naughty or nice {by leslie}

Since winter is almost here, and weddings are starting to wind down for a few months, I thought I'd share some outtakes from a recent dog shoot I worked on. I do a lot of personal sessions for people, but on this particular day I set up a traveling studio at a local doggy daycare and shot holiday images of the pups for their owners (to use as gifts or with their holiday cards). As you can imagine, not all dogs are enthusiastic about santa beards and reindeer antlers. Here are a few of the outtakes:

To see some of the shots that turned out as planned, you can look here. Enjoy!

gone to the dogs! {by leslie}

Hooo boy, did I have fun last weekend at Open Streets on Lyndale. The lovely folks over at Zeus Jones hired me to have a "pet photobooth" at the street festival and capture the neighborhood and their pets. You guys, this was SO. MUCH. FUN.

Not only did I love photographing the dogs themselves (because hey, we all know what makes me happy) but capturing the pets with their owners was fabulous as well. Take a look and see what I mean.

If you want to see the full days worth of photos (which I, obviously, recommend) you can do that over here.

Tom and Kristen (Post by Thea)

Earlier this Spring, Tom, Kristen and I went out for a sort of encore engagement session. Our first engagement session happened last winter when we did something in studio. But Tom and Kristen have a special place in their hearts for these pups and they wanted to include them in another session. Cedar Lake provided a great backdrop where we could let our hair down and go sans leash. Thank goodness it has warmed up since these photos were taken! Looking forward to seeing you soon Tom and Kristen.  

sex, dogs & rock'n'roll {by leslie}

Let's be clear, the sex in that header refers to dog humping. And yes, I'm going there. How cute is this little dog mounting all the big ones? And the poor victim is dressed like Batman. Ah, let's embrace the crazy, shall we?

Last weekend, I heard about this local band (Wild!!Wing) who was filming their newest rock video at a local art gallery, and they wanted it to be a concert setting, but with dogs instead of humans as the audience -- and they were asking if I could lend them my dog.

Hoooo boy! If you have learned anything about me in the last year or so, it's that I love dogs, and I love live music -- so this was the perfect collision of both worlds. First off, I was extremely impressed with the band's concern for the safety of the animals. All dogs had to be up on their shots before mingling, and they didn't actually play their music during the filming -- but rather kept it quiet for the dogs' ears. You have not been thoroughly entertained until you've seen a room full of people trying to herd their dogs in front of a stage filled with lazers and smoke machines while a rock band (including a key-tar!) silently jams in the background. Crazy! But so much fun.

Because photographing dogs is one of my favorite things ever, I asked if I could document the day -- and here are a few of my favorite photos. The enormous collie? That's my pup, Merlin. He's 10 years old and was WORN OUT from all the activity -- hence him laying down.

dog days of winter? {by leslie}

This time of year is tough on us wedding photographers as... well... there aren't many weddings happening! So many of us fill our time with other photo interests, and today I thought I'd show you some of the recent dog photography I've been doing.

Some days are spent running in the snow and playing a little fetch...

 

But most of my shoots are done back at the studio.

You know what my favorite thing to photograph is? Besides rock'n'roll? PUPPIES.

You know when people get puppies? IN THE SPRING. That's in like three weeks. So if you're getting a puppy, please let me know! They'll only stay that cute for a month or two, and you really should document the adorableness while you can.

puppies make everything better {by Leslie}

So you all know by now that besides photographing weddings, I love to shoot some good old rock'n'roll. But you know what else thrills me to no end? Photographing dogs. I love, love, love capturing the emotions of canines. And you know what I like photographing even more than dogs? PUPPIES. I mean, seriously, what could possibly be more fun than a wiggly little pup? Yesterday, I had the chance to shoot this little girl, Kalie, and holy moly, you should see that cute little Buddha belly of hers.