Nothing brings a smile to your face like your dog bouncing along and exploring the beach. Now is your opportunity to capture that with amazing images that you'll treasure forever!
I'm so excited to announce that Pet Portrait Beach Sessions are now booking! 2015 brings a new location - Folly Beach, SC. It's super dog-friendly, beautiful and just a short drive from Charlotte. A limited number of sessions are available from... (click on the image above to continue reading)
Wow! Wow! Wow!
That about sums up the 2015 Pet Palooza event held by the Humane Society of Charlotte. After days and days of rain, Mother Nature blessed us with a mix of sun and clouds (but no rain!!!) which allowed the event to be a huge success... (click the image above to keep reading)
Saturday's gorgeous weather sure did help bring the masses out to Pet Palooza at Independence Park! The largest fundraiser for the Humane Society of Charlotte, Pet Palooza is chock full of fun activities for both dogs and their people...a 2K dog walk, bands, contests, food trucks, a beer garden, vendor fair, microchipping, palm and paw readings, face painting, agility trials, a fido fashion show...the list goes on and on! I'm so glad I got to be a part of this awesome event! As usual, the HSC staff and volunteers worked their bums off to put on a flawless event that raised over $90,000!!! These funds help HSC provide critical services like low-cost spay/neuter, vaccine and microchip clinics, adoptions, and owner/pet training and education. **UPDATE** HSC has now raised over $116,000 and the final numbers are still to come!!!
Here is a recap of the event as well as some of my favorite images from the day's activities. If you'd like to see more, please check out the link HERE.
The foundation of Pet Palooza is the 2K dog walk. It starts the event off with a bang while taking the participants on a nice stroll around the perimeter of Independence Park. I got to be right in the middle of the action... ;)
After the walk, the festivities began! However, there's always time for a quiet moment to catch your breath and take in the view.
Pups got to make their own paw portrait artwork or work off the burn from the walk with a massage...
People weren't left out either! Face painting, massages, and palm readings were just a few of the things keeping the party going!
The Fido Fashion Show quickly got the attention of the crowd as adoptable dogs and HSC alumni strutted their stuff in some divine attire.
And what is a festival without great music? Alex Kastanas and gogo Pilot kept the crowd entertained.
On the other side of the park, your pup had the opportunity to try out the agility course. Jumps, tunnels, and platforms were just a few of the obstacles the Zoom Room trainers would lead your pup through.
A huge food truck paw-villion kept hunger at bay while a beer/wine garden did the same for thirst. (Don't you just love the dog staring at the beer being poured?!?)
My favorite part of the day was just watching people hanging out with their beloved 4-leggers. :)
Not to be forgotten, there were a few epic contests including some great entries for best trick...
Needless to say, Pet Palooza knocked my socks off and I want to thank HSC for inviting me out. I also want to thank all off the great sponsors, vendors, people and dogs that made the event possible.
Again, if you'd like to see more pictures from the event, you may do so HERE.
Thank you and I hope to see everyone again next year!
With Christmas just around the corner (just over a week!!!), I know there are tons of people out there still looking for that perfect gift. Well I have the solution for the dog-lover in your life (hey, or for yourself - I don't judge)! Introducing a very limited-time offer. These special gift vouchers will only be for sale until Thursday, December 19th and there are a limited number available. So what are they?
As some of you may know, I'm in the process of settling into a new office space that will have the capabilities for me to start doing studio work again. I'm super-pumped and I'd love to get everyone else excited too! Hence, this very rare opportunity for mini-sessions.
So here are the details...
includes:
20-30 minute session with 1 dog (or cat if they like to travel!)
2 - 8x10 mounted prints
3-day online viewing gallery
In-person ordering consultation
Limited products available for purchase after session
Because this is a limited-time offering, the voucher must be used by March 30, 2014. However, the purchase price never expires and can be used toward other services/products if wanted. An appointment is required for the session and the studio is located at 621 McNinch Street, Charlotte, NC 28208.
If you are interested, please contact me at sarah@mcgrawphotography.com and I'll get you all set up. Gift Vouchers will be mailed at the end of the week just in time for Christmas delivery.
Don't delay!!!! These won't be for sale after Thursday, the 19th!!!
The fine print... Studio Mini-Sessions are part of a limited promotion. Therefore the voucher will expire on March 30, 2014. The amount paid never expires and will be honored by McGraw Photography after the promotional period ends. The amount paid may be applied toward any services or products offered by McGraw Photography.
Saturday was a gorgeous day to celebrate the 2nd annual Trails for Tails 5K trail run and dog walk! The event was held at Rural Hill in Huntersville and took place to benefit the Road to Home Canine Refuge and Great Dane Friends of Ruff Love. Tons of pups and their people attended and I'd say the event was a huge success!!!
Scooby attended the event to keep all the pups happy and to lead the walk.
The day started off with a 5K trail run...
Then it was time for the 1-mile dog walk! Scooby stretched beforehand...
And they're off!!!
Afterward, attendees enjoyed some time to visit the vendors, view adoptable pups, and participate in a costume contest.
An agility course was also set up to entertain the dogs (and people). ;)
A super-awesome flyball course was set up for people to try out and for demonstrations.
Thank you so much to everyone that attended this year's event! To see more pictures from the day, check out the entire gallery here: http://mcgrawphotography.zenfolio.com/2013trailsfortails.
Saturday started out as a typical Spring morning - crisp and cool. Fortunately, this chilly temperatures didn't scare away the many people and dogs that were slated to walk in this year's Bark For Life Lake Norman event. As the sun rose and temperatures climbed, participants began to sign in, get their goody bags, and place the American Cancer Society's signature purple bandanas around their pups' necks. It was only a matter of moments before this year's walk through Birkdale Village was to begin! Hooray! As people started filtering in, I happily captured some of the excited doggy faces that were ready to get their exercise in for the day...
Here are some of the fabulous people that were part of my team! They rock! We have raised $725 for the American Cancer Society and there will be even more money added after my donation from print sales! Not too bad for a first year team! :)
This year, the walk's ambassador was a Westie named Luka. I had the honor of photographing him in the past and I was so excited when the Bark For Life organizers wanted to have him lead the walk. Despite his condition, Luka took his job very seriously and proudly walked before the crowd. What an angel!
There was a great turnout of people and dogs that walked through the streets of Birkdale Village.
About 3/4 into the walk, Luka was still in the lead. What a trooper!!!
After the walk, the crowd enjoyed some fun contests and giveaways. The participants had a good laugh during the doggy fashion show...
With the help of 25 teams and 185 participants, $21,345.00 was raised for the American Cancer Society's fight against canine and human cancers. A huge thanks goes out to everyone involved, including the dogs, walkers, staff and volunteers. You guys rule!
To see more pictures from the event, check out this site: http://mcgrawphotography.zenfolio.com. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of any prints will go directly to the fundraising efforts of the Bark For Life – Lake Norman event. Thank YOU!!!
While taking pictures of the 2013 Bark For Life Charlotte event, I decided to turn my camera over to video and try my hand at a little event videography. Well, props to those people because that isn't easy! I had a shoot list all written out ahead of time and I pretty much had to abandon that right away. Despite the video not coming together as I imagined, I'm still really happy with it and I got to capture some of the cuteness that went on that day. I hope you enjoy!
If you want to see pictures from the event, don't miss the post about the event HERE.
All the technical goodness: Shot with a Canon 5D Mark 3 and 35mm f/1.4 lens (maybe a couple shots with the 50mm f/1.4). Edited with iMovie. Music rights purchased from Triple Scoop Music.
One of the best things about Springtime is the fact that the warmer weather marks the beginning of all the fun dog-oriented fundraising events. As I always say, the American Cancer Society's Bark For Life events are some of my favorites. I love that the pups all get to come out and walk to raise money for the fight against canine and human cancers. This year, the Charlotte event was held at Morrison, where the pups and their people got to browse vendor booths, play corn hole, participate in a kissing booth, and win great prizes in a raffle.
The dogs came super-prepared with costumes and HUGE smiles...
My favorite part of the event is always the actual walk. The dogs (and people) never know what to think when they see me laying on the ground snapping pictures...
For those of you that follow me on Facebook or my blog know that I'm a huge Little Dog Linus fan. While he did make an appearance at the walk, this little guy was his body double...
While I love this Doggles on this pretty girl, my favorite part of the picture is her friend in the background. I had said the word, "treat", and it sparked some interest... :)
More of the awesome pups that came out to help aid in the fight against cancer...
The rescued Boxer on the right was the Canine Ambassador for the event. At only 5 years old, he is battling the fight of his life. With a happy face and huge smile, he did a wonderful job representing the dogs fighting for the cause.
For more pictures of the event, check out this site: http://mcgrawphotography.zenfolio.com. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of any prints will go directly to the fundraising efforts of the Bark For Life - Charlotte event. Thank you to everyone that made it out to this year's walk. I hope to see you again at the Bark For Life - Lake Norman walk on April 20th or at next year's event. xx!
