Dec 31, 2011
- As of December 2011, the Posh Pets Blog is officially one year old! Hard to believe that this was begun on December 19, 2010 with one small post that said we had gone live. At the time, I had no idea what I would find to write about for the whole year, but it really has come together for me. I find that sometimes I simply cannot get all the ideas I have written quickly enough!
- Posh Pets joined the Beautiful Beasties Project 52 in March 2011. That has been an awesome project that allows me to shoot images just for me. For an artist, it is vitally important that we get an opportunity to stretch and push ourselves to try different things and also to explore ideas and concepts that we would not otherwise do. I really have enjoyed seeing how each member interprets one theme – I hope you have too!
- Posh Pets was featured in the Toronto Star on November 12, 2011 alongside one of my mentors, the very talented Teresa Berg. That was something that I could not have even dreamed of at the beginning of 2011. It was a complete surprise to be recognized for my work.
- Posh Pets began photographing the Toronto Animal Services Adoptables on November 2, 2011. I began with Greta, a beautiful brown tabby and ended the year with Pete, a gorgeous husky. In between, there were a total of 76 animals who posed for my lens – that is a lot of furry faces in just 2 months! I am so happy to report that Greta has since found her forever home along with 57 of her fellow adoptables and I hope Pete and his friends are not far behind.
Of course, I know that I could not have done this all by myself. So, I want to take a few lines to thank all of the people who have helped me during 2011.
♥ Thank you to all of my clients who trusted me to capture the beauty and grace of their beloved pets for I could not be working at something I absolutely love without you! I have enjoyed meeting you, snuggling with your furry family members and presenting you with final images you can treasure for years to come.
♥ Thank you to Kathy and her staff at Toronto Animal Services – North Region. Every week I go in to meet the newest group of adoptables, I am amazed by the hard work and dedication they display towards these animals who have no home, no protection and no voice. They really do care!
♥ Thank you to my family who have shown me such support during this last year. My Mom and Dad and sister have always been there, encouraging me to do what they know is a dream for me. I hope you know how much I love you guys!
♥ It would be hard to have missed the many stories on the blog of the kitties my husband and I share our home with. Ripley and Lady Jane are the best models, patiently putting up with my never ending requests for photography time. Ripley is now 17 years old and Lady Jane is 15, so they have many long hours of napping in between, but I would be remiss not to thank them too!
♥ Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my dear husband. Dean has always believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself. He is honest to a fault and I can always count on him to tell me the truth about any of my ideas, business or my photography. At the same time, he knows exactly what to say and do when I am feeling frustrated or down. I truly do love you honey!
I will leave you with an image of one of our success stories from 2011 – this is Hank, who found his forever home last week. I do hope you will all stick around for all the Posh Pets’ excitement in 2012!
Dec 30, 2011
Well, this is it – the last Project 52 theme for 2011! For this week, we were encouraged to incorporate circles in our image as it is a fitting symbol to the end of a year that simply rolls into a new one and the fact that we all participate in a blog circle as part of this group. Sounded like an easy enough theme until I set about to photograph it. To tell you the truth, I was stumped. And I remained that way until I went to the shelter and photographed this little guy sitting all snuggly in his cat house. Wonderfully, the opening was a circle. And so you have it – this week’s image of a circle!
Please follow around the blog circle starting with Dana Cubbage Photography. She’s in the middle of a big move, so she is no doubt running around in circles right now, so I cannot wait to see what she came up with!
And don’t worry – Project 52 continues in 2012. So, we will see you all back here next week!
Dec 28, 2011
Introducing the new gang of adoptables at Toronto Animal Services – North Region for this week! As always, if you want to find out more information about these beautiful pets, you can contact TAS or check out the Posh Pets Facebook page. Such lovely, furry faces to feature this week – I think you will really enjoy them!
And now the kitties…
See you all next year (can you believe it will be 2012?)!
Dec 23, 2011
It is hard to believe that we have almost reached the end of Project 52 for 2011, but here we are! Given the balmy weather we are enjoying today, no one would think that this is the end of December. But I, for one, will not complain about the lack of icy conditions and awful commutes. I am sure they are coming.
For this week, we were given the theme “silhouette” and the Posh Pets studio decided to do some still life imagery which I actually love. This beautiful guy hails from South Africa and was a gift from a dear friend of mine who had the opportunity to travel there at the beginning of the year. Usually he sits on my dresser where, interestingly, he has never been thrown onto the floor by one of our acrobatic cats. (Not that they ever admit to moving anything.) I guess he has a quiet resolve about him that even they know it would be wrong to mistreat him so horribly. And so, he stands and carefully watches over the comings and goings that is our life.
Today, however, he was the star of his own photo session and provided a striking silhouette as he marches across the African Savanna…
Hope you enjoyed your visit here today. However, this is a blog circle which means more amazing imagery is just a click away. To start with, please check out the talented Dana Cubbage! Her work is always stunning.
Dec 22, 2011
Meet this week’s lovely animals available for adoption at the Toronto Animal Services – North Region! As always, please feel free to contact TAS for more information about any particular dog or cat. You can also find out a few more details about each of them on the Posh Pets Photography Facebook page.
Here are Ridley, Quinn, Sampson and little Sara.
This week, we have 5 beautiful felines – Cream Puff, Rupert, Clarice, Ashby and Chester.
Thanks for visiting us this week – we look forward to seeing you again!
Dec 16, 2011
We are a little late this week, but here the current residents at the Toronto Animal Services (North Region). As always, you can find out a few details about them by visiting the Posh Pets Facebook page or the TAS.
First, we have the graceful felines…
And now, we have our many dogs looking for homes!
See you back here next week!
Dec 16, 2011
This week, the Posh Pets Project 52 theme was “breaking the rules”. In other words, something out of the ordinary. Well, there is probably nothing quite as bold as taking images from a moving car, in a rain storm with an iPhone. In traditional photographic terms, this IS something you would not do. But I really liked the mood that the movement and dark skies created. Enjoy!
Now, please check out the talented Dana Cubbage of Dana Cubbage Photography to see how she “broke the rules” this week! We’ll see you next week!
Dec 9, 2011
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In our house, the cats drink Perrier.
Water. Fresh. Cold. Chilled in the fridge. On demand…
Seriously.
Let me tell you about our history with water. We’ve been through a number of different water bowl scenarios. Like most cats, at one time, Ripley had a water bowl. Simple and clean. But, we discovered (or Ripley trained us) that he likes his water fresh and cold. Soon after, he had a fountain that constantly circulated his water and made lovely babbling noises that made me want to go to the washroom. That was good for a couple of years. But then it seemed that the fountain didn’t keep his water cold enough and he would meow at the fridge for new, colder water. Ripley has always been so cute that we gave in and started giving him water when he asked (even if his bowl was filled to the brim with room-temperature water).
At this point, Ripley currently has two water bowls strategically placed in the house. And we have our ritual. He will ask for water at the one, have a drink, and then promptly ask for the second water bowl to be filled. Of course, he has to SEE you fill his water bowl. No cheating and using time efficiently, by simply filling both bowls at the same time. That doesn’t cut it in our house.
The water is “special” as well – which is the only reason why my husband and I have allowed ourselves to be trained in such a fashion. Ripley has bad teeth. Like some people who dutifully go to the dentist every three months and still have a tartar build-up and gingivitis, our orange kitty is just one of those felines. Dental cleanings at the local vet are very expensive, as we found out within a year of Ripley coming into our home. He had two cleanings that year, within 9 months of each other. His teeth had deteriorated so badly and so quickly, that there was concern that he had something seriously wrong. It turned out that he just has bad teeth. Regular cleanings are not an option because of the expense and the need to put him under anaesthetic every time it was performed. So, our vet recommended that we add something to his water – a liquid enzyme that keeps their teeth and breath fresh and beautiful. The $20 bottle lasts us about 6 months and since using it over 10 years ago, Ripley has not had another dental cleaning.
But, that began our lifelong process of “making” kitty water. It has to be kept in glass bottles or the enzyme seems to do weird things to plastic bottles. Thus, the Perrier bottle. We make sure it is marked in the fridge – not that it would kill you if you drank it. In fact, you would have clean teeth! However, it does mean one thing:
In our house, the cats drink Perrier. Or, so they think.
Now, let’s see what all the other creative and talented members of the Project 52 blog circle have come up with. We’ll start with fellow Ontar-ian, Ann Kearns Photography. And remember to make your way around the whole circle until you wind up back here.
Dec 7, 2011
This week we have a whole gaggle of new doggies and two little tortoise shell kittens. Please check them out and contact Toronto Animal Services – North Region if you see a future family member in the bunch! You can also check out the Posh Pets Photography Facebook page for a little detail about each of them.
First, we have two little kittens. They are both a bit shy, but they do love to play!
Next are the beautiful dogs…
Look at the gorgeous smile on Chevy! He wants everyone to know that he is waiting right here for his forever family.
These two labrador puppies are so calm for being only 6 months of age and they are almost impossible to tell apart.
Nothing like the stunning blue eyes of a siberian husky!
I absolutely loved this guy’s colour – what an amazing red coat he has!
And here is lovely Rubix – his eyes are so soulful.
Please come back and see us all next week!
Nov 30, 2011
While it was “raining cats and dogs” outside, we were inside photographing the warm and dry kitties! Take a look at this week’s adoptables which feature a number of little kittens. If someone catches your eye, please contact the Toronto Animal Services – North Region to check on them.
And now, please meet Hank! Hank bravely faced the wet elements so we could show you what a beautiful German Sheppard mix he is. He is anxiously awaiting to meet his forever family!
Until next week!
Nov 25, 2011
This week’s theme was to capture the primary colours of Red, Blue or Green. Well, here is an image that has all three – the red of the barn roof, the blue of the sky and the remaining green of the trees and grass. As we say good-bye to Fall in Southern Ontario, here is a reminder of how truly beautiful the season is…
Now, please check out Scott Robinson of Aussie Dog Photography! It’s all yours Scott!
Nov 18, 2011
This week’s theme is exactly what it said – the best image from the week. Sometimes you know you’ve taken it, the second you click the shutter. This was one of those times.
Meet Denny. Denny is 3 months old and currently resides at the Toronto Animal Services where I volunteer once a week. He is a sweetheart of a Rottweiler puppy who is trying very hard to learn his manners. In other words, he LOVES to jump up and give you wet puppy kisses. Afterall, when you are only 3 months old, every day seems like a long time to wait for your forever home. And so you spend your days savouring every new experience as something exciting! Especially new people.
In order to get his image, we brought him into a grassy enclosure to let him off-leash. We really were not sure how this new found freedom would allow us to take a beautiful image and even acknowledged it to each other. As can be imagined, Denny spent the first 5 minutes running around, jumping up on us, giving kisses…we were starting to wonder if we would get an image that was more than a black blur. What to do? Well, I got out my trust squeaker and handed it to my assistant. She let out the *squeak*. And, with that sound, Denny sat down, cocked his head and gave this beautiful pose. You have just got to know – he is going to be a heartbreaker!
Next up on our blog circle is the talented Claire (Bear) Garrett of Australia’s Petography! Make sure you click all the way around the circle until you come back where Denny will be waiting for you…
