nicki offset in sun

Nicki didn’t  love being at the studio so one day a couple of months back I went to her home and spent a lovely hour chasing her round her domain getting sits and shots like these.

Nicki dappled in the sun on the porch at home

This is how well loved she is, she even had her own tiny custom awning over her doggie door, very cool. She’ll be missed.

nicki posing at her custom awning

becket play

You have to love this big guy, all boy, all puppy, just big as a horse.

becket sit

becket chillin'

We are all thinking of him here at Dogma as he’s currently undergoing some treatment for one of those Great Dane specific complaints.

becket headshot

GET WELL SOON BIG GUY.

The coolest ever family portrait

So a couple of weeks ago my photographer buddy Chris Keating from Alberta caught a sudden burst of inspiration, hired an elephant and asked if I wanted to swap family portraits. I thought that might be more interesting than going to Disney that weekend so off we went to the Angeles National forest for on of the coolest days of our lives.

We took every camera we had, threw in a video crew, and broke out the iPhones. The above is the “big camera” image.

ALL THE OTHERS WERE SHOT ON AN IPHONE AND PROCESSED ON AN IPAD. I THINK THAT’S PRETTY COOL.

Fabi Hugging Baba shot on an iPhone

iphone image of a great trunk hug

iPhone image of show of mutual respect

AND YES! WE CAN ARRANGE FOR YOUR VERY OWN “COOLEST FAMILY PORTRAIT EVER”.

A great (if exhausting) time was had by all. We raised bait of money, much of it thanks to the amazing sales lady manning the bake sale table, who was heroically charging the passersby trapped in their cars at the traffic lights and the Super Pollo customers who all needed a dessert.

Here’s two of my favorite shots with a gallery. Click on an image to see it bigger.

That's a neat expression

Basset hound 29 b 15 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5sm b6 b7sm b8 b9 b10 b11-sm b13 ws b14 b16 b17 b18 b19 b20 b21 b22 b23sm b24sm b25 b26 b27 b28 b30 b31 b32

that's actually a doberman

No, but really, I wouldn’t do this with a Doberman.

Here’s the rest of his family.

Spot the odd dog out

We are stoked (in local parlance) to have been involved in such a lovely event, the people are great the dogs are beautiful (not one single doggie accident) 9 Goldens photographed, loads of visiting humans and canines.

WE WERE REALLY HAPPY TO HELP THE RESCUE RAISE OVER $500 ON THE DAY

Generally speaking the rescue days are a little tricky to shoot as the participants can be a little skittish, after all there’s lots going on, new dogs and people they haven’t met before, flashes going off and some of these guys don’t even speak English, it’s true there’s a few dogs here fresh from Taiwan. But these images are a testament to the dedication of the volunteers and the amount of TLC that goes out to these great dogs.

With all that been said here’s the greatest illustration of why Goldens make such great pets, in the middle of it all some still found a little space for a quick nap.

Here’s the slideshow gallery of the Goldens who are up for rescue that we photographed over the weekend. If anyone is looking to give one of these beautiful dogs a loving home please contact this fantastic group of volunteers here. www.scgrrescue.com

goldens.001 goldens.002 goldens.003 goldens.004 goldens.005 goldens.006 goldens.007 goldens.008 goldens.010 goldens.011 goldens.009 goldens.010 goldens.011 goldens.014 goldens.015 goldens.016 goldens.017 goldens.018 goldens.019 goldens.021 goldens.022 goldens.023 goldens.024 goldens.025 goldens.026 goldens.027 goldens.001 goldens.026 goldens.025 goldens.021 goldens.023

In case you missed the particular frame

big sloppy kisses

Now here at Dogma we’re not big on sneak peeks, but I know there’s lots of people who want to see how well Dru photographs.

dru-hoping-for-a-squirrel

Quite well I think.

dru-making-like-a-rug

Dru’s a big softy (unless you try and eat his pumpkin pie during a pumpkin pie eating contest), he can get a little silly and is a very useful winter warmer. He’s a big, beautiful example of a Golden Retriever and a joy to work with. Thanks for bringing him Amy I had a blast.

dru-silly-boy

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE

Hello David & Sylvaine,

I finally got home a little bit ago to see the artwork. I’d been looking forward to it all day! I just wanted to share with you both how happy we are with the final product. The work looks really amazing. The images are beautiful and the canvases look very professional. I just can’t stop looking at it Thank you very much for creating these beautiful memories for us!

Best Wishes, 

Dallis' wall portrait collection. Dogma's Photographer's suggestion

So Dallis works with the Southern California Lab Rescue http://www.sclrr.org/ and came in as part of our fundraiser month to benefit them. Dallis and David are those super cool type of people that have made the decision to look after the oldsters. All these labs were rescued at advanced age and all come with a story.

3 oldster labs flat out

when-sitting-is-a-little-awkward

sharpei-pet-portrait-month-flyer