielding at K9Leadership.
All photography by Petra Mayer, PPP-Photography.