Jenna and Gunnar

Whew!!!! I'm about out of breath just looking at the images of these two playful pups! Seriously! Jenna and Gunnar's mom warned me that this pair was full of energy and that they LOVED to play and chase each other. Right away I could see that she was spot on. These 2, 6-month-old Tibetan Terriers made me work for every shot I got. They were a crack up with tons of energy to spare!!!

Now don't let this first image fool you! No! This was after about an hour-and-a-half of playtime. I'll first introduce you to the calm side of Jenna (the white and sable lady) and Gunnar (the black and white boy)... :)

And it's on!!!Is Gunnar still back there chasing me? He better be!!!Melt my heart!!! Oh My Dog! These puppies are sooooo cute!!!!After quite a bit of playtime, the pups "settled down" long enough to do some posing. Tibetan Terriers are known to be a little stubborn so I had to be quick before I lost their attention!  Finally break time!!Gunnar certainly seemed to be the most adventurous and bold of the pair. He was the first to make a getaway out of the yard and down toward the lakefront.Of course Jenna had to follow!The grass was way more interesting than me! Hahaha! Fuzzy cuteness overload!!!I hope you enjoyed this pair's sneak peek! I'm off to go steal them now... ;)

Lou and Kirra - Angel Session

Wow! It has been a couple weeks since my last blog post and I apologize. For those that don't know, I sold my house and have temporarily moved into an apartment. It has been a super-busy few weeks filled with inspections, contracts, negotiations, closings, moving, boxes, tons of clutter, and the worst part, no internet/computer. Now that I'm mostly unpacked and back up and running, it's time to play catch-up and get some new furry faces out there to warm your hearts. And I can't think of a better way to do that than to introduce you to Lou and Kirra. Lou and Kirra's mom contacted me just after finding out that Taloulah, or Lou for short, was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma. It was a heartbreaking diagnosis as the tumor is causing Miss Lou to lose the ability to open and close her mouth. Unfortunately, it's not operable and, since the photo shoot, they have made the very hard decision to begin radiation.

I was honored to meet Lou and her sister, Kirra, the day after their mom contacted me. After days and days and days of rain, we lucked out and had dry skies and even a peek of sunshine. I believe the doggy angels in the sky were on our side.

We decided to photograph these pretty ladies around their house. They love to lounge around so we decided to keep them comfortable and let them do their thing. What a special evening filled with stories, laughter, tears, and much, much love...

This is sweet Lou. She was a wonderful lady for our session and she really worked the head tilts and smiles for me. She got to chill out on the front porch - one of her favorite places to hang out. Despite being under the weather, she kept her ears perky and heart open. Love!!!Lou loves the extra attention... Her little, furry paws make me smile. :)After spending some time with Lou, I got to hang out with Kirra. Beautiful Kirra was a crack up! Because of all of the rain, the grass was a little long in the backyard. She refused to walk on it! She did NOT want her precious paws to get wet. Once or twice, with a stern voice and tons of treats, we coaxed her into the yard. Silly girl!!And that was that! Back to the safety of the deck!Curious George-ette. Lol!Such a beauty!I quickly discovered the many faces of Kirra. Like I said, she was a crack up! I'm almost positive she was trying to smile in the next few images...These ladies stole my heart!Unconditional love. That. Is. All. The pups began to get tired so we moved inside for dinnertime. This is always a nervous time for Lou's parents. They must closely watch Lou to make sure she is remaining pain-free when opening her mouth to eat. Her appetite is still strong and that is always a good sign!And of course Kirra can't miss a trick!Something as simple as watching your dog eat can easily be taken for granted. For Lou's parents, they enjoy every minute of it.After the photo shoot and with full bellies, the ladies were ready to settle down for their evening nap. Lou, I hope with all of my heart that the radiation is going well. Much love to you and your family. xx!

Massimo

Massimo is the first dog ever adopted by my client. She wasn't really sure what to expect but she knew she wanted him to be well trained. Fortunately for her, Massimo caught on quick and is one of the most well-trained dogs I've worked with! Massimo is a playful and friendly pooch with an affinity for cat food and toys that make real animal noises. He's not a big fan of children but will make a day out of chasing squirrels, rabbit, and even deer. Actually, as you'll see, he must like to chase ducks too. ;)

This handsome Golden/Boxer mix started the photo shoot off in style by showing off his undeniable smile...

We had Massimo's session at a beautiful little park in Ballentyne Corporate Park. The setting was spectacular and the sunlight - oh the sunlight!!!Total adorableness!Massimo's mom loves his profile so I'm glad he showed it off a bit while overlooking the pond...Toward the end of the shoot, Massimo was allowed to get in the water. Oh yeah! That looks refreshing!Working on the retriever in him... Oh yeah...and what did I say about the chasing duck thing? ;)

And what's some swimming without a goofy shake shot?Careful!!!! Wet dog approaching quickly!!!Now that's the life...Props to Massimo's mom for the great training she provided for him. He was so easy to work with and, wow, what a sweetie! I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek! :)

Bonnie

Last year, I had the privilege of photographing an adorable pair of pups, Dave and Lucy. After I worked with their mom, she knew Dave and Lucy's 2-legged grandmother needed a session for her own pup, Bonnie. Bonnie, or Princess Pooper Pants, is BFF's with Dave and Lucy and has been instrumental in Lucy's successful new life as a "real" dog. (BTW, if you haven't read Lucy's story, go check it out. She is doing amazing!!!) Bonnie's mom ended up getting a session for Mother's Day. How thoughtful!!! After having to reschedule Bonnie's session due to rain, we finally ended up with a simply amazing evening with sparkly sunlight and gorgeous locations. Bonnie had no fear of the camera and was a good sport as long as she got her boiled chicken. :) That's not too demanding of a request for such a supermodel!

We started off in the quaint downtown area of Davidson where Bonnie quickly figured out what we were doing and immediately started showing off her good looks...

It's not too often that the term "cankles" is used as a compliment. However, when I saw just how nicely Bonnie had been groomed and how perfectly her legs fluffed into her feet, I had to say that she had the cutest cankles ever! Don't you agree?Bonnie is well known for her howl. She was shy about doing it in public but with the right amount of chicken, she caved in and let one roll...I think we had Bonnie sit on every table and chair in Davidson. If you ate in Davidson that night, I apologize for the white hairs left behind. ;)Bonnie proves that she's urban chic...And what's a McGraw Photography photo shoot without some flowers, sunlight, and pretty grasses? We quickly grabbed some images by these lilies before heading out to Fisher Farm.Bonnie was super excited to go out into the "wilderness". Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can tell by the big smile on her face. :)Bonnie's senses were on overload! So many things to smell, bugs to catch, stumps to climb on, etc! Through all that, she was an angel and she posed away for me! I hope you enjoyed Bonnie's sneak peek. May everyone's cankles be as cute as hers!

Griffin and Prim

Two awesome pups in an Uptown Charlotte park? Who could ask for more? After a session delay because of rain, I finally got to meet Griffin, an white-ish Lab mix, and Prim, a Boxer mix. This pair are best buddies and Prim makes it her full-time job to take anything away from Griffin that she can.

We spent the session exploring small bits of Frazier Park including some flower beds (don't tell!!!), some stinky water, the creek, and a super cute bridge. Griffin and Prim were great to work with and they had their sit and stay down nicely. Griffin would bark at me from time to time but he was just telling me to hurry up and give him a treat. Can't say I blame him! ;)

This is Miss Prim...

And handsome Griffin...This shot of Griffin makes me smile. He looks so happy to be laying the grass with a nice new toy! At the time of our session, he was still recovering from having a tumor removed from his spleen. Fortunately, he is now cancer-free but his parents will have to check regularly to see if the tumor returns. By the looks of this photo, I'd say he's feeling pretty good! And Prim's always happy and proudly wears a big smile on her face!I loved this bridge that lead into the park. Griffin and Prim were happy to show off just how cute they could model on it. I'm not sure who has my vote for favorite! ;)Such a cute family! Oh, as a side note, I die for mom's dress!I'm only including this shot because I wanted to show the stinkiness that Griffin and Prim dove into. OMG! That water could make you gag! Lol!But I love the wet look it gave them for the next couple shots! It's the "dirty beach hair" that's all the rave! ;)We moved on to the second location where Prim could run free a bit. Despite being toward the end of the session, she wasn't about to slow down!Griffin loves his mommy...Since we were so close to Uptown, we had to get a nice skyline shot!

I hope you enjoyed Griffin and Prim's sneak peek! Best wishes to Griffin on his recovery!!!

Ellie, Mattie, and Lowrider

When you photograph smaller dogs, you sometimes don't know what you're gonna get. They can often be a little timid at first because they think the camera is a big black eye checking them out. Then, the click of the shutter can really spook them. Usually extra care and time must be used to condition them to think the camera is only a treat dispenser - not a nasty monster coming to destroy them. When it came time to photograph this trio of ladies, Ellie, Mattie, and Lowrider, I figured I'd spend quite a bit of time letting them warm up to me. I was warned that Lowrider could be a little shy around strangers and that Ellie was timid. Hahaha! When we finally met in person, there wasn't a lick of shyness between the three of them! They were super excited to explore and turn it on for the camera!

I introduce, from left to right, Ellie, Lowrider, and Mattie...

We started by photographing Mattie. This pretty Beagle/Italian Greyhound mix sure put her Beagle instincts to work out at Fisher Farm. Her nose was on full alert as she checked out all the stinky goodness around us!I don't think her smile gets much better than this!Oh and she's a runner (actually they all are as you'll soon see). Shake a bag of treats and she's go, go, go!Next we got to hang with the awesomely named, Lowrider. She was as poised and graceful as she could be. She happily showed her stuff for her time in front of the camera!She's another treat hound! Again, shake the treat bag and she's all yours! She's pretty low to ground to start with but she's got some air in this shot...And she loves to be held like a baby! Eeeek! :)Lastly, we photographed Ellie. She was a recent foster failure who has certainly come into her own in her new home. Gone are the days of being timid! Nope! She is 100% in your face with love!More air time!!!Like I said, there's nothing timid about this! ;)I know this shot is out of focus but it's soooo Ellie!!!This is our attempt at getting all three to run together. With air like Mattie has, there's no wonder why she's in the lead!And our attempt at a silhouette. Just missing a head but I think it works. :) Plus mom and dad worked very hard in the horrible humidity and they deserve a shot together! Love!

Dexi and Oreo

Dexi and Oreo are the cutest pair of Goldendoodles you might ever meet. Dexi is the light-colored lady and completes the "cream" for her sister, Oreo. These buddies love to play together and generally just enjoy each other's company. I adore the sisterly love they share! Dexi tends to be a little more laid back and calm, while Oreo is a non-stop action machine! We started their session at their home so we could hang out around the yard and front porch. We even got some play time in! I love this first shot because they are completely opposite each other - their color, the paw, and their personalities. Love!!!

This family shot cracks me up! Oreo is so goofy and totally wants to be the center of attention. :)After we hung out at the house for a bit, it was time to move on to one of the pups new favorite locations - the creek! The first day we went, we lost our light immediately and had to reschedule. After days of rain, the creek was a little more swollen but it made for some fun (and wet) pictures. We had a blast!!!Dexi was a little afraid of the water and took her time getting acclimated. She watched her sister from the shoreline before deciding to make her move...Oreo didn't think twice about diving in...especially if you had a toy to throw her!I love these two happy faces!!!Sisters fighting over the ball...And of course Oreo won! :)This is Oreo's rock pose......and Dexi's rock pose. She even threw me the over-the-shoulder glance! I hope to do more sessions at the creek like this! It was so much fun and the dogs were DONE afterward! :) I personally was a little...er, a lot...wet. Totally worth it!!!

Banner and Dexter

I am so, so, so excited to share this sneak peek with everyone! I am so in love with these pups and these images sum them up to a tee! Plus, I got to play around with my rented 16-35mm lens (LOVE!) for a bit! Banner (the handsome black boy) and Dexter (the Boston Terrier) are the most adorable pair! Dexter is the typical goofy and happy Boston while Banner, who is a little nervous outside the home and with strangers, is a real cuddle bug. We had a gorgeous evening to shoot with and we enjoyed it in their big backyard.

I really can't write too much more because I want to share their sneak peek!!!!

Curious Boston head tilt? Yes, please!!!Handsome floppy-eared pup with tennis ball? Yes, please!!!!!Banner and Dexter's parents just finished designing a cute little area in the backyard complete with doggy beds, a hammock, Adirondack chairs, and a picnic table. It's the perfect hangout for the pups and they loved showing it off!Dexter's all-time favorite toy is his stuffed frog. It's been by his side since he was brought home and he doesn't go too far without it.Banner's all like, "What's this crazy dog doing?"Banner's mom was a little worried that he wouldn't cooperate for the session. He was a little timid at first but he adjusted quickly after downing some treats and watching his brother work it for the camera.Of course Banner and Dexter had to pose with the 'rents...This might be one of my favorites from the session. Banner is such a gentle soul and it was so exciting to watch him warm up to me and the camera during the session. By the end, he was letting me get super close up! I like to imagine that he's talking to me here. I know what I would say back...I wuv you (in baby talk, of course)!!!!

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek of these fun fellows! I'll have a smile on my face the whole time I edit the rest! :)