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Today’s session again featured my pups.  As I mentioned yesterday, I’ll likely be using them as a fall back when I don’t have time to properly consider another idea.  For today’s session I played with one strobe modified with a makeshift diffuser and my macro lens.  I hope you enjoy!

Lyle eyes

Spring is usually the most eager of the three, Lyle can usually be bribed into cooperation and Maebe doesn’t really care for modeling.   I hope that practicing with Maebe on a regular basis will help her relax when she is in my studio.

An intense Spring playing with her new toy

Lyle with a feather

Maebe taking direction from Robin

The next few weeks will be busy as I will make the final preparations to teach Digital Imaging at Washington State University’s Tri-Cities campus and to mentor a graduate student at the Academy of Art University.  I am very excited to have the chance to work with these students.  Updating my website and blog will be among the first tasks at hand for my business.  One of my goals for the blog will be to upload at least one new photograph each day so I hope you all check back often.

I leave you today with a few photographs from this week’s session at the Benton-Franklin Humane Society.    I’m happy to report that last I’ve heard, six of the nine puppies are already in their forever homes!  Please check the BFHS website for more information.

It isn’t a stretch to say that I am a bit of a geek. This is nothing new actually and I think that my geekiness was especially apparent back when I was doing cancer research.  Today this nature is largely expressed in my art.  The creation of the ink+water series is inspired by the neoplasticism style of Piet Mondrain.  I could go on (and on) but I’ll keep it short.  The images selected for this series are not always my favorites but represent a balance between representing my artistic vision and the creation of salable images.  I am very interested to learn how this volume will do as a whole and which images in particular will be good sellers.

Below are a few from the series.  To see the 91 selected, please select the link above.

It has been a very busy and exciting year for me and I believe that the work I’ve done has me poised to make 2010 even better.  Of course the work that I am most proud of is with all of the adoptable animals at the Benton-Franklin Humane Society and the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter and I fully expect that I’ll be continuing this important work in 2010 and beyond.

As promised a few days ago, I’m posting the twenty images presented to my graduate committee.  I hope you enjoy!

Lucas, adopted Cocoa, adopted Cleopatra, euthanized Julius, adoptedSocks, adopted La Real, adopted Maralee, adopted McKinley, adopted Jack, adopted Coal, adopted Mollie, adopted Madeline, euthanizedTiger, adoptedSnoopy, adopted Layla, adopted Rosie Mae, adopted Tango, adopted Milo, adopted Glenda, adoptedJake, adopted

Judy has helped me wrangle the animals during most my sessions at Benton-Franklin Humane Society since last February.  She owns a pet sitting business and is looking to add photography to her list of services offered to her clients.   As I finished up my thesis project, we have started trading off roll the role of photographer and assistant so that she can perfect her craft.  As we continue to work with the adoptable animals, I expect that we will continue to trade shooting responsibilities.

Great job this week Judy!

For more information on these puppies or for all of the adoptable animals at the Benton-Franklin Humane Society, please visit their website at http://bfhs.com.

I began my graduate studies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco the Fall 2006 semester not entirely sure that I belonged in art school much less in a graduate program. Thankfully it didn’t take long for me to realize that after seeing my admissions portfolio, the department directors saw promise in me and for better or worse, I was exactly where I belonged.  Three years later, I know I made the right decision and am very proud to share that I have earned my MFA degree in photography.

Being an animal lover, it was an easy choice to decide to photograph animals for my thesis work.  Over the course of my studies I saw my relationship with the animals change from that of an animal lover, to an animal advocate.  During the independent study portion of my education, I photographed 807 adoptable animals.  Taking into consideration the adoptable animals photographed during my entire graduate studies, the number is closer to 1,000.

I’ll post the photographs from my thesis project soon.  In the mean time I leave you with the two animals photographed during my graduate studies that have made the biggest impact on my life.

Benton-Franklin Humane Society,adoption,animals,dogs,volunteer,puppy,puppies

When I proposed my thesis project to my graduate committee, I’d suggested that I’d need to photograph between 200 and 250 animals over the course of year and a half project (the MFA program at the Academy of Art University is 63 credits which typically takes three years).  They were concerned at the time commitment that photographing so many subjects would require and my program director actually did the math so that he could ask me directly if I’d thought my proposal through.  I apparently gave an adequate response because they let me continue in the program. At yesterday’s session at the Benton-Franklin Humane Society, I photographed seven puppies and four dogs bringing my grand total of animals photographed to 460 for the calendar year (well, year plus three days).  And I don’t graduate until December.  I flat out don’t think my committee would have believed me if I’d told them I’d be photographing upwards of 700 animals over the course of the directed study portion of my education.  It’s probably best that I had no idea what I was really getting into when I was making that proposal.  Oh, and did I mention that I’ve contacted the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter about regularly photographing their animals too?  If that works out, 1000 animals really isn’t out of the question.

Anyway, getting back to  yesterday’s session, I couldn’t help wonder (again) how people come up with their pet’s names.  Benton-Franklin Humane Society is a no-kill shelter that receives almost all of their charges as owner-surrendered. The BFHS staff does sometimes name their kittens and puppies but by and large the names the dogs and cats come in with were given by the animal’s previous owners.  Some are easy to figure out.  If you are a fan of Plain White T’s, then you might be able to guess where the inspiration for Delilah’s name came from. I’m sure eight month old Marley can can credit the success of John Grogan’s Marley and Me with his name especially since he was born about a month before it was released as a major motion picture.   Fiona and Missy seem a bit harder to pin down.  I doubt Fiona’s previous owner considered Lyle Lovett’s work as an inspiration since Fiona clearly has two beautiful eyes.  And of course the puppies.  Well, they don’t currently need names because they will be adopted very quickly and that honor will be reserved for their new families.

PDN Faces,365 Tao,Benton-Franklin Humane Society,animal adoption

Everything I read suggests that it is very important for photographers to have a blog.  Oh, and that if you don’t frequently update the blog or at least regularly update the blog, that you are better off not having it at all. The advice that seems to be lacking is how the busy photographer is supposed to find time to write.  Hmm…  I guess I need to try harder.

I just celebrated my 38th birthday this week and received a book by Deng Ming-Dao of daily meditations reflecting on the Tao.   After the brief forward, each lesson is just a short page and is meant to be reflected upon as the reader finds a bit of quiet time through the day.  The author’s intent is to help the readers find how the teaching of Taoism can apply to everyday life.  I don’t pretend to have any more than a superficial knowledge of Taoism but am looking forward to the daily lessons over the next year.  Today’s lesson asks us to reflect on beginnings which is obviously an excellent way to start the journey.  Beginnings can be full of many things but Ming-Dao suggests that they should be a time of hope and anticipation.  Lately as I look forward to graduation, I can’t help but think I am on the verge of a new beginning.  At this point I’m unsure of the destination but I am very optimistic that it will be a good journey.

Back in March, I asked you to vote for some of my Benton-Franklin Humane Society photographs in the photography journal PDN’s (Photo District News) Faces contest. The popular vote was only a portion of the contest and the images were also judged by industry professionals.  I’m very excited to announce that the photographs of Maralee and an unnamed kitten were each selected for publication in the July 2009 issue.   I’m also very happy to report that both animals have long since been adopted.

I hope to have news to announce soon on a project that I’ve been working on.  While the project is an ongoing part of my thesis work, this avenue definitely represents a new beginning for me.  Hopefully it represents a new beginning for the homeless animals too.