32/52, 33/52 and a question...

32/52 "95 in the Shade."

Oh man, it was miserable here, whooch. Seattle is not meant to get to 95. It's against all nature. ;) So, new pool, since the dogs punched a hole in the old one, haha. Simon likes it because he can dive for his Wubba.


33/52 "Ferry Ride.."

Had to go across the water Friday for a trade show, so I dragged the dogs along with me. :) Simon and I went upstairs to shoot a few shots. As you can see, he's totally not paying attention to me hahah, he heard some people behind us stop and go "Oh! Look at the CUTE dog!" "What an adorable dog!" "EEE, I want to pet that dog!"

Yeah, he's totally not paying attention to me and hamming it up for those ladies. And their wonderful bag of potato chips. The little rotter knows instantly the "cute dog" tone and he is all ready to sit in someone else's lap and lick their face.



Running! Short little legs go!



(Also, I have to say, the fact that Simon's markings look like a map of the Americas crack me up. When he puts on a bit of weight, I go, "uh oh, buddy, your continents are drifting! Time to go jog more!")

Also, maybe someone can help me. Someone out there had a gorgeous grooming table with a Cardigan on it, and for the life of me, I can't remember who that was or if they made custom tables for folks. I actually not only wanted it for a grooming table, but for a temporary display table at work when we hold specials on products. Yep, I'm a multipurpose person, heh.

28/52 "Eagle Harbor", and assorted sunset photos...

28/52 "Eagle Harbor Marina"

I hadn't been down in downtown for a while, but we went for breakfast one weekend. Now, you know you've been doing dog photos too long when you look out on a gorgeous morning, see a rock wall, and go "Wow, I need to take a photo of Simon there!"

So, we happily went back during the week, and he obliged. ;)

Of course, Caleb wanted in on the action as well... goofball grin!


So, then we took some photos at night from our local marina, which is just a quick walk around the corner from the house... I decided I wanted to try a bit of evening photography, and the boys were happy to go for a walk.

I really like this shot of Caleb. He rarely sits still long enough to get shots of how pretty his head is when he's not being silly. I love, love, love his expression -- he's got such a gorgeous face and ears.




Of course, then it was time to wind down a bit and just enjoy the evening. Simon's still posing, though... and Caleb - well, he saw a blinky light on the ocean, and happily watched that for a while.

25/52, 26/52, 27/52 , and hey, don't steal Simon!

So busy lately, and there's been some internet issues. Like, let's drop the connection every five minutes issues, ugh. Yay, I can post!

25/52 "Garrison Duty"

Simon at Fort Worden State Park. This park is where an Officer and A Gentleman was filmed.



26/52 "After the Parade..."
Simon at the Fourth of July parade here on the Island.



27/52 "Tour Guide Break"

Man, it was 97 degrees here last week. And for those of you who live here, you know what I mean when I say it was miserable. We Seattle folks are totally beside ourselves when it gets that hot, we wander around like sparkly vampires and hiss at the flaming ball in the sky.

So, my sister in law was out and we had a great time, but the last day she was here we decided to scoot by the little town of Port Gamble. It was hot, and we had ice cream, and of course, Simon had to go pose for me against this cool walkway and fence. I have to say the tourist in the background is what makes it for me-- she was a bit confused as to what me and the short dude were doing. ;)



Now for the funny -- well, not so funny part of my week. So, the other day I get up to a bunch of messages that said, "Hey, congrats on Simon making the Daily Puppy!" :D

Now, I have never HEARD of the Daily Puppy, so I am utterly confused.

Long story short, I didn't submit him. Someone else... er, "borrowed" my pictures off of my DA site. I had a feeling because the shot of Dusty and Simon isn't on too many places at all, it was more of a personal snapshot because technically, it's not the greatest, it's just cute. <3 I think it's in scraps there or dug in my flickr site somewhere.)

I went there and realized, wow, um, not only had they "borrowed" photos but that they'd changed Caleb's name to "Charlie," and had them as THEIR dogs with bios, and fake birthdates and everything! XD (Poor Caleb. Now we can really tease him about going to Candy Mountain. Inside joke. If you don't know it, go look up "Charlie the Unicorn" on You Tube (but beware, it's a bit er, not kid safe for language!)

I was totally baffled, but I wrote a very nice letter to the Daily Puppy explaining that they were my dogs, and I was very flattered that he was chosen and that I didn't mind sharing the photos at all, but that it wasn't me who submitted Simon, and I'd like my dog back. ;) I do embed my stats with the Nikon, including my name, etc, so yes, those were my shots, haha.

They totally emailed me back quickly, apologized, and fixed everything for me. I didn't mind, now that I was able to write his real biography and explain that he's my dog. I now have control of the submission process, and the person on there with the photos is actually me.

I couldn't believe it though - this person was giving out private messages and accepting thanks as if they were their dogs and photos! I honestly feel like there's something really creepy about someone taking your dogs and saying that they're theirs. How odd, honestly.... really, I'm baffled. It's sort of hilarious in a way though, Simon's a victim of identity theft! ;)

I will say next time they do this, I'm setting Caleb on them. He's been practicing his RAR face. ;)

Whoa (and not a horse one for once!)

Actually, it's about the CWCCA photo contest at Nationals! Not my mare, but she's doing way better at the trainer I've got her with now. I do like the word whoa though, we sure use it a lot.

I'm sort of in that daze point still... I just finally today got the full scoop as to how I placed, and so I just have to share, since I'm all like "eeee!"

I've never entered a photography contest before, and to enter my first one at Nationals and do so well just has me trotting on air. Good air too, not the other kind, that some dog in this household is sharing with me right now. I better get onto the photos, huh, because I reveal much more and you'll all be like I am, looking to open a window and run.

To be honest, I thought I hadn't placed at all when I saw everyone's blogs go up with the other winners...

So I was shocked when folks told me I'd won some and everyone then started asking what it was and I'm like "I... don't know?" It really was funny, you could have knocked me over with a feather, and my friends got a good laugh at me! So, thank you, guys, for letting me know! It made my whole day, so I have to share for everyone who asked!

First place in Portrait: Caleb down at the beach.

This is one of those shots that looks simple, but wasn't. Those of you who know Caleb know that the longest time Caleb sits in place is about one second. I think I took a hundred pictures of him that day and most of them were him whizzing by; I had an ear, a blurry eye, a tail... this one, he was finally tired out for half a minute, and apparently his crack ran out. ;) (Inside joke, Kim and Yo will understand!)




First Place in Action: Simon catching a ball! *grins* Go figure, Simon with a toy in his mouth? Who would have thought? ;)



Second in General: (One of my favorite shots ever. I admit it. This is the only one right now I have on my wall in the hallway, and people keep asking if it's a painting.)



And third in Portrait:

(See, that garbage can really did come in handy... ;) )



So there you have it! Now I know, so now you know! *grin*

I just want to say a thank you to everyone who comes to this little corner of the internet, too. Honestly, all of your comments and encouragement and enjoyment and laughs make my days, and I love sharing my photos and silly dogs with you all. I wouldn't have had the courage to send my shots into the contest before. Cardi people are the best people... well, dog people. ;) I better not be Cardi-Centric, even though well, darn, I love this breed.

Also, go check out Taryn's first place photo! It's gorgeous! I love the light on this photo, with the towers and the shadows. :D

PS: Simon's full brother placed second in his class at Nationals. Wow. Way to go, Target! :D

Weekend photography...

I've decided I really enjoy taking photos of other people's dogs. It's more of a challenge than my own; I know how to shoot mine for their best sides, so to speak. I know how to adjust colors and backgrounds to make my dogs pop out and stand out. However, since the entire crew of Dune Cardigans and Aurigan was at my house for the Bremerton show, I'd been itching for a chance to practice my photography on someone else's dogs. You can see some of the pictures I took for Dune over on her blog. :) I love her dogs; they were so well behaved. Hunter was really a pleasure to work with - I think with a bit of practice he'd pick up modeling as one more career in his resume!

Of course, the highlight of my photographer's day was how much fun it is to photograph puppies. They don't sit still much. They don't have to look at you. But they do all these freaking adorable things and you hope you're fast enough to catch it on camera. I'll let Dayl over at Aurigan share most of them... this litter is gorgeous... but I have to share a few of my favorite shots of these beautiful pups. The photographer in me is thrilled with them.

One of the pups from Aurigan Cardigans... apparently Matt has good taste for girls. ;) Hey, I knew that. I also know he'd dump me for that pretty face in a heartbeat, sigh.

... Albany next weekend. If you see some crazy person ringside with a camera and a red-brindle dog, hahah, that's probably me and Caleb!

10/52 "Chivalry"

(Aw, I didn't skip a week, I swear. I just used the flower one that we worked so hard to take.)



In a previous life, I think Simon was a knight, protecting fair maidens and eyeing the sky for dragons.

I don't know why, but this is one of my favorite shots I've taken so far for the project. It just has everything -- the angle of the driftwood, the sky, the gaze... I like how it reminds me of a wood carving, and I like how he's watching everything around me as I sit on the log below him. Fearless protector. <3

8/52 -- Beds and Trick photography...

8/52 -- "Move over...?

Simon says, it's been a long day. Now go fetch me a biscuit.



It's funny -- Simon is a sharp little cookie. Like, scary sharp. He's been getting better and better at this, and yes, that top shot may not look staged, but trust me, it is. He really is getting this in leaps and bounds. Wait means, wait here where you've moved me until you tell me 'done.'

To explain in pictures...



Gosh, that tree's beautiful. The problem is, it's on a hill, and only part of it hangs into the dog run. And in front of it is my tent-garage, so that blocks most of it, plus the branches sit high. Now, I tried every way I could possibly think of to use the back deck to get the shot, no go.

... but ah ha! A flash bulb moment! Get Simon higher... how do we do that?



Like this. ;) And thus, this pose, produced the above shot. Three five minute sessions and he was on it - to the point where I just pointed to the can, he hopped up, and held his spot. By the third time he was an old pro at the pose, waiting until I put the camera down to lean over the edge and ask for his liver snack, haha. Smart dog. Scary smart dog. Not just in training, but in concepts.


*grins* It's like Disney magic, isn't it?

(Edit: Hee hee, had to put the smiling on the garbage can up instead, since everyone finds it hilarious. :D The light's not as good, but... that's okay!) ;)

4/52 Weeks for dogs -- "Stair"

(I admit, the grammar geek in me laughs at the homophone. Okay, I'm really geeky.)

Managed to get enough of a break in the rain yesterday to go shoot some photos for an hour or two. I actually ended up at my old middle school, which is now pretty much boarded up and in dire need of repair throughout. There's a set of stairs that go up to the high school, which has been utterly, completely redone, all brick and glass and huge buildings. I have a mural in there that I'm shocked is still standing after what now... uh, twenty years? Wow, it has been. Oh man, dated myself. ;)

But it was a great place to take shots of the dogs and I'll remember it on the weekend. It's just got a lot of neat spaces to use.

Caleb, on the stairs... sheesh, I've rarely had this problem with a dog. He's hard to keep weight on - the last one I had like that was Ali. Liblet is a picky son of a gun, oddly enough. (Unless it's something I'm eating, in which case he wants it bad. "Yum, lima beans!" )

Simon on the stairs... Ten minutes from the school and we're at Fort Ward. There was this sea lion out in the Sound barking at us and then it swimming closer and closer in fascination trying to figure out what the heck Simon was... and Simon was like, "That is the scariest, ugliest thing ever, wow." We decided the car was the better point of valor when it started to lumber onto the beach, eep! Those things are huge.



And of course, a couple of headshots...

Simon 2/52 - "Mister Blue Sky"

It's funny... I was talking to my dad the other night. Now, my dad used to be a professional photographer when I was a kid. He's taken some incredible shots, ones that I sort of hold up and tell myself -- "I want to have a shot like this in my gallery some day."

So, we spent a good half an hour talking lenses, cameras, and lighting and him telling me that he was going to digitize his collection of slides (yes please, please!) I don't want to lose those. One of my favorite memories as a kid was to be in the King Tut exhibit before it opened to the public, and he took some absolutely amazing photographs of pieces that I've never seen in any book out there.

That and he taught me ELO was one of the best groups ever. ;) Hahaha. Well, we think so, anyway.

One of the things I started to notice was that I had a lot of shots of my other dogs shooting up at them, be it on the deck or rocks, or what have you, but really none of Simon like that. Two, I don't have a lot of truly posed shots of Simon, where I ask him to sit and wait while I shoot. (He's such a go go getter, haha!) Three, that I haven't gotten a lot of shots of him outside of the yard - I take him everywhere, but my camera, not so much! Four, uh, wow, he's a goof and always has his tongue flopping out because he's always having a great time. XD I failed four, but man, he's just too darn happy. I guess that's an okay one to fail, we'll get it sometime!

So, a break in the pouring weather, the beach down at Fay Bainbridge, and just enough time to grab some shots before the rain banded back and slammed back in.


Photo from the other angle -- you can really see the clouds coming in.



Tricksy, he thinks he is!


I love the grass here.

Simon 1/52

Manymuddypaws put out a feeler for new folks to join the 52 Weeks of dogs project on Flickr...

I've loved all the photos she did last year -- in fact, before I even started my blog, I had been sticking up photos of my dogs over there, saw Pixel and was like, "Wow, that's the cutest Cardi ever!" (Hey now, I'm a sucker for a gorgeous merle, I am, shh.) If you haven't been to her blog or seen her photography - you need to! Beautiful stuff!

I love photography. I love dogs. Combine the two and I'm happy... as you no doubt can tell from my blog.

The dog who I picked officially to do the project this year was Simon. I plan on doing Caleb as well, but just for myself, haha. :)

I wanted my first photo to be something -- well, Simon. I mean, what are the things that make Simon "Simon?" For me, it's his smile, his goofy good-nature, his drive, and of course, his love for his ever faithful Wubba toy.



The thing that makes me always smile about the Wubba is this...



He totally wanted to be just like Gabe, I guess. ;) Aw.