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By popular demand, we now officially offer gift certificates! They are available for any amount, so you can give the gift of a whole portrait package or just a nice print. These are perfect for giving the gift of Pet Portraits to friends and family. We will also happily mail them for you at no extra charge. Contact us for more details!
click the image to see more photos
Here’s a quick update on February’s pet portrait project. I finally got a chance to visit NWVS yesterday and was honestly blown away. They had 53 of the images I shot enlarged – many of them 24″x 36″ – and mounted on hardboard and they are now hanging all over the hospital. In fact, when I walked in the door yesterday, the always friendly reception team shouted, “There she is! Welcome to your gallery!”
It is actually pretty rare that once the images/prints have made it into clients’ hands that I get to see what becomes of them. And even when I do get to see a print hanging on the wall, it’s typically only one or two images. So to walk into a public space and be greeted by more than a dozen larger than life images I made was rather arresting. Although I have had a couple of solo shows, each was only 10-12 pieces and because I did all of the selection, matting and framing, I was kind of “over it” by the time the show opened. In NWVS’s case, they did the selection (though they did ask me for input and for my favorite images, which was lovely), ordered the enlargements from a local lab and then had the mounting done at another local shop. It has been nearly 2 months since I’ve worked with the images themselves, so there was enough separation that I actually had to remind myself that I had shot them!
My favorite part about the display itself is that they made a point of hanging the staffers’ pet’s portrait in the area where that person worked most often… The receptionists’ pets are right behind the reception desk. The doctors’ images are right outside and/or inside their exam rooms, etc. What a wonderful thing to do for a wonderful staff!
If you have a pet emergency, need a vet, need a veterinary specialist, or just want to see the images in person, get yourself (and your pet!) to VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists, 16756 Southeast 82nd Drive, Clackamas, OR 97015 (503) 656-3999. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will take great care of you and your beloved pet.
I am close to wrapping up what has got to be the most fun photo project to date. Shooting 33 pets in two days puts it high in the ambition list as well! A project for Northwest Veterinary Specialists, we set up and shot 11 cats and 22 dogs, all owned by hospital staff for their image library and lobby artwork. To see the highlights, check out the Dog Galleries and the Cat Galleries. Many thanks to Crystal for the assist and all the devoted pet lovers who helped make the shoots happen and go smoothly!
A chirping toy chick proves unpopular with our hens and dogs…
Today I decided to play with Aperture 2.0′s ability to shoot tethered. Not really wanting to take photos of myself or my less than tidy office, I called in my dog Ellis to sit for me while I fired off a few frames. She patiently sat, lied down, looked pensive, etc. while I fussed with lenses, angles, etc. Sunday will mark our 9th year together, so I offer this post in her honor.
Nikon D300, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
As for the software, shooting tethered worked fine–set up was very simple and intuitive. Just launch Aperture 2, plug a USB cable into the camera and computer, turn the camera on and under the “File” menu, select “Tether>Start Session”. You are now ready to shoot tethered.
The transfer rates while shooting seemed a little slow, but I imagine that’s to be expected given the file size [shooting RAW 14-bit]. I was very disappointed, however, when I ended the tethered session and had Aperture crash on me. No data was lost, but if I were shooting a client session and that happened, I would have had a canary. Not sure yet if this is a repeatable issue nor have I checked the forums for other reports. Luckily, the shots are also captured on the camera’s CF card, so there’s always a back up. Like anything new – be it equipment, software, or new techniques, always try it out first on your own time.
