Life’s Sweet Ordinary — through my lens

One of the things I love photographing are animals, whether domestic or wild. I’ve mentioned before how much I appreciate that animals live in the moment so they’re not worried about how they look, what angle you’re wanting, or whether their hair is mussed!

This lovely gal didn’t have to worry about mussed hair did she? Though you will see a bit of mussed hair in a photo of another beauty a bit further down in this post.

In the case of dogs and cats, I do my photo shoots on location: either in the client’s home or at a park or other outdoor area. The important thing is for me to blend in so I can catch those quiet moments or the ones where they’re being frisky and full of spunk.

I love the way Henry’s lip is caught in this shot. He was continually on the go and had the most wonderful expressions every time he’d stop and re-assess his surroundings.

Of course, I love photographing other beautiful creatures equally as well.

If you’d like to see more photos of dogs, horses, other critters, and wildlife, click those links to view a small sample I have posted at Flickr. If you live in Alberta or British Columbia and would like for me to come take photos of your pets, please contact me (see the sidebar for my ‘coordinates’). Enjoy!

How many of you actually remember that soft drink? I was never one for soft drinks but, as a kid, I always loved their logo. Speaking of logo, I finally have a logo for my photography business. I likely won’t begin using it on my photos and adding it here until next week (need to learn the in’s and out’s of applying it). Now for a different sort of 7-up below.

Jamie at Umbrellablog tagged me for sharing 7 random or unusual things about myself. I am breaking with my rule about participating in these but I decided to participate but minus the tagging. Thank you for thinking of me Jamie. I thought it may be a good idea to share more about me other than just the photography. So here’s my 7-up!

• I’m an only child and I only had one child.
• I am deeply and innately drawn to bodies of water: ocean in particular, but also rivers, lakes, streams.
• I’m also a writer and, in addition to the short stories, a few poems, and numerous magazine articles published, I’ve also won two writing contests in which my stories were produced for radio.
• I’ve survived cancer but lost my dear and precious mother to cancer.
• We have three dogs and feed them a species-appropriate meat-and-bones diet.
• I’ve been environmentally friendly for decades and for the past two years have written a weekly environment column for a local newspaper.
• I live in a rural northern area of Alberta and miss being near the city VERY much; I do enjoy country living but we’re much too far away from any urban centre.

where we live

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” ~ Aaron Rose

This is such a great bargain, I have to share with everyone. It’s also time limited so you’ll need to order right away if you’re interested. Here’s the direct quote taken from Kodak.com for your information:

Offer expires 11/27/08. Enter Coupon Code at checkout to redeem. One coupon redemption per customer. Receive 50 free 4 x 6” Prints with purchase of 100 4 x 6” Prints. Coupon redemption good for use on one quantity of 100 Prints only per order. This promotion is not valid with Same-Day Pickup Service. Purchased 100 4 x 6” Prints must be in the same order as the 50 free 4 x 6” Prints. Shipping and tax not included in this offer. Cannot be combined with other offers. No substitutions, transfer rights or cash equivalents will be given. We reserve the right to modify or discontinue promotions at any time. Coupon code or discount valid only at www.kodakgallery.com.

If you didn’t order photocards to send to friends and family this Christmas, have a bunch of these 4 x 6’s printed and tuck them inside your Christmas cards and correspondence.

And don’t forget about your chance to win one of my 8 x 10 prints. Visit THIS PAGE for details.

As promised, here’s your opportunity to win an 8 x 10 of one of my prints. I’ve struggled for the past year deciding whether or not to set up shop at Etsy. The main thing that has held me back is the time involved in responding to any orders, packaging, and getting things off to the post office in an efficient and prompt manner.

I’ve decided to give it a try although in a small way to start. I’m thinking I’ll ‘open up shop’ with a single series or perhaps a pair of prints. I’m considering a poppy series but, based on previous input, have included several other photos of various subjects. Here is where you come in.

I’ve got some of the images online in my viewing gallery and need your input. From the input I receive in this specific post, I will make a draw in two weeks from now on Friday, December 5th, 2008 from all the names accompanied with suggestions in this post. To be eligible for this free print (and I do have a second prize in mind but that will be a surprise), here’s what you do:

1. Visit my online gallery in the “Possibles” (link will be provided below) and BE SURE to click on the “Slideshow” button located in the bottom navigation bar (that will allow you to get a look at what the 8 x 10’s will look like).
2. Pick a pair of photos that you personally like best and they don’t have to go together as a pair (what you are especially drawn to the most). Make note of the file numbers so you can let me know your picks. (File numbers are visible when you go back to the grid view)
3. Come back to this post and leave the numbers of your picks in the comments — be certain to leave a link to your blog/website or your email (add spaces to thwart the spammers) so I can contact you should you be the winner.
4. Let others know — the more input I get from a variety of people, the better chance I have of starting my shop with the People’s Favourite.
5. Now head over to the Possibles gallery.

A few other notes:

• The winner will be picked at random from all the entries in this post.
• The winner will be able to select their 8 x 10 from any of the photos in the gallery.
• The print will be mounted but not framed.
• My watermark will not appear on the print but I will sign the back.
• Only one entry per person to make it fair for everyone.

At this very moment it is minus 22. The reason that is important will be revealed as you read on.

Today over at Shutter Sisters, as the title suggests, we have been challenged to create a diptych self portrait. In today’s post Jen Lemen gave us these guiding principles:

“Today’s challenge is simple: go outside. Hold your camera down a bit and capture a shot of yourself with the sky as your backdrop. Then point your camera down and capture your feet on the ground. Put the images together to create a lovely diptych that reveals a small, telling moment in your day.”

So, despite the minus 22 (yes that’s 22 below) I bundled up like the Goodyear blimb and froze my fingers to take some not-so-great photos to comply with this challenge. The tough part was taking the head shot with all the layers I had to wear plus a heavy parka, no mittens, and short arms. I got a few that were focused but it only caught my glasses or forehead so that wouldn’t have worked … since I thought I should at least attempt to show a portion of my parka, this was the best I had to offer. Horrible.

surprise! I switched out the headshot -- headshot is gone

This is pretty exceptional for me because I really dislike self portraits — they always look awful. This one (my first) out in minus 22 is no exception And just so I don’t disappoint anyone with this horrible self portrait (I don’t mind the boots but the head – egad!), please stay tuned because in the next day or two I will be announcing a CONTEST — you could WIN one of two great giveaways.