2010 International Summer Photo Tour - Weekend 1

The 2010 Summer Tour has BEGUN! (pictured above: Indie Mundell testing out the 2010 Tour Set) 23 Fundraisers - 11 Rescue Groups - 3 Months - 2 Countries - 1 Photographer and her two pups ... add them all together, shake well, and you have the Summer Photo Tour from DogBreedz.net. The Tour has begun with our first two stops this past weekend. Saturday was in Carpenteria, California for the 2nd Annual Second Chance Cocker Rescue Reunion Picnic. Sunday found us set up at The Pet House in Goleta, California for a day-long shoot, also for SCCR. (pictured above: Hope Carvalho at Toro Canyon Park shoot) Saturday was beautiful! Toro Canyon Park was a wonderful setting for this early afternoon BBQ picnic. Second Chance had very tempting raffle items available as well as beautiful hand-crafted doggie blankets for sale. The food was beyond yummy and the dogs beyond gorgeous (but we all know that I'm partial to those Cocker kids, anyway). Indie and Bennett were perfect photographer's dogs - being patient in their private suites and greeting all the humans who came by. Sometimes I think they are more well-known than I am! (pictured above: Jax Van Orsdel at The Pet House shoot) Sunday - another gorgeous day (is there any other type in the Santa Barbara area?!) ... and Indie, Bennett and I headed out to The Pet House located in Goleta. The staff was friendly and the products were fun to browse, but I was there to work so I cut my shopping short. A nice variety of doggies paraded through, along with some Cocker Friends. Second Chance Cats was set up in the next area of the store for an adoption event, so I had a chance to play with some great cats and kittens on set too. Indie provided extra incentive for pups to perk their ears for me, as she was VERY hopeful for a chance to play with lovebirds and parrotlets that were on display in the store - and let us hear her enthusiasm when she thought it might prove worthwhile. (pictured above: Foster Kitten) Weekend 1 of the Summer Photo Tour is over, leaving great photos, wonderful memories, and two tired pups. Our next stop is Sunday June 13 at Dee O Gee's Grooming in San Pedro, CA. There are still sittings available - contact the photographer at dogbreedz @ yahoo.com and schedule YOUR pet for a photo session, benefiting Take Me Home Boxer rescue. See you in San Pedro! NOTE: The Summer Photo Fundraising Tour is a 3-month coast-to-coast International Tour to raise money for animal rescue organizations across the country. My biggest expenses on the Tour are hotel and gasoline costs ... if you or you business would like to help sponsor the Tour, contact the photographer at dogbreedz @ yahoo.com - sponsor one hotel stay or donate a gas card to help with expenses! Stops and sponsorships are also being accepted now for the 2011 Tour - let me know if you are interested!

Agility Photography and a Special Cocker Collectible

In between processing photos from the Su-Et's Kennel Shoot, I popped up to Murrieta for a Temecula Valley Agilty Club Trial and met some great folks! I am thrilled to announce my accepted membership in this club - another place to regularly practice my canine sport photography - YAY! This handsome boy is Charlie the Border Collie. He was being run that day by Lynn Hummel. BC's have such intensity when they are enjoying their runs, and Charlie is no exception! Sometimes the best shots are the ones that are just not quite perfect. This one of MacKenzy shows the Sheltie flying thru the air, already taking a look at what is next on the course. I'm new to the sport, but I would bet that this means her owner/handler Nancy Edwards was doing a great job coordinating the course with MacKenzy! My photograph just didn't get the crispness and sharper edges that I am going for. But it sure does translate to a beautiful piece of artwork. Printed out you can see the crosshatching details and mesmerizing texture! I have a strong art background and I like to think it came out in this next shot. Gigi, a happy little Rat Terrier and her mom, Deborah Davidson Harpur, reached their Agility Championship and were presented their pole and ribbon this day. Agility Judge Jim Hibbard said it was his first time awarding a Championship - so it seemed like an extra special occasion to me! This shot shows Jim signing his first Champ pole. After you check out my Agility Photo Gallery (hint - click on the blog post title!), take an e-stroll over to look at the photos Marty, my new photog friend, took on Sunday as well. Photography by M is his web site. We ended up making a pretty good team, even being with two different photography studios. I'm looking forward to seeing him at more trials! I am a strong supporter of animal rescue and one of my two main Rescues that I support is San Diego Spaniel Rescue (the other is English Springer Rescue America, in case you were wondering!). SDSR has come into possession of the ever elusive Danbury Mint Cocker Spaniel Christmas Tree - out of production for a few years and extremely hard to find. People who were lucky enough to score one usually hold it close! SDSR is offering their's up in an online auction hosted by Life's Little Paws. Check it out!

Shoot News and San Diego Photographers

Take a look at these cuties! Jackson and Atticus are two Pomeranian puppies who joined me at the most recent photo shoot. We met at Su-Et's Kennel in Santee and raised some bucks for Scottish Terrier Rescue of Southern California. These pups have a great life ahead of them - only 4 and 6 months old and they already have such great manners (way to go Pom Parents)! The day brought something new my way. Sylvia is the grand matriarch of the kennel, she makes sure things run smooth and that everyone takes a moment to send some adoration her way. You can't tell from looking at this beauty, but she is going to be TWENTY YEARS OLD in August! Wow! As I was surfing the search engines, checking my web sites' placements, I came across an interesting surprise. There's another Mundell in San Diego - and he is a photographer too! Mike is a dog lover as well, but his photography is usually centered on the humans around us rather than the four-leggers. If you are looking for a wedding or event photographer, you might want to check out his website at MundellStudios.com. While I'm tossing about local photographer names, I have to include Julie Edwards, Alicia McGraw and Jen Petit. I first came across Julie's photos when I started my relationship with Dogs and the City Day Care in downtown San Diego. She also does doggie shoots there and has a great style. Her human shots are just incredible! Take a look for yourself at her website: JEdwardsPhotographer.com. Alicia is a fun photographer! She is incredibly patient, as she didn't blink when *my* Indie went on a 40 minute run in the middle of a park shoot. She had Bennett, Spencer and Tara to keep her company while I went to corner and collect the Diva. Alicia does some great "retro" work too. Check out her site at AlishaMcGrawPhotography.com. My all-time hands-down paws-up favorite pet photographer (other than myself, of course!) in San Diego is Jen Petit at Fuzzle.info. Jen is a wonderful supporter of local animal rescue and takes some awesome luring photos as well at LurePix. I have some great role models and someday hope to see my name on a photographer's list of "faves"!