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Call the Humane Society to schedule up! 693-4746

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Balto is a 7 year old Treeing Walker Coonhound who came to the shelter when his owners could no longer care for him. Balto is a super sweet boy who seems to love everyone, especially children! He has lived with other dogs and even cats and he just seems to charm them all. Balto will need a family who will include him in activities and exercise and where he will have company and human companionship throughout the day. Because he’s a hound, he will need a 6 foot wood fenced yard to keep him safe. Do you think you have the home for Balto? Ask the staff how to adopt him today!

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Tommy (aka “Tommy Tom-Tom”)  Meet Tommy, a 6 year old Chihuahua mix who came to the shelter as a stray and has been looking for a forever home for such a long time! Tommy is all about fun, fun, fun! This active little guy on-on-the-go is also willing to cuddle up and be a snuggly lap-dog. Tommy needs a home with kids over 14 since he can get excited during play and sometimes forgets his manners. But he is such a happy fun-loving guy!  He has many years of love to give and promises lots of laughs along the way. Tommy will thrive in a dog savvy home where he is given both affection and guidance. If you think you might have room in your home for this playful little charmer, please come by to meet him and bring any kids over 14 he might be living with. Tommy is not currently on our adoption floor but if you think your home is the one for Tommy, please contact * fsmith@southwesthumane.org to schedule an appointment to meet him!  JUST GOT NEWS TOMMY WAS ADOPTED! Yay!!!!

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Maze (pug with blue bandana) Meet Maze, a 3 year old Pug/Beagle mix who came to us from another shelter in search of his forever home. He’s a smart boy who appears to be housetrained and knows a few of his basic commands. Maze is very active and would love a family that will spend lots of time playing with him and a home with a fenced yard to keep him safe.  Maze can get overwhelmed by young children, so a household with kids 14 or older would be best.  Maze can sometimes get lonely being at home by himself so a home where someone would be at home most of time would be best for him. If you have any older children or other dogs that Maze might be living with, please bring them down for a visit! Oh and just one more thing. No kitties, he just does not understand that they are not for chasing. Do you think that you have the perfect home for Maze? He’s not on our adoption floor, so please email fsmith@southwesthumane.org to schedule an appointment to meet him!

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Meet Hazel, an 8 year old Plott Hound mix who came to us in search of her forever home. She’s a very quiet girl who needs a quiet and relaxed home where she can cuddle up and sleep next to her new forever family in the evenings. Her forever home needs a fenced yard to keep her safe because she’s a hound who loves to follow her nose. She will do best in a home with children over the age of 10 and it would be great if they could come in and meet Hazel before heading on home. Do you have room in your heart for this sweet lady? Ask the staff how you can adopt Hazel and give her the forever home she deserves today!

Love these little guys…I especially like the hair accessories that usually come along with them.

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In the “31 Portraits (in 31 Days)” project, I’m loving the variety of people who are standing in front of my lens.

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Jan. 14~ Reed Rotondo: website/animation expert, gentle giant, devoted husband, lover of the “home zoo”, Pink Floyd fan,  adored by Leni, the rescued princess.

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Leni is one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever worked with. Reed and his wife, Stephanie, have a real knack for working with rescue animals. So glad they’re are people like them in the world!

Just found out we were ranked in the top three for pet photography in Portland, OR by Spot magazine.

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Not too bad for a girl who lives and has a studio in Washington!

Thanks to all who voted.

Cleo~

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Daisy Mae~

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Info about Well Balanced Dogs is here…and awesome charity–Lisa finds homes for these adorable furry friends.

Each day in January I will be creating a special portrait. At this point, I don’t have particular subjects planned for specific days…but I do have a general idea of who I would like to capture and am completely open to whoever walks in to my path on any given day. The scheduling will be loose, but the image-making will be done with the thought:

“What if this is my last portrait I ever take?”

Being that January 1st is usually a big “family time” day around here, I managed to convince my oldest that it was indeed time for me to get some camera time with her. She’s usually very reluctant, but this time it was a bit easier.

There is something very special about watching your children grow up through the camera lens. I’ve been doing this since they were one day old, but as they get closer to the teen years, I’m finding the images impact me even more than during the babyhood days. I studied her features (going about this nonchalantly to remain undetected) and tried to take in all of her sweetness during the six minutes I was allowed to get the portrait done. The emotion of it was stronger than I thought it would be and for a second I got lost in the process…and then she was gone…retreating to her room to read.

I was so grateful for that six minutes yesterday.

Technical info for this portrait:  I kept the set-up simple—-no strobe lights, reflectors or constant light metering to distract me from just being with her while making the image. Just soft beautiful window light in the late afternoon and her on an angle to capture the window reflection (”catchlights”) in her eyes. Giving your subject something to grab on to (like a pillow) helps them get more comfortable and gives them a job with their hands. I like placing women on their bellies a little to help with chin placement.

She is her father.

He took his big ‘ole DNA stamp and walloped it on her forehead when she was born. I love looking at her and seeing him…she’s easy-going and funny like him too…and goofy, as you can see below in the “outtakes” when PH jumped in to “help” me get the shot.

I found this portrait as I was working on her new image.

‘Made me draw my breath in! There has been so much change since I took this in the studio. I know it was a long time ago, because I remember how excited she was to pose for me. She’s over that now…but I still got my six minutes.

Horses are fiercely loyal and committed.

They give us tremendous gifts, if we only allow

 ourselves to be open to them.

~Kate Solisiti-Mattelon, Conversations with Horses

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I have never been at my daughter’s barn without seeing this lovely young horse girl, Annie. She is the quintessential horse-woman-in-the-making and I love watching her command these big guys. She is small in stature, but strong and fearless.

She is having a love affair (with more than one) and is clearly happiest with her boots on.

I admire how close she can get to their faces…lots of nuzzles and even kissess…I’d (still) be a bit fearful of their unpredictability, but it’s obviously not even on Annie’s radar.

Annie told me she likes to ride her horse on the trail in the dark. “He knows where he’s going,” she said…and I believe her. Last summer she accompanied my daughter on Rachel’s first swimming with horses experience. I was a bit nervous for them, but the happy, muddy faces and drenched bodies told me otherwise. It was an adventure and Annie was leading the charge.

Next time I will be on the shore with my camera ready…I wouldn’t miss it.

I can’t express what it feels like to be around this kind of passion in such young kids. These girls are 100% clear on what they love and how they want to spend their time. It’s such a different kind of experience than, say, the mall where teens seem to be wandering aimlessly looking for validation and security in unsecure places.

There’s such a huge sense of purpose from the time these girls slide their boots on, until they turn off the stall hanging light..sometimes in pitch black darkness and sideways rain.

It’s never not a barn day for this lovely horse girl.

I had an amazing time on Sunday shooting the first of a series of images for the “Horse Girl” project. So much going on when working with riders and horses. They are so skiddish! The ear thing cracks me up—they tell you exactly what they’re feeling by the position of their ears and let me tell you…camera-laden woman with a bunch-a-lights, crazy white backdrop, and people ready to wrangle them–these do not make for a relaxed horse. BUT, with my uber-assistant (resident horse whisperer), Sierra, we got-er-done.

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There is something very special about sharing a passion with your daughter. These two lovely horse women were our first to be photographed and I could see right away what this bond has done for them as mother and daughter.

This young woman was incredibly relaxed with the portrait process…in fact, she was the most relaxed rider we captured all day. She seemed very poised and together for her age–I was impressed.

I continue to be fascinated with the closeness that these riders have with their horses. It was like watching me and my dog (except this pet could crush you by accident in the wrong situation..not quite the case with my 5 lb Chihuahua).  With several of these horse girls, there were kisses and hugs and teasing with these animals. It was wild! I loved watching it and how easy it was between horse and rider. ‘Made me yearn to share that with a horse some day…I’m getting closer.

One thing I learned is that horses do not like standing on tarps! We had a devil of a time getting them on the backdrop, but with some coaxing and a litte PS magic, we got it to work. The reason I’m shooting a lot of these images this way is to separate out the great beast from his/her environment. It’s the same reason I shoot people this way—-taking them out of the “noise” really exposes them (no pun intended) and the real person in there. I love that. These horse girls seem to jump out at me with their equine buddies on the white paper…I’m mesmerized by it and can’t wait to see what this turns up when I shoot in different locations. I’m gearing up for what Texas will bring—hoping some rodeo bling and fanciness…that’s another thing—the different types of horse girls are surfacing and I’m finding that there are an incredible amount. This exhibit will cover as many as I can shoot. It’s aaaaalll good.

‘Had to slip this in of said horse whisperer, Sierra. This girl is incredible. I always tell her how lost I was at her age—just how in the world can she know exactly what she wants to do with her life at such a young age? Amazing to me. I adore her and she was such a huge help. I am enrolled in Sierra Horsey College—she will teach me a lot.

Well..I’m feeling the fire underneath me for the first time in a long while. I’ve come to see how cyclical this creative process is. Funny how I thought 40 was going to be “the year” for me…turns out it was just a year in prep for 41—I do believe this one will be a turning point.

Happy weekend~

L