Ok now that I have that out of the way let me tell you about some exciting news. A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to be part of an exhibition at Obscura Gallery in St Kilda. This is a group exhibition and each artists will showcase their art under their own theme, mine is (obviously, I guess) Creature Focus. There will be a selection of images including dogs, cats and birds from work I have done as a pet photographer. I am very excited because it shows that these images are fine art and should be regarded as such.

Obscura specialises in fine art photography exhibitions and is a great supporter of photographers. Since opening in 2007, Obscura has showcased many great fine art photographers, including animal photographers such as Sarah Louise Jackson.

Creature Focus will open on Thursday 10th May and all are welcome, it will run for six weeks, so there is plenty of time to check it out. For more information, go to the event on Facebook or feel free to contact me.

This years edition is supporting Sheltering Helpless Animals In Distress, an animal shelter in Canada. The book is a collection of works from 66 artists from nine different countries, including at least three from Australia. Paws for Charity 2012 has already become a bestseller on the Blurb list and below is a sample of the book. If you like what you see go to http://www.blurb.com/books/3036042 to purchase your copy. Until April 2nd you can also get 25% off if you type in the code FREESTYLE.

The easiest way to find your pets eyes is to get a ‘catch-light’ in their eyes, this just means a bit of light reflection that gives their eyes a bit of sparkle and makes them stand out. You can do this indoors with a flash, but the problem is that sometimes you cannot control your flash and you end up with ‘demon’ eyes, where they look like a lion being photographed at night with eyes peering out from the grass lands. The image to the right is taken in the studio with flash heads that are adjustable and set up with light boxes. An on camera flash will not allow the same type of adjustment.

The best way is to take your pet outside or close to a window that has plenty of light, have them facing the light and look at their eyes, and see if they have a bit of light there? If you do this outside, try to do it on a overcast day, as this will allow you to get a more even shot without harsh shadows. If it is a sunny day, try to find some nice light shade.

Many cameras have an automatic setting and this is great for everyday general photographing, however if you are trying to photograph things that are at the extreme end of colour such as something very light or something very dark, it may find it hard to give you a good image, the camera is not as good as your eyes as picking up little details. You can try using your cameras manual setting such as full manual, where you can adjust the shutter speed and aperture or use either aperture or shutter speed priority settings. These setting will allow you to dictate how light or dark you want your image, and the great thing about digital is that you can take a couple of shots to see if it is right and than make adjustments if it isn’t. Most cameras should also let you adjust your ISO, this is a term from film days that related to the speed of your film. A higher ISO, like 800, will give you more light in darker conditions and a smaller ISO of 100, less light. You need to remember that the higher your ISO the more ‘noise’ you will get in your images. Noise is like grain in film, and will be most noticeable if you plan to make enlargements of your images.

I have gotten a bit technical here and given a quick course on your digital camera. If you really want great images, it does pay to get to know your camera and how to make adjustments – in the end you will find you can get some beautiful shots of your dark fur-friend.

Each year, Paws for Charity produces a book, featuring photos or artworks from animal artists around the world. This the fourth book and I am fortunate to be one of 66 artists from around the world to be featured this year, along with one of my favourite images of a husky (see image at right). The great thing about this book (other than it supports an animal charity) is that it features all different types of artistic works, including drawing, paintings and photography, so it is a very unique project.

This year’s book supports S.H.A.I.D. Tree Animal Shelter in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, so all proceeds go to a very good cause. The book has just been sent to Blurb and will be available for sales soon (I’ll let you know).

For more information about Paws for Charity, visit the Paws for Charity Blog or visit Paws for Charity on Facebook

Creature Focus Animal Photography is a proud member of:

That’s why I find it so hard to understand why there are so many pets that cannot find a permanent home, so when I found an opportunity to help these animals, i jumped on it and I have been very fortunate to be able to photograph some lovely Beagles for Beagle Rescue Victoria (see Denver below)and starting tomorrow I will be doing some regular photography of adoptees for Animal Aid.

The animals up for adoption with these animal rescue organisations come to them in many different ways, each of them has shown they are ready and willing to find their forever homes and so are the perfect pets. Both Beagle Rescue and Animal Aid are very careful to re-home their animals with the appropriate people to ensure it all works well.

If you are looking for a new family member, please visit a rescue organisation, you will not be disappointed.

Meet Denver

Yes, many pet photographers like to get some nice, more traditional images of your dog in a sit or drop position, but we also want to get some action into the shots, because this is often where the real story is. If your dog likes to run and chase birds or balls then we want to capture that too. If you have an energetic dog that just loves the local park or beach, then that is probably the best place to have your photo shoot, because that is where their personality will shine and you will get images you love.

If you ask most pet photographers they will probably tell you that the majority of their furry clients don’t sit still for long periods of time, think of a two-year-old child being asked to sit still or in a certain position for even 5 minutes and you know they just won’t be able to, that is the same with most dogs – too much to see and do. A good photographer will be patient and calm and wait for the great photo to come.

Of course if you have some basic commands such as sit, drop and stay these will also help and you will be able to get some gorgeous portraits to go with your action shots.

So don’t miss out on getting some beautiful images, just be patient.

Meet Abby and Macy from Beagle Rescue Victoria.

On the weekend, I had the wonderful job of photographing two beagle sisters called Abby and Macy. These two sisters are inseparable and if one is taken away the other one will cry for her, they just love each other to bits. Even though they are twins and very close, they have quite different personalities one is a smoocher and would do anything for a belly rub and the other is quite shy, but both are very friendly.

Abby and Macy are currently being cared for by foster parents and are available for adoption through Beagle Rescue Victoria – www.beaglerescuevic.org you can also find their profile at Pet Rescue – www.petrescue.com.au.

As well as the great job of photographing rescued Beagles, I have also been accepted as a member to HeARTs Speak. As noted on their website ‘HeARTs Speak was created to harness the power of art to effect social change, to connect artists with shelters and animal relief organizations, and ultimately, to save and better the lives of animals and people.’ This is a great organisation that supports animal welfare and photographers like myself who support animals in need. Please do have a look at www.heartsspeak.org

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Her beautiful chocolate coat was a lovely contrast to the white background, and even though her eyes are also brown, using the flash makes sure they don’t get lost among her fur.

It is wonderful to see some many people eager to be involved with this exciting project and to have so many good looking pets to photograph, it is certainly going to be tough choosing the images to go in the book.

Here are a couple of the recent pets I have photographed.

If you would like to have your pet featured in Pet Tails (Victoria only), visit www.pettails.com.au for more information and to register.