Hogan and Lola

Over the past couple weeks, I've been posting some super fun sessions done for the vets at Brawley Animal Hospital. Well, when one of the vets adopted a new pup just after our original session, we had no choice but to get pictures of her to hang in the office along with the other pets! And wouldn't you know, along with the new Frenchie pup, Lola, we also got to photograph one of the vet's cats, Hogan. Yep, that's right, Hogan came out on-location with us! Certainly a first and probably an only! :)

I introduce you to Mr. Hogan...

As you can see, Hogan is a cute little tripod. He came to the vet school with severe nerve damage to his leg after a possible run in with a car. He was basically dragging the leg along. :( When they figured out it wasn't fixable, his mom decided to amputate it and keep him for herself. The rest is history and he is now one happy camper!It was so cute to see Hogan hanging out at a brand new location. He was astonishingly good! He tried to hop away a couple times to check out the nearby barn but, for the most part, he just hung out and posed for the camera!What a seriously gorgeous face! I swear he's smiling here...Oh, and the classic cat nap. However, Hogan was certainly still very aware of the people hanging out in the parking lot (no doubt very curious about the cat being photographed in the field) and the mountain bikers going by.After we photographed Hogan, we got to spend some time with the new Frenchie of the family, Lola. Lola was rescued from a breeder after suffering a prolapsed uterus. At 2 years of age, there's no telling how many puppies she's had and she is very small and skinny. However, she is FULL of personality and was a giggle maker! She is going to be a well-balanced healthy girl in no time at all!

This is Lola's Gremlin face...She soooooo tried to smile for the camera! The funniest part of her session? She wasn't interested in squeakies, balls, or dog toys. Nope! But pull out a cat toy and she's all over it! We used Hogan's goodies the entire time we worked with Lola. Silly girl!

I can't wait to share the final artwork with you all!!! :)

Kitty time at the HSI

I love cats. In fact, I've owned more cats than dogs in my lifetime. Fortunately, my jobs lets me spend time with both! However, cat photography seems to be a bit less popular and the majority of my time is spent in photo shoots with dogs. That being said, I was thrilled to find out that the Humane Society of Iredell had plenty of cats that could go for a good photo shoot. I was happy to oblige. Humane Society of Iredell has a great facility up in Mooresville, NC. The building is clean and is staffed with awesome volunteers that have the animals' best interests in mind. The cats have multi-level cages and have a private room where they can socialize with one another and visit with potential owners. If you ever get the opportunity, check out the facility and spend some time with the wonderful kitties! PS - they have dogs available too! They are all placed in foster homes but can easily have a visit arranged.

I'll start out with an adorable little kitten named Hope. She is just a little 12-week-old bundle of energy! She absolutely was cracking me up as she zoomed from corner to corner in the room. She would flatten her tail along the top of her back and looked like a chipmunk as she ran to and fro. Total cuteness...

Her favorite game must be tug-o-war! Check out these outtakes of her pulling with all of her might. Her chipmunk stance is on the lower right.

This beautiful kitty is Gloria. She is just 11 months old and has the biggest eyes I have seen on a cat in a long time. She loves to cuddle and if you're not careful, those eyes will lure you in to give her treats...

Skye is the next kitty I got to photograph. She is a fluffy 3-4 year-old Persian blend with lovely silver/smoke fur. She will need a peaceful home where she will be free to do her own thing.

If I didn't know better, I would say that this next kitty is Gloria's twin. She shares the same stunning eyes, beautiful markings, and hard-to-ignore personality. This lovely girl is appropriately named Princess... The last girl I visited with was Laverne. This grey kitty is only 8 months old and loves playtime, being held, and lots of kisses and toys. She is a lover...

On a technical note, I used my new 50mm f/1.4 lens for these pics. I would have been out of luck if I didn't have it in my arsenal! This room was very dark with only one fluorescent fixture providing the light. I had my lens wide open and fortunately managed to avoid using any flash. Because the room was so dark, I wasn't able to stop action at all and I still have to practice with the very shallow depth of field. However, this lens rocks and I can see myself using it for all types of situations - low light or in the middle of the day!

Sasha - Mini Session

This past weekend, I spent some time in South Carolina for travel photo sessions. Before my Saturday evening session, I hung out at my mom's house for a few hours. She has a pretty grey cat named Sasha who was all ready for playing when I got there. I figured there was no better way to get ready for my evening photo session than to warm up by taking a few quick photos of Sasha! I don't get to photograph cats very often so I was more than thrilled for this opportunity!

After play time, Sasha was ready to move to her favorite room of the house - the sunroom. This room has three walls of windows...perfect for a cat to check out the birds and goings-on of the neighborhood. All of the windows provided gorgeous backlighting - something that is quickly becoming my new *thing*.

By the end, Sasha was ready to be left alone and settled down under her favorite chair for nap time...

Thanks mom for letting me hang out!