Jan 6, 2012
Welcome to 2012 – a brand new year and a new start to Project 52! For this week, we were asked to introduce you to our pets. Unfortunately, not all was well in the Posh Pets’ household this week. I would love to explain, but I promised Ripley, our 17-year old orange tabby that he could tell it from his perspective. Hang on to your seats. And read this out loud with a slight British accent – that is exactly how Ripley speaks.
“Last Friday, I awoke to a day that I thought would be like any other. We had snow – which was new for this season, but we do get that every year. Other than that, I woke up my mom at the appointed time to ask her to feed me. She is good about that and ensures that my sister and myself always have what we need in the morning. As we padded our way to the kitchen to open the fridge door (which I always peer into to determine what today’s menu will be like), I noticed that something was amiss. My sister, who prides herself it seems, on a ghastly display of manners by bounding ahead of me and trying to shove her face into my food bowl, was following behind. (Please note that word, “behind” – it becomes important). This was highly unusual, for in my 16 years of residence – 15 of which were with Lady Jane – she rarely follows me.
Anyway, I had my breakfast, but Lady Jane seemed uninterested. Highly unusual. It was then that I heard my mom making a phone call and I knew, instinctively by how she addressed them, that this was no ordinary phone call at 7:30 a.m. in the morning. One of those terrible creatures humanity calls “vets” had been called. Given that we had just attended that sordid place in July (yes, I do keep track of these things), I could not believe my ears. I was sure that my attempts at behaviour modification had worked, for in July, I had thrown up all over the vet clinic’s lobby which prompted everyone, including staff, to great action of cleaning me, my carrier, the room…and the year previously, I had pee’d on my vet as a signal of my displeasure with where she stuck THAT. But I digress…
Soon after, I heard the familiar rattle of the cat carrier being dragged out of the closet. It was then that I noticed that the bedroom door was closed and I was IN the bedroom. The cat carrier was OUT there, but I was IN here. Safely esconsed in my room. I listened and then I heard it. Lady Jane’s furitive cries as she was being placed in the carrier. The bedroom door opened and suddenly my mom was explaining to me that she had to take Lady Jane to the vet, but that she would be home soon. I was relieved. Mostly because it appears that my previous behaviour has frightened or disgusted those vets enough to not ever want to see me again. Hopefully both.
I obviously have no first-hand knowledge of what went on in that place, but as I understand it, Lady Jane developed a condition that involved her…ahem…bottom region (see my reference above to “behind”). Essentially, she was unable to use the litter box as we felines have done for years. Rather than ensuring that she drank enough water (as I always do) to counteract the problem, she resorted to licking herself…down there. However, she was not content to merely clean herself. No, she licked herself to the point that she was red, raw and sore. That will only get you a trip to the vet and this time it is your own fault, in my opinion.
Anyway, mom and Lady Jane returned and I was none the worse for wear, lounging about on the couch upon their arrival. The carrier was opened and I came over to hear what tribulations she might have endured during her trip away. I had planned to give her a good sniff to ensure she was clean, but I was stopped dead in my tracks.
It. Was. Horrific.
For there was Lady Jane alright, but what had they put around her head? A satellite dish, perhaps? No, for we have never had any need of such entertainment in our house and this particular dish was turquoise. If Lady Jane was channelling some kind of Elizabethan collar style…well, this was not working for her. She looked depressed and miserable. I no doubt looked astounded and aghast. (Later when I heard my mom recounting the situation to my dad, she said my look was “priceless”. I like the sound of that.)
What ensued was 5 days of some ancient rituals involving water, epsom salts, zinc oxide cream (I have since been made aware of the fact that they regularly put this on human babies as well to counteract something called diaper rash) and syringes of sticky, orange-flavoured lactulose. All the while, wearing this ridiculous cone-shaped contraption. To her credit, Lady Jane bore it all remarkably well. I tried the best I could to support her by giving her gentle kisses on her head which is not like me, but when one of your own is so publically humiliated, you must help them to survive.
So, there you have it. I was in no condition to have my portrait taken this week and neither was Lady Jane. But to give you an idea of how incredibly horrible this all was, look below. If you are faint of heart, please avert your eyes.”
Ripley
For those left wondering, Lady Jane seems to have recovered from her ordeal and all systems are working as they should. The cone of shame has been removed and she has spent quite a bit of time sleeping. Which is when I captured this portrait of her. It really displays what she is like – a lovely, contented kitty. As for Ripley…he has had a hard week. Enjoy!
Now, in order to meet all the pets of the other members of the Project 52 circle, please check out fellow Canadian pet photographer Cynthia Wood.
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 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 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.
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…
Nov 11, 2011
This week’s challenge was to have a person in our pet portraits. And so here is this week’s image of the love of a girl for her dog.
As always, this is a blog circle, so please check out Stephanie Madeline of Chase & Snap to see how she person-alized her image this week. We’ll see you all next week!
Oct 28, 2011
Another week of Project 52 has flown by! This week we were given the theme “wide open”, which was open to all types of interpretations – wide angle lenses, large apertures, wide vistas – whatever each photographer wanted to showcase. So, I took the opportunity to go to a place I remember from my childhood. We called them the elephant backs as kids because they looked like rolling reddish-grey hills that had the texture of an elephant’s back. Invariably, we would run up and down them like crazy people, covering our clothes with a fine red soil which we tracked into our parent’s car. We, as kids, had a great time!
When we arrived last Sunday, it was apparent that I was not the only one who had had the idea to enjoy one of our last lovely fall days of 2011 in the wild. The place was covered with people. And, of course, kids running up and down the elephant backs. I saw this tree and was immediately taken with it. I can’t really explain why, but I knew I wanted to photograph it against the blue sky. This image took some patience as I had to wait for a number of variables to come together – the right wide-angle lens, the frame to be free of people and for the glorious late afternoon sun to make its appearance. But, finally, it came all together!
Apparently, this great place has a more grown up name – the Caledon/Cheltenham Badlands. Just north of Toronto, it is a great place to go and visit. And yes, we did track all that red soil in our car. The only difference now is that we have to clean it!
Please check out the next blog in the ring…Stephanie Madeline of Chase and Snap.
Oct 21, 2011
The Project 52 gang is used to photographing their usual suspects – lovely, furry dogs and cats. So this week, we broke out of our usual modus operandi and went for something a little “wild”. As in, we were to photograph animals that you don’t find curled up on your bed or lying on your couch, but rather those that make their home in the great outdoors.
It was a great idea until the weather decided to play havoc with my plans. Unfortunately, the last few days in Toronto have been wet, wet, wet! My hope is that all the little creatures have found themselves a nice, warm, dry spot to curl up in rather than scurrying around as subjects for my camera. (Incidentally, the electronics of my camera doesn’t like this kind of wet either.) So, Posh Pets had to go back in the archives to last fall when we had spectacular colours and I photographed this lovely duck. Look at him, enjoying the day, with his little chest puffed out!
Next up in the blog circle is Scott Robinson of Aussie Dog Photography. (It is no doubt much drier in Texas!). Please check out his work and then make your way all around the circle to you come back to Posh Pets. See you next week!
Oct 14, 2011
The Project 52 theme for this week was chosen as a tribute to Steve Jobs who passed away last week after a long battle with cancer. The group was asked to post an image created with iPhone or iPad and then it was quickly expanded to include any smart phone or device that can take quick “point-and-shoot” photos. It gave everyone a chance to show that it is not the camera you have, but the person behind the camera that makes the image. So, here we go…
Here is Lady Jane hiding her eyes to block out the light as she sleeps. I love it when she does this!
And here is our groggy girl just waking up from a lovely sleep…
Both images were taken with an iPhone and processed using Instagram.
Next up in the blog circle is Photolab! Please check them out!
Oct 7, 2011
Well, the weather lately is definitely telling us that Fall is upon us. Lovely colours, sunny days, crisp temperatures and maybe a little time to recover from all of summer’s adventures. In honour of that, this week’s theme is all about s-l-o-w-ing it down and chillin’. We were asked to capture animals napping, lounging, relaxing…you get the picture. And so, I present Muffy, sleeping peacefully. Look at that face – don’t you feel all relaxed now?
Now, please head over to California and see what Ali Peterson of Skyy Blue Photo has for us this week! And be sure to follow the blog ring around until you come back here (where you will need a nap after all your travels!).
