2009, Here I Come!

With only a few short hours left of 2009, I am inspired to look to the future.  This was a very tough year for us, losing Ruger and continuing to care for the Triplets.  I try to remember that this whole idea, this whole Pet Photographer "thing" I have started, is all due to the impact Ruger left on me. I so wish he were alive and here with us, but if he has to be gone, I can think of no better way to honor his memory.  Cody will help me to never forget his life and my goal.  

Here's to the new year, in which I will hopefully become a "professional" - that's the goal, and I look forward to making it count.  

I miss you so much, my dear baby; thank you for being the inspiration for so much love, laughter and a new found simplicity of life that makes my eyes well up every time I remember it was all from you.  Thank you for these gifts and for giving me the chance to meet and photograph the souls such as yours, the ones worth knowing.  True to form, you are still giving - even after you have gone. 

To 2009!  Make it a great one.

Warm Christmas Wishes and a Weird Santa Puppet

Jinxie was so enthralled by the different textures of this Santa Puppet for the kids, what with all its glitter and tinsel and soft plushie nose.  But I caught her only after boredom set in...which I think came out even funnier.  Everyone expects the "crazy cat tossing the Santa puppet around" persona, right? Dare to be different, that's her motto.  I also found it hilarious how it looked like it was creepily stalking her...a puppet.  

Merry, Merry Christmas...from our Zoo to yours.  ;)  

Jimmy and the New Curtains

It's no secret that I love my cat...but I have to confess how much I love my new curtains! I don't buy curtains often because they are just too darn expensive...and we live out in the country, so who needs 'em?

So, I just love it when I get a good deal on curtains that I really love! They are super funky and they were a bargain at $4.98 a panel. Loving that! They are now hung in our front room where I usually snap my pictures, so they naturally got incorporated into this snuggly Jimmy shoot.

Love you, Jimmy! Love you, New Curtains!

Adding Texture

Texture can take an otherwise good photo and raise it to an extraordinary level. It can also rescue a boring one. Picking the right texture to add is an art form...one I can easily tell you that I am no where near mastering. ;)

I can be found lately, in my spare time, snapping close-up pictures of my driveway, tree bark, the barn siding, even Cody's fur and the treadmill track. There are so many interesting textures all around us, a bevy of canvases to work with. I am starting to become a woman obsessed and it's scary just how much of my scarce free time is taken up learning how to be one with adding texture.

Here are my first attempts... I have mixed a few, added a vignette or two and went crazy. Photoshop is a tough beast to tame - it's knocking the crap outta me! So much to learn, so little time... Anyway, here are my first results of the lesson:

OOPS! I yanked most of these photos to rework them again. Learning a very good lesson here, photos in Photoshop appear more subtle than they appear online. So, I am going back to have another go, this time a little less obvious and heavy.

Jimmy


Cody and Jimmy with the treadmill track:


Then Cody's fur added:


Then the side of firewood and a vignette added:


And then Alex, a fav pic with the side of firewood:


Then Cody's fur added:


I have more, but I want to work them a little before I share. Tell me what you think!