Smile Like a Dog » client sneak peeks

Odie

Mark — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:56:24 +0000

Sunrise shoots at Crissy Field are among the most dramatic that I do. Between the bay and the bridge catching that morning light just so it’s pretty breathtaking. The light is also a wee bit tricky because it comes up fast and changes by the second. Toss in a little speed demon like Odie — an outrageously cute chihuahua (and I think italian greyhound) mix with an outsized personality — darting around in the wet grass while you’re trying to line up the bridge and the light behind her and you have quite a shoot workout.

Odie’s mom received this shoot as a birthday present and I think Odie delivered. How about you?

Odie

Golden Girl and Golden Bridge

You will believe a dog can fly

Bridge fly-by

Odie's in good hands

Muggsley and Ginja

Mark — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:50:16 +0000

My, my how the summer has flown by. This blog has been woefully untended so I’m remedying that with an extra fun post today. Muggsley and Ginja are great pooch pair from Burlingame who’s mom signed them to be My Mutts in the store downtown there. She had the awesome idea of photographing the two in the back seat of the truck they love to drive around with her in and I couldn’t have come up with a better concept myself. We got warmed up in their awesome back yard where they have a cool wooden bridge spanning the creek that flows through there and then moved on to ye olde truck. Check out how they did below. Muggsley is the stately, elder Great Dane-Pointer mix and Ginja is the Portuguese Water Dog.

Ginja

Muggsley

Crossing that bridge!

They needed Muggsley on the movie poster for Bridges of Maddison County

Muggsley the Pensive

Not sure how much that dog in the window is. Why do you ask?

Ginja goes with a sly, ironic look...

...or a straightforward "I just love being driven around" look

Y'all come back now!

Thor

Mark — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:10:03 +0000

Sometimes you run across a dog who’s just perfectly matched with his name. Case in point: Thor — a handsome German Shepherd mix I had the pleasure of working with a few weeks ago at McClaren Park on an atypical hot, sunny San Francisco summer morning. Thor has just about the richest, glossiest, most beautiful brown coat I’ve ever seen with a really cool white starburst on his chest (kind of a built-in superhero costume). He’s also definitely an all-terrain kind of guy equally at home on land, sea or air — especially if his pink ball is involved. You can see him in action below. Enjoy your sneak peek, Thor

Thor

Thor tests out his camouflage skills

The mighty Thor

Are we a ladies man or what?

SEAL training begins

Must...get...pink...ball

Another successful mission

Next!

It's only a table if you're eating. I call it a chaise

Mom and Thor

Thor: Toy-chasing Terminator

Wonder if any MLB scouts cruise this park in the mornings?

Mac and Sydney

Mark — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:10:14 +0000

There aren’t many shoots requiring as much energy as two-terrier sessions like the one I had at my outdoor studio a few weeks back with a pair of cute little rascals named Sydney and Mac. Mac, the little grey guy with extremely human-looking eyes is a bit timid but he managed to warm himself up and almost came up with a smile by the end of the session. Sydney is a Cesky terrier mix and the extrovert of the pair as you’ll soon see in their sneak-peek shots below. Enjoy the preview, guys!

Don’t forget to check out my facebook page for a daily dose of pet-photo cuteness

Sydney

Mac

Speeding Sydney

Mac gets a McTreat

Cue the ballad, please!

That treat doesn't stand a chance

Mac gets a dancing lesson from dad

Sydney with the last word...as usual

Ow Nin: Thai Rescue Dog

Mark — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:35:54 +0000

I was thrilled to hear from Ow Nin’s parents a few weeks ago that they wanted to have a session with her. They rescued her 5 years ago through Soi Dog Foundation in Thailand and I’ve I’ve worked with two of their other dogs – Besos and Lek on My Mutt posters. She already had a poster done about 4 or 5 years ago but they wanted some more recent shots. We met at Stern Grove where I photographed the other two and had a great session. Ow Nin is a bit of a wanderer so we all got a bit of exercise following (and occasionally chasing) her around the park. As with many of the Thai rescues, Ow Nin’s eyes tell quite a story. They’ve seen a lot in this world of both the very worst and the very best we people can offer. Thankfully, she landed in a loving home here and for the last 5 years at least has seen the positive side of that equation. Here’s to many more of those happy years to you, Ow Nin.

Ow Nin

Two of one of a kind

Those eyes say it all

Walking among the eucalyptus

Ow Nin can model for me any time

Daddy's girl

A Triple-Cat Threat

Mark — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:40:21 +0000

Wow, where have the last two weeks gone. I’m emerging from the vortex for part one of a two-parter — a shoot a did a few weeks back up in Marin for a three-cat/one dog household. Because the cats were so much fun I’m giving them their own sneak peek (you know how cats are about attention) and I’ll follow on soon with one just for Dexter the poodle.

For now, I introduce to you Max, Bogie and Jake. They’re all fun but my personal take is that Jake wins the class-clown award.

Enjoy…

Max

Bogie

Jake

Bogie is not off his rocker, he's under it

Sure wish Jake had shared that catnip with everyone else

Max is not amused when Jake plays with his foodBogie enjoys yoga and long walks in the park...

Methinks someone is plotting something

I think we need to get Max a gig as a Tag Heuer model

Modest as always

Dottie & Walter

Mark — Thu, 05 May 2011 04:35:02 +0000

Dottie and Walter are just about the cutest old couple I’ve ever met. Dottie, a little gray poodle recently adopted through Rocket Dog Rescue is 8 and Walter, a white maltesey-terrierish mix is 15. For their My Mutt posters we wanted to try something a little different so we took them down to the Mission and photographed them in Lilac Alley in front of some of the wonderful murals painted there.

Both were a bit reserved and overwhelmed by the location so, as a fallback we decided to spend a little time back at home where they were more comfortable. You be the judge for which ones turned out best. I think they look great in all of them.

Dottie

Walter

Pretty in Pink

Walter on the move

Happy to be a momma's girl

Checking things out from a higher altitude

Dottie scopes out the action in the kitchen

Walter is soooo fly

One happy (and sort of sleepy) family

Harrison: King of the Hill

Mark — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 01:46:59 +0000

Senior dogs are awesome. Active senior dogs are even awesomer. Harrison is a well-heeled fellow I got to know back in December when I photographed his parent’s wedding at Fort Mason at the old firehouse (FYI, an awesome venue for anyone planning an event in San Francisco)

While it’s always a kick having a dog at a wedding, the scene can be a bit much for pups so we decided it would be a good idea to get some shots of Harrison under more doglike circumstances — in this case, a lovely spring afternoon at Bernal Heights hill.

For those who haven’t been there, Bernal is not exactly a gradual hill, and watching a dog older than 12 make his way up the inclines and narrow billy goat trails like a pro pretty much makes your day. Don’t even get me started on the gopher hunting.

Harrison, check out your closeups

Harrison

Stick in the grass?

Mmmmm...oak

King of all he surveys

Good form heading downhill

One gopher down, 10 million to go...

Now that's a dirty dog!

Queue "Chariots of Fire", please

One last look

Mikey: As Spry as They Come

Mark — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:37:03 +0000

I’ve had a nice run of late with senior dogs — including a soon-to-be-unveiled shoot with Muttville‘s 1000th rescue pup. In anticipation of that I’d like to present another elder statesman named Mikey whose mom brought him to my outdoor studio a couple of weekends ago.

Mikey turns a very young 15 this month and is a well-loved Maltese-Poodle mix (although with the way he barks for treats he may well have a little hound in him ) with a striking resemblance to Nikki Sixx when the wind blows the right way. Once we got going he truly surprised me with his energy level — we shot for over an hour and he was still ready for more when things were wrapping up.

Mikey, enjoy your preview

Mikey

Mikey's windblown look

Mikey in motion

All smiles

Practicing his spycraft

That tasted good

Howdy!

There's no place like home!

Those paws are just precious

Mikey has a lot to say

Ella & Dolly: Release the Hounds

Mark — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:07:17 +0000

There’s really nothing like an early spring weekend morning at Crissy Field in San Francisco. It’s beautiful, relatively empty and you’re likely to just run into a few folks out with their dogs taking advantage of one of the most beautiful spots in an already-beautiful place. It also tends to be a fairly quiet spot…unless you’re with a couple of hounds.

Enter Ella and Dolly. To be fair, the quiet (or lack thereof) reference is really meant for Ella – younger of the two. Dolly is a senior hound mix who’s really very placid and mellow. Ella tends to be more hound-like at the beach. She loves to play, dig and she especially likes to bay…by the bay.

This is the first of a couple of posts for these two. The second, to follow in a few weeks will be of a more domestic nature as we visit them at home with the two cats they share a place with. Stay tuned for that but, for now, enjoy part 1

Ella

Dolly

Ella, remember to adjust flaps for lift

Ella...well, Ella being Ella

Dolly with Bridge View

Ella continues her morning theme

Bette Davis Eyes?

A dig with a view

Photographer unwittingly becomes part of his own subject

Nothing like following up a rubber toy with a stick chaser!