Zappa - Super Service Pup

When I have photo shoots for Lake Norman Currents Magazine, I always get to meet fabulous people and hear all about their wonderful stories. In this particular case, this one really struck a chord. As you may know, I have a sweet spot for any type of service animal. So when I met Zappa, a diabetic service dog, my heart melted. Zappa assists his mom, Alden, who has been dealing with diabetes the majority of her life. This special boy can smell when her glucose levels are off and let her know that action needs to be taken. What a special boy. I'm so glad I got to spend some time with this adorable pair.

To read their special story in its entirety, please check out the article on page 22 of Lake Norman Currents Magazine. You can view the online version here: http://lncurrents.com/pages/epub.html

Lake Norman Currents did a fabulous job with the layout of the story and Alden's mom told me she cried when she saw it for the first time. Many thanks to Lake Norman Currents magazine for writing this story and raising awareness for service dogs everywhere!

Dog Fancy!

When I first started my photography business, one of my goals was to have an image published in a national magazine. At the time, my focus was architectural photography so my dreams revolved around being published in magazines such as Metropolitan Home, Dwell and Architectural Digest. As times have changed and my focus has solely become pet photography, my dream publications have also changed. Now I dream of being published in Dog Fancy, Bark Magazine, Modern Dog and others. A couple months ago, one of my dreams became a reality. I got an email informing me that one of my submissions to Dog Fancy was accepted into the magazine and that it would be featured in the September issue. I was so excited when I received my copies in the mail! One of Boss's pictures (see his blog post here) was the image they chose and I'm sure he is so proud to be featured on two pages in this national publication!

Boss' mom even sent over a couple pictures of what the new-found fame has done to his self-image. I sure hope he can bounce back from this... BOL!

Charlotte Today - A Quick Clip

Last week, Charlotte Today shared a quick story about an Angel Session I did with with a handsome black Lab named Jack. To read Jack's story and to see his sneak peek, check out his post HERE. Thank you so much to the crew of Charlotte Today for sharing what can be done for these types of priority photo shoots. Jack is dearly, dearly missed. <3

Charlotte Today with Fez & Lucy

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the awesome people at Charlotte Today about doing a segment on my photography. At first, I honestly thought it was a joke or someone trying to sell me something (I get spam phone calls all the time from "news" websites) but they were for real! I was super excited but totally nervous at the same time. I am NOT one to be in front of the camera - especially talking about myself! Fortunately I got to bring along a couple of my favorite doggy models to work it for the cameraman. You may remember Fez and Lucy from their session here. We had a great time and I'm so happy with the way the clip turned out. (Well, besides my nervous stuttering and fidgeting. Haha!) In fact, I was so nervous, I was just shooting away and not really paying attention to my camera settings. Fortunately, I got a couple cute shots from our afternoon together.

And here is the segment!

A huge thanks goes out to the Charlotte Today crew, Fez & Lucy, and Fez & Lucy's Mom and Dad (who was in a wreck right before he met with us)! You all made my year! :)

LKN Currents Pet Issue

October is one of my favorite months because the annual Pet Issue of Lake Norman Currents Magazine goes on stands! This year I had the pleasure of photographing Ozzy, a Boxer/Pit mix, for the cover. I felt a special connection with Ozzy as he and Sadie (my black Lab/Pit mix) have very similar pasts. They both were living at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter and both were found at an adoption event at the local Petco just a short time before they were to be euthanized. Ozzy's mom adopted him just 2 weeks prior to him winning the Currents Commodore Cover Dog Contest which landed his headshot on the cover!

And some more of the adorable Ozzy. Who said shelter dogs couldn't be supermodels?

If you pick up an issue, don't miss the "Pets and the Owners who Love Them" story on page 28. If you follow this blog, you'll find some familiar faces gracing the pages of the magazine. I'm so proud of my clients! They all look awesome!

Currents - Kitchen Remodel

I love to photograph kitchens...especially when the kitchen is going to be featured in a magazine! In November's issue of Lake Norman Currents Magazine, I photographed a recent kitchen remodel for the Home Port section of the publication. This renovation was "classy and practical" not "ostentatious" which really reflected the homeowners' style. Kitchen remodels are great in that they express how a family lives, works, plays and functions. To read the whole story, check out the November issue HERE.

A Lazy Day at the Ranch

Ok, so maybe its not so lazy. Lazy 5 Ranch is a way cool 200 acre animal park in Mooresville that boasts exotic creatures from six different continents. Running through the heart of the property is a 3.5 mile road that visitors can adventure down in either the comfort of their own car or on a rustic horse-drawn carriage. This unique ranch allows the guests to feed the giraffes, buffalo, ostriches, donkeys, deer, pigs, water buffalo and more in a fun petting zoo type of atmosphere.

I was asked by Lake Norman Currents Magazine to do a behind-the-scenes photo shoot showing how the staff get ready for a big day at the ranch. The workers were great and were very cooperative...they really went above and beyond to show me how things operate.

I highly recommend a trip to Lazy 5 Ranch for either a fun day trip with the kids or for a unique and adventurous date. My only suggestion - if you choose to drive your own car through the ranch, be ready for some inquisitive faces to peek through your windows and don't even bother washing your car beforehand. ;)

The staff at Lazy 5 Ranch were kind enough to let me photograph their daily morning routine. They begin the day bright and early by wrangling the horses and getting them harnessed up and ready for the wagon rides.Each wagon carries buckets of feed so visitors can lure the animals and get some quality face to face time.I was invited along on a wagon ride with a handful of excited children and their parents. Dave was our knowledgeable tour guide and was quick to answer any questions we had. He was awesome and made sure we had a great time!Here are a few of the animals you can meet at Lazy 5 Ranch...

Most visitors only get to see the lemurs from afar but I was lucky enough to cross the moat and be on hand when they were released from their overnight shelter and fed a breakfast of just-picked figs. Isn't he cute? The water buffalo...um...not so much.

My First Cover!

It's finally here!!! The October issue of Lake Norman Currents Magazine is now on stands! I have been waiting all year for this issue for several reasons. Number 1 - because it is the coveted pet issue. Number 2 - because I have a picture on the COVER! I was very fortunate to meet the publisher of Currents back in March during a Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce event. I told her I specialized in architectural photography and I was just getting into doing pet photography as well. I saw her ears perk up when I mentioned pet portraits and she instantly told me about one of their most popular issues - the October pet issue. From that day on, I knew I wanted to be in that issue. Even if I just had an ad, I would be happy.

After shooting several stories for the magazine, the editor approached me about photographing an event that would raise money for the Cornelius Animal Shelter Alliance. The event would be in the form of a contest with the winner gracing the cover of the October pet issue. Sold! Of course I would help out. I would get to photograph cute dogs not just for the magazine, but for a good cause as well.

But wait...that wasn't all. The email continued by saying that they wanted ME to shoot the contest winner's picture for the COVER! Really!?! Me? I about had a heart attack. This is the issue I just wanted to have an ad in and now I'm going to shoot the cover? Hmmm...let me think out this. I politely and calmly wrote back saying that I would take the assignment.

Webster was the lucky winner of the contest and will now have a taste of fame at a very young age. This handsome puppy was so well-mannered and was the perfect model for his first photo shoot. I mean, who couldn't take a good picture of Webster with those adorable ears of his? Many congrats to Webster and his mommy. I will remember you forever! XOXO! Here are a couple other pics of the little man without his winning trophy...

For more pictures from the Currents Commodore Cover Dog Contest, pick up your magazine today or click HERE for my blog post from the event.