When I found out that my work friend, Barbie, had 2 Great Danes, I just had to
take their portraits. Her dogs were different than the tan “Marmaduke” Danes that I knew. Instead, their fur is an amazing pattern of white and black splotches. In person, they are absolutely stunning creatures.
My sister had a 180 lb. great dane and she loved that dog. He was fiercely loyal, protective and looked like a small deer running around their farm. He could easily look you in the eye if he put his front legs on the window to look in. With his pointed ears, dark shiny eyes and long face, he looked like an alien scanning the room before making an abduction. I’ll admit that he was a bit scary to me. The snapshot to the right shows him with my dog, Winston.
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I have a feeling that Rusty did not realize that having just one eye was supposed to slow him down, because he is very active running and swimming on “his farm”.
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| Oops. Where is the tail? Too bad, I liked the look on his face. |
I had traveled to Cartersville, Georgia to take photos for a Boy Scout promo and Rusty lived in the house where I did the photoshoot. In between the human photos, we coaxed Rusty onto the set to see if I could make a portrait of him.
I find that dogs who love treats can be easier to photograph compared to ones who could care less. Rusty likes cheese… enough said. The photos below were taken at an angle that makes it easy to imagine Rusty whole again.
This organization is filled with wonderful, hard working and dedicated volunteers who love what they do. Learn more about them and available adoptees on their site www.bostonterriertn.org
My friends, David and Kimberly, had just lost their black lab, Cheyenne, to cancer after a long struggle. Anyone who has lost a special pet knows how hard it is to say goodbye. This feeling of loss can linger.
Later that year, the couple became pregnant with their first child. As a thoughtful surprise, David wanted to give his wife a “push present” before the birth. He asked me to make a painting for her based on her favorite snapshot of Kimberly and her dogs from many years ago.
I would not consider myself a painter… at least not a good one. Still, I could not resist the opportunity to be part of this. It hit all the right emotional chords with me. I told him that I would give it my best shot.
Instead of painting using traditional media which had long since dried up in my art kit, I decided to paint it using digital software and a pressure sensitive stylus. Unlike a filter that is added to a photo to give painterly effects, I painted every stroke as I would have on a canvas, with the bonus feature of hitting the “UNDO” button when I made a mistake… and I made a lot of them.
The snapshot was the starting point. I decided to make the scene at a beach house and have Cheyenne looking at us instead of turning her back to us. He is looking right at us as if to say, “Don’t forget me”. David sent me another photo of Cheyenne’s face for reference.
I am told that the present was a complete surprise and brought tears of joy to Kimberly’s face. I don’t usually like making pregnant women cry, but in this case it was alright.
Who says dogs are just “man’s” best friend. Why can’t the same special bond exist between women and canines? My wife calls our 2 Boston Terriers “furry babies” and they are truly part of our family. They are our kids… no if’s, and’s or but’s.
During a recent family photo session, we decided to take some portraits of Amber and her dog, Roscoe, who was Amber’s four-legged baby before her beautiful daughter came along.
Many dogs get relegated to the garage or back yard when a human infant comes along, but Roscoe has remained an important part of the pack.
When my friend, Collin, asked me if I wanted to help him take photos of his mom, Ginger, and her Chiauau, Roo, little did I know that this dog would more resemble several other animals combined. Roo is unique because she was born without fully developed front legs. She has the stance of a kangaroo, the small wings of a chicken and the huge ears of a cave bat.
She has never known what it is like to walk on 4 legs and she considers hopping, sliding and dive bombing from the top of the couch totally natural for a dog. To get around she stands on her back legs and uses her tail to balance… just like a kangaroo.
When it was my turn to take photos, I used every stupid dog trick in the book from fake “barks” to cat “meows” to get her ears to stick straight up or her head cocked to one side. A little bribery with cheese did wonders too. See the full gallery here.
