From our first meeting, Michelle and I were in complete agreement about how to shoot her engagement photos: anti-engagement photos. No prom, no twee, no soft focus, no looking off into the future.
Michelle and Ian are bikers so I brought them to one of my favorite locations in all of LA; a wide stretch of the LA River with a little water and a rusted old railroad bridge in the background.
From the Humane Society website,
"Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. Often these animals are the offspring of cherished family pets. Spay/neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation, ensuring that every pet has a family to love them.
Many cats and dogs who die as a result of pet overpopulation could have made wonderful pets. Between six and eight million dogs and cats enter U.S. shelters every year; far too many to all find homes."
Everyday until Christmas, I'm posting a shot from my animal shelter show 2 years ago, in the hope that more people will think twice before buying a pet from a pet store, or even before adopting a pet they are not ready to have. You can see all the dog portraits at my shelter dogs set at my Flickr account.
As we near Christmas, I'll also be posting information on how to find the right dog, dealing with a new addition, etc.
From my friend Alison's (and this dog's foster mom) Flickr page:
"Gracie is my new foster dog. She is an 8 month old Chihuahua who is suffering from Demodectic mange, a non-contagious form of mange which causes scabby bald patches all over her body. Grace was rescued from the Baldwin Park Shelter. She was obviously a victim of neglect. The first 8 months of her life were not so good and we will try to make the next few months much better.
Animal Advocates Alliance
"Her *&%^*# former humans dumped her after mistreatment reached obscene. The county is investigating."
Alison brought Gracie down to my studio yesterday for a mini shoot. She is so adorable, and so trusting and loving. It's amazing sometimes how resilient animals are; but again, most people don't realize how much emotional damage they can inflict in such a short time.
I've had a busy wedding season, so it was nice to have it slow down a bit to give me time to do some other shooting: kids, dogs and a couple who wanted the "anti-engagement" engagement shoot. :) Shots of those to come, but I wanted to show off my friend's toddler, Des. She has three boys and they're all equally rad. I didn't know the other two when they were babies, so I get an extra kick shooting Des, who is all over the place and not shy about getting photographed at all.
I don't even know where to begin with Karlo & Jill. It feels like I've known them for so long! I shot their first engagement pictures, and then recently shot the photo that they used for their reception. Last week, I got to finally shoot their wedding, and then the day after, their Trash the Dress session. It's like they've become my friends, and I'll miss them!
The Trash the Dress photos will be coming soon, but while Mr. & Mrs. Buenaseda are off in their honeymoon in Cancun, I wanted to show everyone what an awesome couple they are and what an amazing wedding they had. Even with Mr Susan shooting as a 2nd, I was running all day, barely able to keep up with the couple or the guests :)
The thriller dance, the YMCA dance, the crying groom, the awesome uncle of the bride, the fabulous and lovely mother of the bride...so many wonderful moments and memories I have of that day.
Thanks guys, for topping off my season with a bang. I had a blast, and I know that during married life, you will too.
I shot Dino, the shyest dog ever, a few weeks ago for Heather and her mom, Shannon. They wanted a good shot to have a portrait tattoo done and here it is! Both of them have the mist amazing tattoos. I'm really honored to have my work live on (literally on) in this way. What a kick.
is there anything more sobering than the 3 seconds immediately following the injection of the fluid?
of course, it's not really just 3 seconds. it's days, weeks, months and
years. it's the same 3 seconds that you think about over and over and
replay in your mind and it's one of those things that you know you can
never, ever take back and that is just the oddest feeling, you know?
because you can take almost anything back. you can do it again. you can
change your mind.
but in those 3 seconds, the reality that you cannot change your mind,
you cannot make a different choice or relive it, stops your heartbeat.
your head spins, but the world doesn't. you hear things, mostly
silence. and it's loud.
and when you're driving down the road, you're thinking of an
appointment that you have to be at, and your mind is on a thousand
things all at once and then, the 3 seconds comes back to you. and you
relive them.
all over again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I took this self portrait awhile ago, after one of my dogs died. This was a particularly bad year for me, actually, that's putting it mildly. The year decimated me. I lost all three dogs in my pack within 12 months. All had to be put down, and all required the toughest decision an animal person can make.
This past year has seen so many dogs leaving their people; some friends, some clients, some both. This post is for all of you, but especially for Rosie & Cassie who are losing one of their babies this weekend. We had a session about 2 years ago, so I was able to give them lots of images from the happy, energetic days. I'm so glad we did that.
But they're in a very bad place right now, so send some good thoughts their way, would you?
Halloween has passed, and already Christmas is on the brain. Decorations are up in lots of stores and the catalogs arrive in the mail by the pound daily. This is also the time of year that we start thinking puppies and kittens and all sorts of squishy lovable creatures.
As lots of you already know, I do some volunteer shooting for my local shelter and some local rescues, and I'm very involved in the plight of rescue animals. I've come to be friends with many animal care service workers, I've learned a lot about the politics of rescue and I know it's just not as black and white as no-kill or redlined or euthanization. But while people are politicking and bickering over what stand to take, it's the animals who suffer. Animal rescue is "hot" or "popular" topic right now, a lot of people are talking about it and getting involved. And that's awesome. But don't let it be just a hot topic, let it be part of your consciousness and your life and always be aware that when people move on to the next hot topic, these dogs and cats will still be stuck behind bars.
If you are thinking of getting an addition to your family -- for yourselves, for your kids -- please please please please adopt!! There are countless loving animals just waiting for a "forever home" out there. I know, I have two that, after being bounced from home to shelter and back again several times, they'd never find anyone who wanted them for good. But we do, and they're the happiest dogs ever.
Go to your local shelter. I know it's hard to look at all those homeless, sad faces, but if you don't go, then who will? Who will take them home? If you are set on a specific breed, find a breed rescue, I guarantee you that they're out there.
These are some dogs that I photographed two years ago for a show on dogs that needed homes right away. I know of one who was adopted. Sadly, I don't know the fate of the others.
And in honor of Veteran's Day, check out these videos of dogs welcoming home their people. They're amazing!
I had the chance to go to gbaby's swim class a few days ago, and I took along my underwater camera. He doesn't yet stay underwater long enough for me to get him full on beneath the water, but I discovered that, even better, I had lots of body parts. The body language, his and his mom's and them together is awesome.
This is my favorite of the bunch because of that body language. The way they are holding one another just really strikes me. As I said on another site where I posted this image, I think that to capture a mother holding her child when nobody is looking is the most precious moment of life you can get.
And by the way, swimming with babies? Oh my gosh, how therapeutic. Better than meds or therapy, it's just fabulous to see these little ones swimming around, splashing, and finding such wonder in themselves and their surroundings. I highly recommend it.
Mark and Yumei were married a little more than a month ago, but they wanted a little mini-after wedding session of just to the two of them. Mark found this fantastic location just down the road from the tidepools where I shot a client's Trash the Dress session.
Aside from the pictures of them kanoodling, I couldn't resist showing off some of our awesome SoCal beaches.
