Sampson - Available from HSC

I honestly can't believe that Sampson has been passed by for over a year at the Humane Society of Charlotte. This smart and friendly boy needs some extra attention and hopefully these images will get in front of a family that will think he is just perfect!!! Before our quick shoot together, Sampson was in the play-yard running around with his favorite toy, a tennis ball. He really didn't want to leave it behind but he was very excited to take a walk! :)

He was an amazing model for our session! He was very attentive and obeyed my commands - very impressive considering the busy environment we were in. He is a very, very sweet and loving dog and will make someone extremely happy.

And a few words from Sampson...

I am a very handsome, athletic young boy that is waiting for my forever home. I love to play fetch and swim in the baby pool. Do you need a swimming buddy or athletic partner? If so, I'm the boy for you! I ride great in the car, am very affectionate and love cuddling on the couch and in the bed and get along with some dogs, not all of them so introduce me slowly to any potential canine friends. I think cats are fluffy chew toys, so I'd be best in a cat-free home. I'm currently in training classes at HSC and I know my name and know how to sit and am house trained too! I think I'm pretty special, I hope you do too. Please visit me today when you're visiting HSC.

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I hope you share Sampson's information! I want to see him find a fabulous home!!!

Look at that happy face!Um, yeah. How do you say no to that head tilt?!?A tennis ball?!? You'll be Sampson's best friend!!!

2013 Trails For Tails

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.

2013 Bark For Life - Lake Norman

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!!!

Bark For Life Charlotte Caught on Video

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.

2013 Bark For Life - Charlotte

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!

Emma the Cover Girl

I'm kinda obsessed with Miss Emma here and I hope you are too! If you aren't, you better get used to seeing a lot more of this scrunchy, kissable face very soon! Emma has the honors of being the Cover Dog for the 2013 Humane Society of Charlotte's Ties & Tails Gala! If you want your dog to have the title next year, be sure to attend the gala on October 19th and bid on this great package! A big THANKS goes out to the Humane Society of Charlotte for having me photograph Emma! She was a pure joy to work with and I know she makes her mom proud!This might not be a "cover" shot but Emma sure loved the miniature tennis balls I brought along. She kept doing this super-cute crawl with her bum in the air. How could I not shoot that?!?

Darla - Available For Adoption

Puppy alert!!! I've been dying to photograph a puppy for the longest time! Unfortunately, so many people skip getting professional pictures taken of their new furry family members at this stage in life. It's too bad because, as we all know, puppies are adorable and they grow up so fast! So if you are reading this and are considering adopting a puppy (or currently have one), please consider getting puppy pics done! I promise you will LOVE looking back at them!

The weather this past weekend was beyond amazing and I wanted to take advantage of it. This past weekend was also my last free weekend before the rush of Spring sessions so I wanted to do some personal shooting while I had a chance. I decided to contact a local rescue, Catering to Cats & Dogs, to see if they had an adoptable puppy that I could possibly steal for an impromptu photo shoot. Thankfully, they allowed me to photograph Darla.

Darla is a sweet 11-week-old Pit Bull that was taken in by the rescue after being found for sale in the back of a truck in a Wal-Mart parking lot. She is a typically girl that loves flowers (you will see that later) and anything that she can pick up in her mouth. It was hard for me not to take her home after our session. Fortunately, my husband was by my side and kept me focused. :P

Darla is ready to be taken home with you...

She kinda had a thing for this plant...And the ball...And this rock...

:) If you are interested in Darla, please contact Catering to Cats & Dogs.

We need a home!

Time for a new set of pups to consider for inclusion into your pack! Are one of these dogs perfect for you? For more information, check out the Humane Society of Charlotte's website!