Sophie was very regal and pretended that Max was just SUCH the little brother….I love her expression in this photo as Max starts to charge, what a look of disdain!  But with some patience, I was able to capture one of my potential clients’ favorite photos in my portfolio….the ultimate play session.

Sophie and Max.

That is Sophie in the front, with the smile on her face.

Sophie acting coy?  I’m not sure but this shot always makes me smile.

This particular photo hangs as a 30 x 40 wrapped canvas behind my register.   It always attracts the most attention of all the canvases I have displayed, and I am not surprised.  Wives call husbands over to look, husbands call wives over to look, and they usually stare for quite some time before saying “Wow, what a beautiful dog.”  And I just smile.

Rest in peace, sweet girl.   I will never forget that while I was thigh high in a snowdrift, photographing your brother, you decided it would be a great time to come over and lie down on top of me.  You just thought it was a good time for a cuddle…

“We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle; easily and often breached.  Unable to accept its awful gaps, we would still live no other way.  We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan.”

― Irving Townsend

From this heartbreak, a singleton pup enters the world….and at just three and a half weeks, he sure seemed ready to take it on!  Meet Karasail Ignite the Moonlight, otherwise known as Kindle.  I think he’s going to light up this world.

Oh, he might look a little timid here, but this was only his second time outside!  He was busy exploring the grass, the flowers, and all the bunny smells.  :)

Now he is getting into his stride….

Look at him go!!!  He gets a case of the zoomies, and then remembers he is going to be a dignified show dog like his daddy.

All this practicing to be a show dog is tiring….time to stop for some lovin’.

And a BIG yawn!!!

It was near 90 degrees so we didn’t stay outside long….it was clear Kindle was getting hot….can you tell?

But it only took him minutes to recover.   We noticed outside he kept glancing at my camera in a sly sort of way.  Sure enough, he finally got up the courage to attack, after a few sassy bounces.   Sadly, he was too quick for me – hey, you can’t get ‘em all!

Time for the milk bar….and mom was only too happy to oblige.  She was okay with us taking her pup outside alone, but she would have preferred to come along.

Wow, all that milk made someone sleepy.  He had just discovered this soft cushy bed and absolutely loved it, rolling around a bit and then crashing.

How about a wide angle shot of that nose?

Nothing is cuter than little puppy ears…except maybe little puppy feet.

And as always, I try to end with a beauty shot.  Is it possible to get a “beauty shot” of such a young pup?  I think so!  Here he is, practicing his show gait again!  :)  Thanks Kari for the quick session with this special boy, I look forward to seeing him in the future!

In the meantime, he is an outside cat during the day, but sleeps in the garage at night, in his little bed that was bought for him immediately by their daughter.   He was neutered this last week and the vet thinks he is about 11 months old.  He wants in the house, but sadly, that isn’t allowed.  He is small….and a talker, but not one of those obnoxious talkers.  He has a sweet, itty bitty meow.   He is quite charming.  The rest, you can see for yourself.

Here is Bandit….a bit leery of strangers as you can see.   This is the first shot I took.

But he relaxed quickly, and although he seemed a bit spooked by my camera, he was also curious.

Well, enough posing.  He had just finished catching a little ground squirrel before I got there, and I think he was either showing off for me, or on the lookout for another.  Peek-a-boo!

I don’t know if Bandit got lost, was left behind, but he is socialized and would make a wonderful pet for someone looking for a smaller kitty who doesn’t mind a little chit chat every once in a while.   They really don’t get more handsome than this…..

Thanks Bandit for the quick photo session….my fastest ever, I think!  I’d be willing to transport him from Arizona to Telluride for the right home, so please don’t hesitate to contact me if interested.  Until then, lets hope the coyotes stay far away, and that Bandit sleeps in his garage every night.

—-Update:  Bandit’s photos were placed on a rescue site, and after about a month had found his forever home!

Maggie warned me that we should not take it out at the very beginning, because Otie LOVES his soccer ball stuffie and goes crazy when he has it!

He was fully capable of stopping to take a look around and catch his breath, too — love the big tongue, Otie!

Enough rest!!   Off he goes —  I had a lot of photos like this one!

He can be quite the handsome poser, too.  He also has an annoying habit of blending into his surroundings.  Was Autumn the best season to have a session with Otis?  Good thing his mom booked a winter session too!!

We HAD to go to the river, the colors at sunset there are so spectacular, and with all the birds, a perfect spot for Otis to show off his hunting instincts.  I hardly got any shots of him where he wasn’t pointing!

However,  Otie is not always so dignified.  I couldn’t resist.  Although he is intense, he is a goofball at heart.

The light reflecting the trees on the water was just unbelievable….and the perfect backdrop for Otis.

As always, ending with a beauty shot, and what Otie does best.  :)  Until our snow session…..hope you enjoyed your sneak peek Maggie!

Gracie’s owners had a DNA breed test done on her, and she is a Lab, Golden, and Bernese Mountain Dog cross.  I have to tell you….I am not sure I believe the Bernese part.  Gracie NEVER stopped moving.  Two hours later, she hadn’t even slowed down.   This girl is a hunter, and I think she could be out in the field all day long.  She is only two, and I have a feeling she keeps her parents very busy.   We’ll get to some scenic shots later, but first, a bit about Gracie’s personality.

First, she is a girl who loves the water!

Gracie is happy just to splash around and act like a nut.    It’s almost like a puppy splash, but you can tell she is just doing it for fun.  Check out her grin.  LOL!

She obsesses over her pink tennis ball, but I think she looks much prettier without it!

She is the only dog that I have ever met who does the “bucking bronco”, as her parents called it.  She grabs her leash, and as fast as she can, twirls in circles while kicking up her hind legs.  This joyful display went on for quite some time, and I have no idea how she walked away from it without falling over from dizziness!

When we took her ball and leash away, she was more than happy to run around wildly with a stick.   It doesn’t take much to entertain Gracie!

Gracie looks good in color or monotone…..

But in most cases…….she was running.  So much to explore, so little time!

Occasionally, she would pause for a split second, usually to point.  I am not sure that the DNA test should  have said Pointer instead of Bernese….but who am I to dispute DNA?

We finally got her to quiet down for a few shots and I think she looks stunning against the blue sky….even if she does make silly faces!   I personally think she is just a total goof.

The tall grasses presented a bit of a challenge, but in some cases, I liked her half hidden in the golden fields.

HEY!  How did the pink tennis ball sneak back in here??
 I usually end with a “beauty shot”.  This time, I am going to end with two beauty shots of Gracie with her family.  If anything was apparent during this session, it was how loved Gracie was.  It was clear they both adored her, and I was able to get quite a few photos of fun interaction between them.    Thank you Meredith and Andrew for letting me photograph your fun and photogenic girl – I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek, and I’ll be in touch soon with your ordering gallery!

First, for those following the blog who are not breed educated:  No, Flat-coated Retrievers are REALLY not this popular.  Flatcoat owners, however, do tend to all know one another in some way, and so I do have a disproportionate amount of Flatcoats on my site.  Elizabeth was initially a Mountain Tails customer and is now a friend from Chicago who drove out with her Flatcoats for two weeks.  Two weeks which included endless rain.  We rescheduled the shoot three times.  I began to panic.  I called her one night in the gloom (no actual rain, but I do mean very dark gloom) and said “we better just take some photos, or you might go home with nothing!”.  So we took the dogs out in the darkness and I did get a few decent shots, although much too dark for action.  Our NEXT date, four days before she was headed back to Chicago, it was sunny all day.  4:30, clouds started to roll in.  4:45, I contacted her and called it off, as big drops were falling.  Fifteen minutes later, I saw blue sky in the west, and could tell it was headed our way.  She threw the dogs in the car, rushed down to our meeting spot, waited until the rain stopped, and then we shot for 45  minutes, at which point it then started raining again.

And that, folks, is weather at 9000 feet.

We spent some time trying to get them to stay where the few flowers were – this year has been particularly odd with such a late summer, that I’ve been very thrown off by what is blooming, and when.   Although this is a posed shot, I thought it was quite sweet, as they choose to sit this close together.  They are very bonded.  Scout is a five year old female, and Jem is a 3 year old male.

Enough posing!  There are lots of smells around here!  Off we go!

Scout is a wild child when not doing therapy work, which her mom does every week with her.  She is particularly good with mentally unstable patients, who might make loud noises or gestures.  This particular type of therapy work is not suited for many dogs, but Scout does extremely well at it, and has a sixth sense as to what kind of energy the patient needs.   Tennis ball obsessed, very intense, and quite barky at times, she reminds me a lot of a border collie.   When I first met her as an adult, I immediately noticed traits that would make her a natural for field work, and in fact she does come from very strong field lines.  But by then, she had already developed some bad habits and so although they do field for fun, Scout thinks tennis balls are better than birds, and that coming only when she wants to is better than coming every time.  :)

Who do you think has the ball in this photo?  Yep, it would be me.

She is intense even when seemingly relaxed, too!

Although I did get some less intense expressions from her, too.

With Jem, intense behavior wasn’t an issue.  If relaxing, he looked practically asleep, but thankfully the boy has a playful side too.  He is the opposite of Scout, laid back, and with little inclination to chase anything at all.

He has his charms though….and likes to come when you call him!   Come on Jem!!!   Wheeeeee!

Well, we tried to keep them out of the river as long as possible, but as you might have noticed from some of the shots already posted, it wasn’t for long!

Jem, as usual, taking the placid approach to water entry (this boy cracks me up).

And Scout, just a slightly different style.  :)

I threw a rock for Scout into the rapids and she swam and swam and swam, going nowhere at all, for several minutes.  I am not sure if she realized the rock sank (Blue tries to get them off the bottom), if she thought an object was floating out there for her, or if she was just doing it for fun!

A few more water shots:

Jem may not like balls, but he found a prized stick.  OOOOoooooooo…..very exciting stuff.  How do I hold this, again?

Oh, wait, I got it!

Uh, oh!  Sister is coming to steal it!  The chase begins, Scout gets the zoomies, and then a quick battle begins but is quickly over — Scout decides the stick is beneath her.  It isn’t a ball, for goodness sakes!

I do love Jem’s demented look in the last frame of this series, making sure Scout is really going to let him run away with his prize!

As always, I’ll end with a beauty shot of these two.  I sure had plenty to choose from.  Our 45 minutes we had with sun was worth the wait!

Elizabeth, Thank you for being so patient!  I will have your gallery in a week or two – in the meantime I hope you enjoy your sneak peak!  Kisses to Jem and Scout!  I do wish I had more time with them….maybe next summer!  :)

I’ve missed my summer sessions, and thought I would reminisce with some of my favorite photos from last year.  And yep, I did a bit of cleaning up of my computer while I chose these!  :)   It really brought back some fond memories and made me miss a few dogs.

In no particular order, lets start with Gemma —  just to get the puppy fever out of the way.   Gemma does not live here, so this is one that made me sad!!!  Gemma was just a mere 7 weeks old in the first photo, and 9 weeks in the second.  It doesn’t get much cuter….

I’ve had two shoots with Walter and George, so that means more photos, right?  That sounds fair to me…..What good buddies these two are!!

If you don’t like to get a little wet every once in a while, don’t get a retriever.

We had part of the session in the most beautiful meadow……

Zoey is one of my all time favorites.   We finished her session in 45 minutes flat because she was so responsive, and so much fun.  I call her “Miss. Photogenic”.   She is a wild child for sure, and I always tell people who claim “oh, you can’t photograph my dog, she won’t sit, or stay….”  to just check out my session of Zoey.  She rarely stopped moving, but we did get a few “beauty shots” at the end.

Zeek was a customer favorite when he was displayed as a 20 x 30 canvas on my wall in the store….until his mom bought it.  :)  Can’t blame her, such a handsome fellow, and sweet too.

Sardou, my favorite girl.  So lucky to have photographed her, as she fell ill last fall and after brief battle with cancer, we lost her.  SO full of spunk and attitude during her session.

And Miss. Macy.  We also lost Macy to cancer shortly after this session, and such a sweet girl she was.  Always one of my favorite customers, so polite and gentle.

That’s all the reminiscing I can get done tonight….I’ll end with a few shots of Blue, since a few customers have been asking where he has been.  He tore a ligament in his toe and is on strict leash walks and swimming for a few more weeks.  Maniac dog that he is, he probably did this while leaping like a crazed lunatic off the ledge into the lake.

So, without enough exercise, he is likely to drive me nuts at the store.  Here’s a few shots of him in the dandelions, goofing off of course!  And then a few of him rehabbing at the lake!  Thank goodness the boy likes water!

And since it is tradition, I will end with a beauty shot – this time of my own dog!  :)

I am only taking very limited sessions this summer, so please book early if you are interested.  Right now my availability in July is only from the 5th to the 15th, and then I am unavailable until August.   Please use the “contact” link if you have questions or are ready to book.  Happy 4th of July everyone!!

Meet Milo — immediately a ham.  The second we put him on the bed he started to strike a pose….and I didn’t even have my lens cap off!!

The string begins to move, and Milo moves in for the kill…

GOTCHA!!!!

Oh, the simple things in life….I wish a string would make ME happy!

Normally, I have a really hard time converting my photos to black and white, or sepia….I find it too difficult to let go of the colors of nature.  But I figured I’d convert a few of Milo —  I think he looks striking no matter what!

I didn’t forget you Cisco!  Cisco is the resident Yorkie and came in about 20 minutes into our playtime/session with Milo.  He hopped on the bed and just like his kitty sister, immediately stuck a pose.  Seriously.  Nobody coerced him into this.  :)

Cathy, Kendall and Maddie – hope you enjoyed your sneak peak!

Everyone in Telluride….lets hope for some great summer dog photography in Telluride very, very soon!  The snow better be gone for good!

Meet Ruben, a rambunctious young Bulldog, and Annie, a sweet, mellow Clumber Spaniel!

I  initially went to the session thinking Annie was to be the main focus of the shoot.  She is a recent rescue, and is quite shy, approaching on her own terms, and leery of quick movements and attempts to move her to other areas of the yard.  I suggested we let Ruben out, thinking it might get her a bit more animated and comfortable….well, leave it to a Bulldog.   He immediately stole the spotlight, going nuts with his soccer ball and….ummmm….my shoes.  Yep, we had a little issue with shoe attacks.  I found it pretty humorous, his parents less so.

Thankfully he went back to the ball!

Bulldogs are not always the most graceful of breeds.  Ruben was no exception….

Whoopsie.  I meant to do that.   Back to attacking that ball….and a bunny hop in the process.

Yep, he finally got tuckered out.  Sort of.  His dad still had to restrain him so I could get photos of Annie… he really was a camera hog!

So, Annie.  She is such a sweet girl.  I just love Clumbers and rescue stories as well.  The fact that she has a loving home now makes me so happy, I wish all dogs could have such a happy ending.  Can you tell she is well-loved?

The trick with Annie was simply patience.  She started to act less worried, and began to relax a bit.

REALLY relaxed!

And then, she went after the soccer ball!  Get it, Annie!

And then Ruben joined in….thinking he might get to steal her ball.  Think again, Ruben.

I was told as mild mannered as Annie was, she was boss.  And sure enough, she was.  Ruben was NOT getting that ball.

Thanks Larry and Alice, I hope you enjoyed your sneak peak!  And don’t worry, my shoes are no worse for wear!  :)  Give Annie a cuddle for me and toss the ball for Ruben!  I will have your full gallery to you soon.  As I usually do, I’ll end with a beauty shot….of sweet Annie.

Well, I had a feeling Cozmo’s shoot would be my last dog photography session in Telluride until this Summer.  Right after little Cozmo’s shoot, the warm weather melted most of the snow, and photos just aren’t that pretty with mud!   Most everyone has left town for off-season, so I thought I would finally get around to posting an event that Blue and I attended in Arizona a few months ago.  Event photography is not my typical style at all, and I much prefer custom photography, but it was still fun and I met some really nice people.  Plus, it is one of Blue’s favorite things to do.

Does your dog like to do this?

Or even better….this???

If so, you need to start looking for a Dock Dogs or Splash Dogs competition near you, because your dog is a natural for dock diving!  I’ve been lucky that both my Flatcoats have had spectacular water entries…it is so much fun to watch and Blue could do it for hours.  We entered our third Splash Dogs competition at the Wags for Wishes event in Arizona (all proceeds go to the Make a Wish Foundation), and Tony from Splash Dogs was nice enough to let Blue take his two jumps consecutively for each wave, so that I could photograph some of the other dogs.  It was hard to narrow down my choices for this blog entry – there were really great shots of most of the dogs, and really hilarious ones too.

For those new to the sport, a very simple explanation:  You take your dog up to the dock, you throw an object, your dog jumps, and the landing is measured where the base of his tail hits the water.  There are several waves during the day, and at the end of the weekend, the top dogs return for the finals.  There are rules of course.  :)  I will provide links to the two organizations for more info at the end of this post.

Some dogs already know what they are doing – like Blue, it just comes naturally.    Check out this Aussie.   Ideally, you want some height in your dog’s jump. This dog has it nailed!

While some dogs are calm and take it all in stride, others are READY TO GO, ASAP!

I only got two shots of Blue during practice – it is pretty hard to compete and take photos of your dog at the same time!  :)  My mom was nice enough to stand in for me while I took a few shots.

This is Vhoebe, a Belgian Malinois.  I learned after our first competition over a year ago, that if Vhoebe is entered, you aren’t going to win!  She is ranked in the top 5 in the country, and typically jumps around 25 feet.  Sometimes more…sometimes less…but 25 feet is 25 feet… and it takes a lot to beat her!  What cracks me up about Vhoebe is that while some dogs have a nice, tidy jumping style (like Blue), her legs are usually flailing all over the place, as if that will get her there faster.

There are also dogs who just aren’t so sure about this whole jumping into water deal.  That is okay, and during practice the owners are careful to introduce the exit ramp to them, and get them used to the idea.  This little one just isn’t too enthused though.  :)

Some of the best shots are the ones that are taken mid-air, or landings…..

The Frenchie: Doesn’t quite have the water entry down yet…

The Border Collie:  What am I doing up here?!

The Black and White Border Collie: Doesn’t care how he gets there, he is just getting his damn toy!!!!

The Black Lab : Flaps up, landing gear down!

The Jack Russell : Possibly the biggest splash of ALL the dogs entered!

The Yellow Lab:  Bad throw from the owner!  She is trying to put on the brakes mid-air so she can catch the bumper!

One of the rules of Splash Dogs is that you can never ever push your dog into the pool.   Hmmmmm.  I guess letting go doesn’t count?  LOL!

We can’t forget Callie.  Callie’s parents were so excited to have a photographer on site they hired me to take extra photos of her (not seen here).  She is just learning, and sometimes really goes for it!  Other times, stops at the end of the dock.  But she is still a pup, and I bet she will be a great dock diver very soon. I’m trying to get Callie’s folks to travel to Telluride so she can have a proper photo session (Texas is no place to be in the summer, anyway)!  :)

And lastly, we can’t forget why we were at the event.  Make a Wish Foundation.  There were lots of events going on at the venue and I assume that other kids were at other events, getting to work with those dogs.  This one got to throw a bumper for one of the Labs.  And did a great job, as you can see!

For anyone interested in entering your dog in one of these events, visit www.splashdogs.com or www.dockdogs.com.  If you are a beginner, I would recommend going to one of the early waves, as they tend to be less crowded and you will have a lot more time to practice on the dock before competing.

Blue, for all that were wondering, got second place in the Open Finals.  Not his best weekend, but he had fun and that is all that matters!