Great shoot

I love it when my work brings me to the beach "okay; fine I'll go to Laguna beach, wink, wink, nod, nod."  I love it; and I have to say that the coast of California is pretty spectacular.  I have a thing for waves; I love to shoot them and the bigger the better.  When I'm shooting a dog at the beach; there just is no better back drop for a shoot.  I'm a natural photographer; I don't have a studio, I don't typically like props and I'm not a fan of posing.  I'd much rather catch a natural shot; a dog being a dog.  Last night was gorgeous; it dropped about 20 degrees from my house to the beach which works for me. 

This shoot was another for my upcoming book; so if you know that I'm working on a standard poodle book you will know that; yep, it was a standard poodle.  So far I have done a book on Dogs in the OC; which was filled with all breeds and mixes set in different places that we walk our dogs here in the OC (Orange County.)  My next book is a black and white rescue Greyhound book for the non-profit canine blood bank Hemopet and the dogs.  All proceeds from this book go to the dogs.  I have a couple of calendars; and last week published Courage's calendar which I am very proud of.  100% of the proceeds will go to the dogs.  So now I have to get this poodle book done; I'm halfway there. 

Even though I have a Facebook group called The Standard Poodle which has now over 1300 fans and a local OC Standard Poodle group; finding my models is not that easy.  Standard Poodles are not a really popular breed; those who know and love them usually have more than one, like most dog lovers.  But they are slow to come out of the woodwork.  So when I get an email about a new one I'm pretty excited; and last night was no different.  She was gorgeous and one of the happiest dogs I've shot. 

First we started with the typical back up shots, the beautiful stills with the ocean behind.  They are important just incase the action shots don't turn out.  When all goes right and I snap "the" shot and find out once I get home  that I did get "the" shot, amazing.  So once we get the guaranteed shots; we let her rip.   She was set loose to be herself; and that's what I love to capture.  Actions shots are definitely more difficult  to get; a spinning, jumping and running dog can be a challenge to focus in on.  But when it happens; it's magic.

I could watch dogs running around having fun forever.  I love to stop action; this enables you to see things that you would have missed completely.  A look; a head turn or communication that you would have been oblivious to had you not been able to see it by freezing a moment in time.  For me; there is nothing more beautiful than a dog, being a dog.