fear of the vacuum!

while catching up on housework on one of my few days off, i decided to vacuum up the mega thick layer of doggie fur floors-this is something that i must do every day-but heck-that's just not possible in my world. so when it comes time to doing this-they both run for cover-furby will get into attack mode and only bark once at the machine after charging me-and then he shoots up the stairs. kenobi on the other hand wastes no time and darts up the steps. they stay put until i'm done with this monster of a machine-it could potentially eat them-this image is the result of all the drama.

clovis dailey

clovis is a mix of retreiver, st. bernard, springer spaniel (minus the energy) and perhaps a dash of king charles spaniel. anyway, it was love at first sight for patty (and clovis!) when she discovered him at the nebraska humane society! these edits come fresh off the cs5 press-my new favorite is the black and white image of his sweet head-i call that fine art pet photography. love it.

'junior' portraits, elkhorn, ne.

leia and i had a fantastic october day out inthe small town of elkhorn ne. it didn't take long to find a super cool location. i get that leia want hip and edgy type shots of her-these were pro all the way. and you know the weather helps a lot too. with the sun almost setting-it was 4:30pm when we began. and it took about 1.5-2 hrs in 3-4 different locations. i simply loooove location shooting now-the world is a backdrop and there is absolutely NO artificial lighting what so ever! natural light is the way to go. some shots were kinda harsh-pockets and sockets of shadows-but wow! who cares? it is what it is and she looks darn good. too good imho. used my trusty 40-150mm for some amazing long shots and then whipped out the faster 14-54mm. i have a prime and a zoom that work well-the zoom isn't that fast but it does okay-shoot, leia was spectacular and very patient. not your typical teenager i must say! these are the top 3-more to come. love it when things turn out.

proud gaga

during my doggie shoot with the happy hyper felix, gaga discovered some interesting photos from the past and seeing her expression while holding up this particular photo of her dear husband-papajack-demonstrates her feeling of love and pride. he is a graduate of uno and has a masters in business and counseling i believe. that's when the portrait was taken. i couldn't pass up the moment and i KNOW she did not want me to take a picture of her. surprise! isn't she beautiful? the 40-150mm lens creates wonderful portraits.

felix a short haired collie

i've added a couple more of the best of felix. i figured out my time it usually takes me for 1 potential client: 1 hr-1.5 hr of creative time 200-300 images at a location (digital is a gift from the heavens and i am using it all!) out of those fired i end up with 20-30 fabulous shots (only 10-15%, kinda lousy odds-but it's due to the shutter lag and mediocre quality lens-this has GOT to be improved.) then i import all RAW images (10mb file each!) and rate/reject ones (1 hr) and then i go to the magical world of cs5 for pp(some is done in lr3) about 20-30 images edited for web and print (1-1.5 hr). not to mention the burning to disc and hard drive. in the end it's a 5-6 hr time to create custom photography from start to finish. i prolly put so much care int0 the work i don't count. it's quite an addiction. my passion. i just look into these furry friends' eyes and practically melt when i find a winner.

clovis dailey

there is nothing quite like a dog that is mellow and never camera shy. clovis here is that dog. he is like a gentle giant. my dear friend and fellow mulhall's co-worker patty is the proud owner of this fun loving low level energy doggie. he is truly a beautiful dog to photograph. this was a little over an hour of creative time in 3-4 different locations in her fabolous home. i started with some long shots (40-150mm) a great portrait lens (check out the creamy bokeh) as long as the tripod is attached because of the app being pretty pitiful-f4 at the max. starting with the long lens is smart-you want the furry friends to get acquainted with you slowly-so you step off. then after some fun times in the morning dew-clovis, the big baby was soooo well behaved the whole time-even though his poor paws got slobbery wet from the grass-i switch to the med telephoto(14-54mm f2.8) and this is the quicker, better in low light lens. this shot is honestly the FIRST image i took of him. not bad-exposure is almost spot on and after pp-i added my logo. just a name-nothing more. that is a work in progress. i like the colors-orange and chocolate? patty says, shredded wheat is best for treats. i will buy a box! there are much more images to come-this is just a taste.
update-i added a couple more images-only the best! iso800, 1/500, f2.8, ffl54mm

felix the dog photo shoot 2010!

here he is again bright and dandy and zippy and out of control unlimited amounts of energy felix. cold hot dogs are the ONLY way to get his attention. there are many MORE images to come! iso 800, 1/50, f2.8 and fl 14mm.

razzi my foster cat

we've decided to foster a kitty for a while. her name is razzi and you may remember her from the summer i shot photos of her and moxi together at lucy's home. she is now staying with us and we love her like she is our own! cats get along with other cats so quickly. the first couple of days i seriously thought it was not going to work-she was completely terrified of us and her new surroundings. then-her true spirit emerged. playful and affectionate and full of energy! she is feeling utterly at home now. my nephew matt chase wants to take her in. the problem is that he lives in l.a.-and it might be a while. in the meantime-she will keep us fully entertained. iso 400, f3.5, fl 54mm and what a slow shutter speed of 1/20. huh.

furby is new and fresh and fabulous!

there is no excuse for me being absent for so long-sheees-i've been taking time learning about this new software program called adobe lightroom 3-yeah i know, it's not new, but to me it is and i'm going about this by myself. then i have to relearn adobe photoshop cs5-been using apple iphoto for all my pp. that is just not right! well, it is for some people. and i have discovered that i truly looove to work with a pen tablet and corel painter 11 this i am familiar with and i came across an old one lying around(yep) so this has been a rebirth of new creative juices that were just waiting to ooze out of me. these programs work together in there own way-and i am obsessively learning about them as often as i can. organizing and creating photographs in my spare time (did i mention i maintain a home life, am an overprotective parent, have a 9-5 job, an eBay store on the side, crafting for x-mas AND in the process of launching a pet photography business?) there is absolutely NO time for a social life. should i have coffee with a dear friend once a week? yes i should. do i? no. i oughtta socialize my pets. they are outta control sometimes. so that has been my priority for the past month. i wouldn't trade anything. and these posted images are what i looove to do. now, if i could only make a living off of doing 1 thing that i enjoy the most. be the best at 1 thing rather than good at several different things. that will be my challenge for the next couple of years. i try to visualize where i see myself in 5 years and i can't quite answer that yet. alright now i'm done ranting. just sayin. so my settings for these images of furby(yes furby once again-but there is a reason behind this all) everything i do is a step closer to my goal. iso 400, 1/400 and 1/500, f2.8 and fl 14mm. seeing these images (in lr3) is what gives me great satisfaction and JOY (voice of stimpy). it is why i love photography.