Snap Happy

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Leanne

Had so much fun with this. I was after Mollie’s 52 Weeks shot, and I’d seen someone else try this idea with their dogs.

Some dogs got the idea quicker than others …

… others were under the mistaken impression that I would just drop the kibble into any open mouth.

Eventually everyone got the hang of the game, but some were more successful than others. For some dogs, every catch was a triumph.

For some dogs, who may or may not be practically perfect in every way, every catch was a success and a chance to show off their photogenic athleticism and elegance.

For some dogs, it’s not about looks or triumph. It’s about 100% dedication to food.

Since Kim’s quite the bitch about sharing (she’s the first child), I do have a few pictures which probably would include quite a lot of extremely bad language if Kim could speak English. I’ll leave you to interpret what she’s saying …

Puppy Photoshoots

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Leanne

Beautiful day for photos, even if my dogs had all collapsed into small panting heaps in the shade. It’s a warm day for flyball training! Kim is at home, of course, having had 8 stitches in yesterday. More on that later, I think … ! In the meantime, has anyone noticed just how hard it is to photograph an 18week old Viszla puppy?

Emma has been struggling to get some good shots of puppy Diva, because she only has two hands and you need at least three just to control the puppy. Since I had my camera at flyball training this morning anyway, I volunteered at flyball to try my best … not sure if that was a good idea or not! Diva really lives up to her name, she’s demanding and intelligent and gorgeous. She also does not like to stay still!

Thankfully we did get some good shots in the end, although I think it was more fluke than skill.

13/52

Posted on April 4, 2010 by Leanne

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First time I’ve broken the 52 Weeks rules – bound to be Week 13, I suppose!

I took this photo at the beginning of Week 14, but it was to replicate the circumstances of the week before. We’ve begun taking the dogs further afield now that it’s lighter in the evenings, and Digley Resevoir has a comfortable circuit of 1.5miles, plus 3miles for the amount of actual walking the dogs do.

Mollie isn’t allowed to shred sticks, but she was too far away from me in the water. Thank god for the telephoto lens!

The light was gorgeous, anyway.

12/52

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Leanne

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Theme was URBAN.

This wall is a bit of a cheat, since it’s in the middle of the Yorkshire countryside. I have no idea why it’s there or what it could possibly have been used for, and nobody I’ve ever asked has been able to give me a reason either. There’s half of an archway in the middle (you can see the edge just above Mol) which I assume was a door, but it would have been a door to nowhere as there is a 16ft high bank behind the wall, on which are built some old houses and grow some even older trees. Either way, it’s urban enough for me, and I love how this worked out.

I’m not sure Mol is an urbanite, but I know that wherever she might find herself, she’s happy. It did take me nerves of steel to take this shot though, since we were about 60ft from a marginally busy road and I had to crouch about 40ft away to get the shot. Thankfully Mollie was way more interested in looking in the other direction and thinking about eating the bees that are just resurfacing with the spring weather. (and I’m confident I could have tackled her, although I’m thankful it didn’t come to that. Not sure how the camera would have fared!)

Smile

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Leanne

This is the kind of picture I want printed on canvas and then maybe hung on a giant banner in the middle of a city. How can you not look at my lovely smiling Kim and feel warm in your heart?