Veteran’s Day and Dogs

This past Veteran’s Day, I enjoyed a rare privilege!   I was invited to the Mason home in Kingston for a fun fun fun pet portrait session.

Even though it was cold, windy, and we had a non-stop drizzling rain, there were three VERY patient Great Danes waiting for their portraits too!

Named after Muskateers, there was Aramis(L), D’Artagnum (Center), and Porthos (R), I found these handsome guys to be amazing animals, very gentle and loving!  However, I have to admit…I sure wouldn’t want one of these guys surprising me in the night as I slipped over a fence! haha!

My pal Gavin (of Seim Studios in Eastern Washington) asked me to beta test some Lightroom3 presets he’s marketing. Now, I am a tried and true lover of B&W images, and these presets ROCK.  If you’re a photography enthusiast, you really should tune in to Gavin’s PROSHOW web forum! And, while you’re feeling the photo processing loooove, you can find those nifty Silvershadows 2 Lightroom presets on his site. For the Danes, I selected the “Old Holga II” preset to create this rich monotone print of the guys. The coats of these animals are amazing, and I love how the tones in their fur is brought out.

Back to the trip to the Mason home, oh my goodness, I am sooooooooo excited to be heading BACK in the VERY near future (waiting on the weather)!  Easily one of THE most beautiful properties I’ve visited in a while. I am so in love with their pond. (you can see a sliver of it in the background behind the dogs).

The tranquil view of that pond from the back porch, with the ducks, cattails, reflections… yowza, I’m just sayin’ that if it were in MY backyard, I’d be on the porch like Ma Kettle, and getting NOTHING done. Luckily, I’ll be heading back for portraits of two very handsome horses. Unfortunately, Mother Nature spoiled our afternoon, it was too wet & nasty to take the lights out into the pasture. I have to applaud “The Muskateers” for being awfully patient sitting in the drizzle during their portrait.  I forgot just how cold you can get lying on the ground in the rain… It was totally worth being cold and icky, these guys are STUNNING! I don’t know any photographer who isn’t willing to do just about anything for the perfect image.