2014 SafeHaven Calendar - March

Remember, 2014 calendars are on-sale now for $15 at the SafeHaven shelter on Hwy 34, just off I-5 and the boutique store on 2nd Ave in downtown Albany! Help a good cause and get your cute critter fix all year long.

This is the March "pack" from the calendar. From left to right: Harley and Spirit are on the bottom with Trail hovering over Spirit in the upper right.

2014 SafeHaven Calendar - February

Last year, I was asked by SafeHaven to shoot the pictures for their 2014 calendar. The months were auctioned off at the Diamonds and Dice fundraiser event. I was happy to volunteer and it was a pleasure to meet and work with so many wonderful animals and their owners. Ann Sirl, from SafeHaven, was extremely helpful and great to work with as well. We started shooting in October of last year and wrapped up in July, fitting in a shoot or so a month as we could schedule them. The calendar is now finished and should be released to the public very soon! I'll put up the details on when and where you can get one as soon as I know for sure. I'm going to start posting alternate shots (not the ones used in the calendar) from each month. I'll try to put them up on Monday's and Fridays.

This is Abby and Loki (from left to right) and they are Ms. and Mr. February:

By the way, this year's Diamonds and Dice event will be held this October 12th at the Albany Boys and Girls Club. I will not be able to attend this year due to a prior engagement but next year's calendar pages will be auctioned off there and I will be shooting the 2015 calendar too! So, if you are a winning bidder I will be coming to your house to take pictures of your pet(s). We only had dogs this year, but we'll take almost any pets. They don't have to be adopted from SafeHaven either. It's for a good cause and your pets could be famous!

UPDATE! - Calendars are on-sale now at the shelter on Hwy 34 and at the downtown SafeHaven Boutique store on 2nd Ave in Albany.

Western Basset Hound

I shot a party at a private residence over the weekend. It was a western theme and the client has two basset hounds that were roaming the yard wearing bandannas. I couldn't resist the opportunity to get some shots of the dogs whenever possible. Here is one of them. His name is Charlie and he was very friendly. I have another shot of him on his side, begging for a belly rub. Charlie was less camera shy than Otis, the other dog. I did get a couple good of shots of him, as well as the two together, but this is my favorite.

Dog Days of Summer

I did some volunteer work for SafeHaven Humane Society over the weekend. They had their annual "Dog Days of Summer" event downtown in front of the courthouse. There was a fairly large turnout. One activity is the 5k walk. Before it kicked off, everyone who wanted to participate posed on the steps of the courthouse with their dogs for one big group picture. I took a tighter shot with a longer lens, but I wasn't able to capture the very edges of the group or much of the surroundings. I switched to the wide angle and snapped a few shots.

Canine Frisbee

One of the events at da Vinci Days last weekend was canine frisbee. Saturday morning, I was there to take pictures and enjoyed watching as well. It drew quite a crowd and several people ended up with a dog in their lap while it chased after a frisbee that ventured slightly out of bounds. As I was focusing on a dog running toward me and preparing to capture the moment it ripped the frisbee from the air, I suddenly realized that the dog wasn't stopping. I looked up just as the frisbee bounced off my leg. I didn't get any good shots of that round, but I did get this shot of one of the dogs leaping for a mid-air catch with some of the spectators watching in the distance.