I met some cutie-pies on Tuesday! Some of them have already been adopted – go to Kitsap Humane Society for currently available adoptable animals.
Kitsap Humane Society, FourFootPhotography.com, Adoptable Dogs, Rescue Dogs, Kitsap County Pet Photographer, Mary Eklund, Dog Photos
Catchlights are the little reflection of light in the eye that give spirit to a photograph, bringing it to life. This is especially true for pet photography. Animals have such dark eyes, it is very important to capture the light and avoid the dreaded “shark” or “dead” eye. For this week’s challenge (easy peasy, right?), I thought I would photograph the kids and the dogs together – yeah, no. Not gonna happen. So then I thought I would do each of my babies – two footed, four footed and finned (ok, I don’t really think of the fish as one of my babies, but I have managed to keep him alive for 14 months now!). Well it seems NO ONE was in a cooperative mood, so what I got was kind of silly, but I love them all the same.
I think perhaps Batfish was the most cooperative…
Port Orchard Photographer, Mary Eklund, Kitsap County Photographer, Kids and Pets, Winter Lighting Challenge, Cat Photos, Dog Photos, Lifestyle Photography, Gig Harbor Family Photographer, 2014
So very cool to be invited to Evan’s first birthday! I first photographed Evan when he was just a tiny, invisible nugget, just along for the ride while I did a buddy session with his furry four-footed brothers, Bear and Barley. Click here to see Bear and Barley. I was so excited to be asked to do a maternity session for Rob and Pattie, who are just the nicest people (and funny, two of my favorite things, nice and funny) you would ever want to meet. It was quite an honor to get to visit Evan in the hospital, before he had a name, and then to have his name be Evan (one of my all time favorites!), is perfect. We did a newborn session, then 6 months, and they even came to the Prison Pet Partnership Photos with Santa event I did. Yay, EVAN!
Lifestyle Photography, Kitsap County Photographer, Mary Eklund, Port Orchard Photographer, Keyport, First Birthday Photos, Cake Smash, 2014
When worlds collide…without going into a ton of detail and outing my friend for the ah-MAZ-ing person she is, let me just say I have had the opportunity to help her get her parents’ home on the market, stage it and photograph it. It was so much fun! No that I am taking credit for it, but she has an offer just a week after listing it (helps that it is a beautiful home on the lake). See the listing here If you don’t know, I spent MANY years working in a real estate office in my prior life, mainly in print and web advertising, but in the last few years had the opportunity to work on virtual tours and video tours, which is a large part of how I got back into photography. When the company I worked for was taken over by a larger company and the economy took a dive, I was working part time and primarily from home, and was deemed expendable (in a really abrupt, disrespectful manner, but hey, I am almost over it…). I started Four Foot Photography the year before, and really don’t know how I had time to do both! I always thought my rather extensive real estate experience and love of photography would be a good match, and this experience proves me right! I have added a real estate gallery to my website, and hope to pursue that avenue further! If you are a Realtor or know one….hint, hint…
Real Estate Photography, Gig Harbor to Bainbridge Island, Mary Eklund, Four Foot Photography, Kitsap County Real Estate Photographer, Grays Harbor Real Estate Photographer, Port Orchard Photographer, Real Estate, HDR Photography, 2014, Homes for Sale
This week’s winter lighting challenge was shooting in the dark with a spotlight – super cool! I used a flashlight app on my phone, and had a story book concept – unfortunately my daughter has a bit of a cold, so we only had a few minutes, but it was fun to play with the spotlight for some extra drama. She has enough of a sense of humor still to give me the crazy eyes – wait for it…The “boom boy” holding the spotlight was my son, best photography assistant ever! I give you “Red Riding Hood and The Big, Bad Wolf”:
Four Foot Photography, Mary Eklund, Kitsap County Photographer, Photography Awesomesauce Winter Lighting Challenge, Port Orchard Photographer, Children’s Portraiture, Red Riding Hood, Spotlight, 2014
This challenge is really firing up my creativity! For this week, images needed to be recorded during twilight – the soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, either from daybreak to sunrise or, more commonly, from sunset to nightfall. It was a tricky week for me to be shooting, schedule-wise, so I was excited to see that twilight could also be in the morning – and last night we got a few inches of SNOW, which always gets my photographer juices flowing (I’m not alone, as evidenced by Facebook today!). We took our kiddos to see the Lego Movie Friday night, which was a big treat (expensive!), as they both had good reports at the dentist (also expensive!), and the sky was just GORGE. I was so unhappy I didn’t have Big Momma with me, but made do with the cell phone, and I am tempted to use one of them in the challenge!
Yesterday I had the singular pleasure of attending Mr. Evan’s first birthday party, and I just happened to have Big Momma with me (oh and maybe I snapped off a few frames!), and I happened to be at the party at twilight, and it HAPPENED to be a lovely home with a jaw-dropping view! I had only brought one lens, but I like these, too!
Last night it started to snow after I got home – I checked the almanac to find out when morning twilight would be, and snuck out in my jammies and boots (with my four footed escorts, natch), and here are my top picks from that safari:
Of course, I spent the rest of the day photographing the snow on plants, kids on snow, husband on sled….how fun, and what a great way to start a week that is booked!
Four Foot Photography, Photography Awesomesauce Winter Lighting Challenge, 2014, Snow, Kitsap County Photographer, Keyport, Port Orchard, Silverdale
Wednesday I took my kiddos to help socialize some puppies (optimally puppies should be introduced to 100 people before they are 12 weeks old – this can be hard to do when they also shouldn’t be out in public before they are vaccinated) in foster care that are almost ready to be adopted. It is great to know that these 7 (7!) little fur bundles were not at all fazed by my 2 foots. Yup, I’m all about sacrificing for the good of the animals…Did I mention we got to play with PUPPIES?!
I love, love to photograph animals of all ages, breeds, colors, temperaments, and also feel strongly about donating my time and abilities to rescue organizations – the opportunity to do both, and with 7 puppies…oh my! (Had I actually been planning to go this nutty cuckoo, yes, I would indeed have brushed my daughter’s hair!) So maybe I just HAPPENED to have my camera along….
The puppies are being fostered and are available through K.A.R.E. (Kitsap Animal Rescue and Education). They have been wormed, had their first shots, and have been bathed, handled, loved in a home with exposure to other animals, men, women, children, and even someone in uniform (great idea!). While we were there, they were extremely good about using the piddle pads! One has already been adopted.
Four Foot Photography, Mary Eklund, Kitsap County Pet Photographer, Rescue, K.A.R.E, Puppy Pictures, Silverdale, Dog Photos, 2014, Pet Photographer, Volunteer
Kitsap Humane Society has an amazing corps of volunteers who selflessly care for the animals in transition, spending time away from their own furbabies, families, jobs and lives on a WEEKLY (and sometimes daily) basis, without recognition or compensation. These folks walk the dogs rain, shine, heat or cold. The dogs get so excited to go outside, not all of them remember their manners, but they all appreciate the kindness that is shown them. Volunteers help clean the kennels and the kitty boxes, socialize the animals, make soft blankets, collect food and funds, it goes on and on. Here are some of the cuties I met on Tuesday:
Be sure to check out the other adorable adoptables {here} on Shelter Buddy. Thanks, volunteers, for all you do!
Kitsap County Pet Photographer, Mary Eklund, Kitsap Humane Society, Adoptable Animals, Port Orchard Photographer, Dog Photos, Cat Photos, Rescue, 2014, Silverdale, Gig Harbor, Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Kingston, Poulsbo, Four Foot Photography
My models work cheap – the two foots for pretzels and the four foots for Zukes! Once again, here they are helping me with this week’s lighting challenge, which was Off Camera Flash Daytime Portrait. I had a hard time choosing just one for posting in the group – luckily, no such constraints here, I can post my top 5 (or so…). Because I appreciate their cooperation and want them to have fun, they have a lot of input into what we do. Today, we started with a stick horse and it went all Lone Ranger from there.
I have never been a huge fan of flash, but am digging it off camera with the triggers!
Four Foot Photography, Kitsap County Photographer, Lifestyle Photographer, Port Orchard, Kids and Families, Mary Eklund, Photography Awesomesauce Winter Lighting Challenge, Week 13 Off Camera Flash Daytime Portrait
Four Foot Photography 