I first met Galley at last year’s Home Fur the Holidays when her mom brought her in for holiday portraits. As you might imagine, many heads turned to see the 150 pound mastiff/great dane mix excitedly make her way through the crowd. Galley was a fantastic, wonderfully expressive girl despite the onlookers and noise. When her mom expressed interest in a full session at her home to include her other dog, kitties, and chickens I made a note in my “future sessions” book and thought about how fun that spring session would be. Unfortunately, Galley’s best dog bud, Ursa, passed away in late winter. As heartbreaking as that is, I am glad that her family has many portraits of their own to remember her by.
A few months later we scheduled a lovely early summer’s evening for Galley, her kitty brothers Draco and Hercules, and a beautiful flock of free ranging hens. Everyone made their mom and dad proud, as you can see below…
We started the session with Galley, in the stream behind their house. She looooves water!
Galley was not particularly impressed with my squeaky toy. She much preferred to see it tossed in the air. I ended up making a slight miscalculation (holding a camera steady in one hand and tossing a ball in the other is tricky business). The ball ended up in the stream and floated away... but this portrait was totally worth it
Did I mention that Galley loooves water?
We headed back inside for some indoor portraits... being a big dog can be exhausting!
Once Galley had a bit of a rest and thoroughly dried herself off on the couch she showed me another of her favorite spots in her cool log cabin.
Draco (pictured above) and his brother Hercules started out their portrait session as typical cats... completely unimpressed, didn't want to stay put, and definitely had better things to do. They must have mustered up a year's worth of "give a damn" though because they were incredible models. I am thrilled that these elderly gentlemen opened up for me and the camera. I know their mom and dad adore these portraits.
Draco, rockin' out to his invisible piano
Handsome Hercules! He really tried the hardest to be unimpressed.
"Hey Draco, do you think there are extra treats for us?" "There better be. I'm only here for the sunshine though. This is SO humiliating"
Fortunately for the cats we lost the good light in the house. Outside though it was just getting to that delicious golden hour and the hens were still foraging and enjoying the warmth. These girls were very easy to work with as they were inquisitive and worked for bread crumbs
Thank you to April and Tony for having me out to photograph your pup, pride, and flock. They’re all so photogenic!
I’ve seen April and Galley at a number of dog events this summer and April gave me the BEST compliment I’ve ever received “I need more animals so I have a good excuse to have you back!”
Peace, Tail Wags, Catnip, and Bread Crumbs,
~Kelly
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Great post! Always a pleasure to read the story part of your pics Kelly! I love it!
These shots are fantastic.
You continually make my day, Kelly. I have your blog bookmarked and look back at all the pics (not just of my babies) often…always makes me smile. Thank you for your wonderful artistry with the fur- and feather- children.