Smile Like a Dog

Those of you who know my work understand I don’t really spend a whole lot of time in a traditional studio. That said, my wise and clever wife recently planted the suggestion of reconfiguring our backyard into an outdoor studio that I could invite clients to. Wow, talk about your great ideas.

Only one problem

Since we got him in early 2007, The Biz had taken what was once a pretty serviceable and low-maintenance backyard and converted it into a series of mulch piles. Einstein and Newton would be proud of the irresistible force that is Bizzy who, at only 15 pounds, managed to shift several cubic yards of very expensive pine mulch from an even 3-inch surface to a 3-foot slope against our neighbor’s fence. The rest of the yard pretty much looked like a moonscape.

We ended up working with a really great landscape architect from Redbud Design who came up with a beautiful plan designed to be beautiful and durable. The solution:  fescue turf grass (virtually indestructible), some architectural amendments and cool Asian statuary we found at a great store in Berkeley.

The result is a peaceful little space with lots of durable turf for Bizzy to play on — not to mention a cool little guardian for all the little critters that visit us. Check it out…

New Arbor on the deck and, nope, it didn’t rain. That’s San Francisco summer fog

The Biz and his ever-present ball

Stop and smell the succulents

Oh give me a home with lots of room to roam…

My favorite part…the new Jizo statue. Jizo is traditionally a protector of kids, expectant mothers, firemen, & travelers. But I’ve decided to make him an honorary overseerer of pets as well.

Tags: Backyard, Bizzy, Corgi Jack russell mix, Jizo, outdoor studio

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the good folks at KBCW, the CW Network affiliate for the San Francisco Bay Area. They’ve been running a Bay Area Top Pet contest for the last few weeks and needed a photographer to get some good shots of the winners: Zach, a really cool border collie mix;  and Francesca, a beautiful tabby.

We ended up shooting at the studio, which is not my typical sort of venue (I prefer a place where the animals feel a bit more at home…like home or a park). However, it ended up turning out great and we got a bunch of excellent shots which they turned into really funny web and print ads for the contest winners. The print ad actually ran in today’s Sunday San Francisco Chronicle as a 3/4 page placemetn. See the ads below and other good shots from the shoot here.

Tags: Bay Area Top Pet Contest, Border Collie Mix, Francesca, Tabby, Zachary

A few weeks back I held my second photo event at Under One Roof — this one was themed Christmas in July. We had a decent turnout with about half the participants opting to don a holiday costume. While I don’t play favorites I have to say the charmer for the day was an aptly named tailess French Bulldog named Stubby. You be the judge…

Tags: christmas in july, Under One Roof

The folks at Pet Food Express have been keeping my very occupied of late (thanks, guys) with My Mutt assignments. Interestingly enough, none of the recent ones have really been mutts and my new bunny buddy, Monet is the latest. He’s a harlequin mini rex who was rescued through Save a Bunny and he’s absolutely gorgeous. Check him out…

Tags: bunny, harlequin mini rex, monet, rabbit

Apologies to all my regular readers for the infrequent posting these past few weeks. Between a bunch of private sessions, My Mutt shoots, weddings (we’ve had a big uptick in those here in San Francisco since the state supreme court ruling) and my now-regular gig on Dogster’s blog I’ve barely had enough time to download shots from my flash cards  and move on to the next event.  Fear not, though, I’m going to make an effort to get back to Smile Like a Dog and commenting on all my favorite pet photog blogs out there.

Stay tuned….

Tags: Bizzy, update

I had another photo shoot for a Pet Food Express My Mutt poster a few weeks back but this time it was for a cat (I know, they need to rethink the name of the program) named Koko rescued by a nice family down in San Carlos through the Nine Lives Foundation. Koko was abused before he found his new forever home and is completely blind in one eye and either completely or nearly completely blind in the other. He does just fine without them, though and plays like a normal kitty. Look for Koko in a poster down in the San Carlos or Redwood City Petfood Express sometime soon.

Tags: koko, Nine Lives Foundation, Rescue, tabby cat

For those of you who fell in love with the dog from As Good As It Gets have I got a post for you. I had the pleasure of meeting BeeGee last week. BeeGee is a Brussels Griffon just like Timer in the movie. Boy, what a cute little guy…and he just adores his dad.

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful

Now that’s a tongue

He got the carpet because it works with my coat

Tags: BeeGee, Brussels Griffon

For all you ultra-prepared people out there I’ll be holding another photography event at Under One Roof on Saturday, July 19th. The theme this time is Christmas in July so bring your pet on down between 11 and 4 and get your holiday card photo taken care of early this year

Under One Roof
518A Castro Street
San Francisco 94114
415-503-2300

It’s $65 for a 15-minute sitting with a portion benefitting Under One Roof. You can choose between a CD with high resolution files of your two favorite proofs that you can use to make your own prints or two 5×7 prints of your choice.

Call Under One Roof at 415-503-2300 to schedule a session in advance.

Tags: holiday pet photographs, Under One Roof

For me the only thing more exciting than getting a new camera is getting a new lens. I’ve had my eye on the canon 16-35 2.8L for a while now and just took the plunge. I tested it out on my office manager and assistant, Bizzy, a couple of days ago and all I kept asking myself afterwards was why did I wait so long to get this?

Fairly classic Bizzy stance. You typically see this when he’s tossed all available toys in some impossible-to-reach place and he wants you to get them for him. I see this probably 100-200 times a day. Oy…terriers

But, honestly, how can you not get the toy out from under the desk when he looks at you like this. By the way, this is where I discovered the autofocus was off on the new lens

Ahh, that’s better. Focus back on. I’d better get cracking on finding the toys, though.

No matter how many times I see it, The Biz’s underbite continues to slay me.

Ok. Toys retreived and back to the kitchen. Wow, this wide-angle is really cool but it picks up absolutely everything — including the paint swatches I’ve had up on the breakfast nook for the last 3 years.

Bizzy and his favorite game — kill the stack. By the way, for anyone who has an active dog and needs a new food puzzle to keep them challenged, I can’t recommend Canine Genius enough (the pink and blue bowling-pin shaped doo-hickies) You can put treats inside and plug the end with string cheese and you’re set for the next hour. Once they figure that out you can actually interlock two or three of the toys together so the treats move around between them. Dogs love it.

Have you ever seen cuter ears?

Tags: Bizzy, canon 16-35 2.8L, Cojack, Corgi Jack russell mix, new lens

Last weekend a client gave me a wee bit of somewhat deserved grief for not featuring more Golden Retrievers like his beautiful dog, Maya, on my site. “Afterall,” he said, ” They’re only one of the top 5 most popular breeds in the country.” Odd, I thought, I know I’ve photographed more than my fair share but I wonder why I don’t have them up on my blog or any of my featured galleries. I spent some time going through my archives this week and hereby dedicate this post  to Maya and all the other underserved Goldens in the San Francisco Bay area.

Maya

Maya

Tess

Bella

Jasper (and Scruffy)

Cody

Tags: Golden Retriever, Maya