Jan 13, 2012
The theme we were given to shoot around this week was simply “new”. Given that most people take a moment at the beginning of a new year or a new month to think about some goals they might have, I thought I would share one of mine. This will definitely be new for me.
I want to learn to shoot film…properly.
There was a time that I had a film camera and I happily put rolls of film in it, set it to auto and hoped for the best. At the time, I had no idea of how to compose a photograph, let alone how to determine “correct’ exposure or how to rate film. This time, I am going to learn.
Given my goal, I am so thankful to my mom for lending me her old Minolta x-700. At the time when it was released, this was a state-of-the-art camera system – the flagship of the Minolta line. It is lovely! Completely manual, without the aid of an LCD screen, this camera will force me to slow down and think before I release the shutter. It will also force me to become friends with my light meter again.
Second item on my list was, of course, film! I have chosen to shoot Kodak Portra 400 VC for my first few rolls. And here is the very first one, fresh out of his cannister with its old familiar smell. This will bring its own set of challenges, the most interesting of which will be finding a lab that I like that can process C-41 colour film. I have been given a couple of recommendations which I will try out, but I am excited to discover a part of the Toronto photography scene that I know little about.
So, there you have it – my new (to me!) camera, my new film and my new goal! With a manual focus camera, it might be a little while until you see Posh Pets portraits from me taken on film, but I think working with this new medium will make me a better photographer. It will be just for me. No pressure. No chance of public failure. But, with a lot of time and practice, I hope to bring you images of cats and dogs, shot on film.
As this is a blog circle, please check out Cynthia Wood of Georgian Bay Studios and see what is new in her life this week! Have a happy Friday!
Jan 5, 2012
Introducing the first Toronto Animal Services Adoptables of 2012! Please note that some of the cats are not yet available for adoption, but they soon will be. If you would like to receive more information or check up on them, please go to the Posh Pets Facebook page or contact TAS directly.
First up is Daphne. At 4 months old, she is a very active little girl who rarely stops for anything or anyone. She absolutely loves to play!
Venus is 3 years old and loves to be picked up and cuddled.
Apalonia is such a sweetie, but very shy. She felt most secure in her little kitty tunnel where she could watch the world go by. But look at those eyes – they are big and beautiful!
This beautiful gentle soul is well-behaved and has gorgeous eyes! Alice is 6 years old and knows her basic commands. Imagine getting to look at that face every day!
This 3 year old girl is a little rambunctious, but that is just because she loves people. And treats!
We will see you all back here next week!
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 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.
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!
Sep 23, 2011
In our house, mornings definitely have their routine. I think they are a comfortable part of our life because you can go about getting things done without much thought – a great benefit if you are not one of those “morning people”. Living as long as they have with us, our kitties have learned our routine. Although honestly it is hard to say who trained whom – whether they adapted to our way of doing things, or the more likely idea that they trained us! In any case, we get up out of bed each morning (usually because we have been nudged/licked/pawed/meowed-in-the-face by the resident felines) and begin our day with feeding Ripley and Lady Jane. Then, and only then, do we get something to eat.
Amidst all of this activity, Lady Jane has discovered something very important. We humans drink milk! At this point in her life, Lady Jane knows if we are having cereal (which means milk!) or toast (which means no milk…sigh…). If we indulge in the former, she levels a stare at us urging us to please hurry up and finish. She does this only because she knows she will get the little dregs of milk at the bottom of the bowl. Sometimes, when it is particularly urgent in her mind, she will perform a little “prairie dog” pose in order to encourage us to hurry up. The other morning was such a morning, and you can see Lady Jane simply cannot restrain herself from reaching our a paw as the bowl is being lowered. Look at the concentration on that little face!
The other routine we have is “first to the bed”. After all the feeding and necessary morning business has been done, Lady Jane insists on finding herself a spot on the yet-unmade bed (we like to leave it to “air out” before making it each morning). She loves our bed and, once she has found a spot, will do her best to render herself un-moveable. Here is her look of, “You wouldn’t be so heartless as to move cute, loveable me…would you?”
Note: I often get asked about Lady Jane’s left eye. Simply put, half of her left pupil does not contract in bright light and it has been that way since we brought her home from the shelter over 14 years ago. However, Lady Jane is one of the happiest, contented kitties I know, so she doesn’t let this little thing stop her. It does mean that her depth perception is a little off and sometimes she misjudges things. But, that is what makes her our furry, clumsy, little goofball.
And there you have it – our kitty’s morning routine! Now, please check out Amy Riddett of Bark This Way and see what the morning routine looks like in her home.
Sep 16, 2011
The idea behind this week’s theme was to get nice and close to our subject. Really close. So, I took the opportunity to use my macro lens to see what I could see…it is amazing how cool individual things can look when you focus on them completely.
Here are my cat, Ripley’s, ear! The left one to be exact. Ever ready, ever alert! You can even see his little vein running around the perimeter.
Here is his tail. I’ve always love the “ripples” in his tail!
I love this one in black and white! Again, this is the tip of Ripley’s paintbrush tail – just as he leaves because he is tired of having his photo taken, yet again!
And, just to show how a macro lens can be used for more than just close-up photography, here is Ripley enjoying the morning sun. I love the way the light falls on his face and bathes his profile in a soft glow.
Now, check and see what everyone else in the blog circle came up with. Please start with Cynthia Wood of Georgian Bay Studios and then continue all the way around until you end up back here!
Sep 9, 2011
This week, we are at the halfway mark since Project 52 started! In celebration, we were asked to go back and re-do a theme. We were given the choice that it could be one that we missed or one that we just wanted a second try at. Well, Posh Pets did just that!
You may recall that back in May, we had been asked to conduct an impromptu photo shoot with an animal we had never photographed before. I had really enjoyed that the first time around, so I took another stab at it. Meet Lola (who coincidentally as the same name my subject first time around). This time though, Lola is a beautiful siamese-mix. Here she is, looking very elegant.
I love her speckled ears! And you know what? Ears was one of our previous themes. So, I guess we did two!
In her garden, up close, you can see her beautiful blue eyes.
Now follow the blog ring around to see all the different themes for this week. Start with Blue Amrich Studio and take it from there! See you next week!
Aug 19, 2011
Welcome back to Project 52!
When the theme for this week was chosen, I was excited and, at the same time, a little daunted. Why? Well, mainly because it is completely different from how I normally process images. We were encouraged to use “textures”. For the uninitiated non-photographers out there, please let me explain. Textures are essentially a picture file that you can overlay over the top of your initial image, thereby providing a “finish” to the final image that wasn’t there when you shot it. Clear? Hmmm…let me try again. Imagine what the image would look like if you photographed something through gauze or some other translucent material. Wedding photographers will often do this when they take an image of the bride behind her veil. Well, this is the same thing, except that it is done after the fact using software.
The benefit of this type of post-processing is that, as I discovered, you can take a fairly mundane image and evoke a certain whimsy. My inspiration for this week’s image is a story I remember from childhood, entitled The Velveteen Rabbit. It clearly described what it meant when a childhood toy was “Real” – a quote that still bring tears to my eyes when I read it. Every. Single. Time. As the old Skin Horse explains to the Velveteen Rabbit:
“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand… once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”
With that, please enjoy this week’s image. Two old stuffed cats (who remind me of my own truly live cats), sitting on a table, somewhat “hugging” each other. Initially, a rather simple image, but I love it!
Now, please check out fellow pet photographer Ann Kearns and see what textures she incorporated into her images this week. Over to you Ann!
Jul 22, 2011
This week’s theme was completely about seeing the light and shooting into the sun. Goes against conventional wisdom in some respects, but the results can be beautiful! So, my goal was to find some amazing sunlight…
Well, Toronto had a heat wave this week and yesterday, there was records broken. As the mercury soared higher and higher, any thought of taking an animal outside to photograph was foolish. In fact, I went about my day singing the Noel Coward song…mad dogs and englishmen go out in the noonday sun! (If you want to hear the original, click here.)
In the midst of all that heat, Ripley asked to go outside. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted. So…I opened the patio door. He put one paw outside and then, as animals are wont to do, looked at me like I was a mad woman for having turned on the heat outside. He spent the rest of the day in this position in front of the air-conditioning.
Outside, it looked like this. How I love some gorgeous flare!
As for me, I did what any self-respecting person living in Canada would do. I went out and got an Ice Cap from Tim Hortons. It seemed the right thing to do, as I needed something to backlight!
So, how are you beating the heat?
Jul 15, 2011
How quickly the weeks fly by! For our Project 52 theme this week, we were asked to capture our pets “strange behaviour”. Generally, this is the stuff that makes them our pet’s uniquely them and why we love them so much. That is why I knew exactly what I had to capture.
Our wonderful girl kitty, Lady Jane, has a real penchant for sleeping in the middle of the floor with her back legs straight up in the air. So not a lady! From behind, she kind of looks like she has been shot and rigamortis has set in. I know, a little morbid, but it make me laugh every time I see her. The added strangeness is that she makes sure that she is right in the middle of the of the floor where there will be the most foot traffic. I guess she absolutely trusts us not to step on her!
So, here she is, in all of her glory…
And because I woke her up when I took these images, you get to see the front end too! Lady Jane really has the cutest face. (In the background of this image is our boy Ripley, who cannot understand why anyone would sleep in such a fashion – so unbecoming for a feline.)
This week, Posh Pets is linked to Dana Cubbage Photography. Please check out her images here as I am sure she has something wonderful to show of her fur-babies! And then follow the blog circle all the way around – we have some new members this week.
Jul 8, 2011
Posh Pets’ theme for this week’s Project 52 was “spots”. It was described in broad enough terms so as to allow for a wide range of interpretations. Looking at our two cats, Ripley and Lady Jane, it was evident that they would more correctly be considered striped as opposed to spotty. However, they definitely have their favourite “spots” that they like to hang out in.
Like most cats, a sun “spot” is one of their favourites. So, in honour of such a spot, I present Ripley, basking in yesterday’s morning sun. Enjoy!
Next, please check out Ann Kearns blog to see how she interpreted spots. You can follow the blog circle all the way around until you come back here to basking Ripley!
