21.Mar.2010 St. Patrick’s Day
Mom, were you guzzling green beer when you took this picture of me? This hat!!! What were you thinking!!!
Lulu in the Springtime
Poor Lulu. We’ve scheduled and rescheduled her photo shoot over 6 times because of inclement weather. Luckily I was able to catch her yesterday between two major storms. So here it is, the first day of spring and the only indication of the new season is the bunny ears she was very willing to wear for me.
I couldn’t resist purchasing the red boa, when I first heard I would be shooting a Great Pyrenees named Lulu. This she also wore with aplomb. Lulu, an eight year old Great Pyrenees did not act like any Pyrenees I’ve ever met. The ones I’ve met walk around in a semi-stupor aka “tend to be relaxed and introspective.” But Lulu bounced into the studio, prancing around checking out all the lights and furniture curious about everything she saw…which was plenty as she towered over most everything. But she was a very well-behaved lady and took easily to being the center of attention, which I am sure she is…all the time!!
Learning lesson of this shoot: I have several whistles and squeakers in my studio to catch the attention of the dogs. Lulu is mostly deaf but surprisingly she was able to hear some of the them. One whistle annoyed her as every time I used it she walked over to to her mother. When I sound another whistle she did the usual, “cock ears and tilt head” that looks so cute in photos. The other two squeakers and whistles provoked no response. So my plan is to purchase sound makers whenever I come across them so I’ll have a large variety in my studio.
15.Mar.2010 Eleanor & Pushmepullyoudesign
My sister forwarded me some dog illustrations featured in an e-newsletter from Eleanor & Pushmepullyoudesign. I recognized this Philadelphia animal illustrator immediately as I follow her site often. Her clean graphic work reminds me so much of one of my favorite artist, Charley Harper. However, I didn’t see much canine work on her site until I got these images from my sister. They are so adorable that I immediately emailed Eleanor to invite her to be a featured artists on my blog. You can find out more about her through her blog and site. In addition, the website Grain Edit features an interview with Eleanor. I did asked her two of my very important questions and here are her answers: 1. Cat or dog person? “I have two cats, but I say, cat or dog person: why choose!” and 2. Do you have an animal and what kind? “I have two little kitties – one is a fluffy lady, and the other is a cute little trouble-making boy.” Her animal images, designed using Adobe Illustrator, are featured on everything from keds to coffee mugs. These images were designed for a UK magazine.
01.Mar.2010 Amber, Mascot for the Navajo Code Talkers
Amber is a 5 pound Chihuahua that has the honor of being the mascot for the Navajo Code Talkers. While setting up the shoot for the Navajo Code Talkers, I asked Vicky Jarveson, her owner to go get her. “She’s right here Debbie,” as she unzipped a small black bag that she had set on the table. Amber emerged slowly from the bag, stretched, and then looked at me, as if saying, “All right Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
Amber’s uniform is similar to the military ceremony dress worn by the men. Her little shirt was tailored by Jeannette Peaches wife of Code Talker Albert Peaches using the same fabric as her husband’s shirt. Her wardrobe also includes a tiny collar pin, a Navajo turquoise bracelet the width of a dime, and the official Navajo Code Talker Association pin.
The photo shoot went fairly well with the normal wiggles and squirms. Then Albert Smith arrives for his scheduled portrait shoot, solemnly dressed in his Navajo Code Talker uniform—Amber goes wild. Here was her purpose in life, hanging out with her guys. She didn’t bark, after all she is a lady. But she wiggled and wiggled begging to be held by Mr. Smith. At first he pretended not to notice, but then he gently picked her up and with a twinkle in his eye he whispered, “hey, little Cookie Monster.”
Amber is the granddaughter of a Chihuahua owned by the Code Talker Jack Jones. Many Code Talkers own Chihuahuas. A Code Talker, long since gone, often shared with the group the belief that one of their main deities, Asta Naadlee, had a pet Chihuahua and th
at owning a Chihuahua is thought to bring abundance—not necessarily monetary abundance, but abundance of crops, children, health, or happiness. I don’t know which of these Amber has gifted Vicki’s life, but she certainly brought laughter and joy to that photo shoot.
In honor of Veteran’s day, this picture and story were published in the November/January 2010 issue of The Bark Magazine.
It is now a year later since that shoot, and I now proudly serve as volunteer, secretary, photographer and multimedia designer for the newly formed, Dine Code Talkers, a non profit organization that focuses on educational and PR activities of the Code Talkers here in New Mexico. The website: www.dinecodetalkers.com should be up and running early summer.
New theme
I am using a new theme, called Rising Sun by Eric Crooks. I love it. Nice clean sharp lines form a perfect backdrop for a blog about photographs and illustrations. It took most of an afternoon to add my 3-dog logo to the banner of the blog. Had to get into the c_panel of my website to make the changes…a very very scary place!!
Working with Word Press is hard!!! I love reading Word Press comments and instructions that say: “just download Word Press, select a template and start blogging.” Yeah sure, when I first started my blog it took over 2 days just to download WordPress application and set up a template much less start blogging. I could have designed 3 websites in the time it took me to just to get my blog going!! Anyway, happy with Rising Sun and hope you like it.
28.Feb.2010 Lost files
Amber, my neighbor’s dachshund, was caught in this picture winking….probably just had something in her eye, but I would like to think she was winking at me. And Toby, surrounded by pumpkins donated by a friend. What do these images have in common? I lost the the files from these photo shoots!! No matter what procedure I follow there are always little cracks in the system.
Amber’s shoot was lost when a fairly new portable drive (Western Digital) died on me. Took it to the “Geek Squad” to retrieve the data…$250 to send to their main office…the drive only cost $100!! The Toby shoot was lost when I was backing up several files and I disconnected the drive from my laptop before they were all transferred.
The only reason I have these two images is that I emailed them to my sister and I found them in my email “sent” files. Now I religiously download the pictures to my laptop 10 seconds after I finish the job, attach a job number to the file, renumber all the images in the file and copy them to 2 drives and my Mac computer. I only use Seagate drives. I’ve never had problems with them with my Mac. Live and learn.
09.Feb.2010 Props
I am learning to have absolutely everything ready when photographing animals. Of course, I am always prepared for any photo shoot, but this principle is especially true when dealing with animals. This photograph is an example of me not following my own rules. Titled, “Give me some sugah,” the feedback on this image is that Toby looks grumpy. Quite the contrary.
Background story: Toby, and I went to the studio where I had all the props ready; hat, backdrop, camera, lights. Once everything was set up, I went outside to cut some of the mistletoe that grows on the pinon trees on our property. Of course, it was December and I assumed that mistletoe would be abundant. I went outside…no mistletoe! Walked for an hour around our five acres and finally found some at the front of the property at the top of a huge tree. Using a broom as a spear, I was finally able to knock some down.
Interesting factoid about mistletoe, thanks to my entomologist brother-in-law: the seeds of mistletoe are very sticky. The seeds stick to the claws of birds and that’s how they get from tree to tree growing on the top branches. Anyway, I guess December is not the high season for mistletoe…at least not in Edgewood, NM.
By the time I returned to the studio the dogs were dead asleep snoring away. I woke Toby up and he did some posing, but he was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. And that’s how this photo end up with this mean looking glare. Lesson learned: be prepared…photograph the dogs while they are fresh and active.
07.Feb.2010 Copper
Released this month is the book version of one of my favorite e-comics, Copper. Written by Kazu Kibuishi, Copper is the story of Copper and his faithful dog Fred. I first stumbled upon Copper in the anthology Flight, a book that features several artists writing and drawing comics around the concept of “flight.” There are now six volumes available in the Flight series and Kibuishi is not only a featured artist but the editor of the series as well.
I think of Copper as the 21st century Calvin and Hobbs, Wallace and Gromit, or Peanuts and if you like any of the aforementioned comics you will love Copper. The adventurous Copper and his worry wort sidekick, Fred, enjoy activities that range from dancing with robots, mountain climbing, surfing and, of course, flying. One of my favorite pages is a hike in which both quietly comment about the beauty of a bug and a waterfall. Another is the story of their preparations for their “Maiden Flight,” a fantastical flying adventure that needs a quick stop at “Plane Mart” for parts and a set of parachutes.
Although Copper is the title character, Fred, like all canine sidekicks, is the heart of the story. Basically Fred is drawn as two balls, one for the head, another for the body all atop of four cylinders for legs. It is Fred’s big sleepy eyes and giant uni-eyebrow that Kibuishi uses as a tool to bring humor, sarcasm, friendship, drama, pathos and love to these stories. You can also find Copper and information on Kibuishi’s other books (Amulet 1, 2 and 3, Flight volumes 1 – 6 and Daisy Kutter) on Kibuishi’s website, Bolt City. But I advise that you buy the book. Each story is not only beautifully rendered, but the lovely colors are a feast for the eyes. Plus in the back of the book Kibuishi explains in details how he draws his comics, scans them into Photoshop, and prepares the pages for download onto the internet. I always appreciate when an artist shares his/her techniques and insights to the creative process.
Favorite Christmas Present
Handmade by my nephew, Wes, this Snoopy is by far my favorite gift this Christmas. I can’t remember the last time I’ve received a homemade gift…I don’t include homemade cookies, cakes, candy….I love those gifts…and don’t stop giving them to me!!!
My little sister noted that her favorite gift when she was a kid was a pillow I made her in the shape of a dachshund. That comment made me think that ‘homemade’ gifts have gone the way of the VCR. Today many gifts are purchased in bulk, online, or the ubiquitous gift cards were we actually have to go out and buy our own gift!! Make no mistake, I love gift cards, but the time and effort Wes took to make this Snoopy made me realize how precious the homemade gift is to receive!
Another issue about this Snoopy is the simplicity of the form. The basic “bean” or “amoeba” shape is used for the head and body, squiggles for nose and eyes, and two black ovals for the ears all together form one of most famous canine in comic/cartoon history. When I find that drawing or photographing my dogs becomes a big brain block, I think of Snoopy or Fred (see blog entry: Copper) and tell myself “keep it simple, simple, simple” and go from there.
28.Jan.2010 Props and costumes
I am always on the look out for fun costumes, props, ideas. One goofy idea was to dress Toby as a construction worker…think Village People?? I was walking (limping) down a row in Home Depot and came across this hard hat and cone. The hardest part of this shoot was getting the hat on his head. The inside of a hard hat in no way shape or form matches the outside shape of a dog’s head. The dog paws on the hat and cone are just “shapes” in Photoshop. Select the “shape tool” then select the shape you want which is found in the toolbar that pops up when the shape tool is selected.
Second hand shops, closets, attics, garage, kitchen all are great sources, but I’ve found that the best place for props is Target. At the entrance of Target there are several rows of seasonal items…all priced from $1.00 to $2.50. Many of the items such as witch hats, small scarves, santa hats are all sized for kids and baby heads and are ideal for dogs. Other items such as decorative papers, candles, pencils….items school kids love are also available. I found this wonderful little mail box and bandanna and used them for a Valentine’s Day photo shoot.