Day 6 Gratitude Project - Maggie May {Central Ohio Pet Photographer}

Maggie May - I am thankful for her every day. She is quite literally my constant companion. Maggie is my trail buddy (we went to Dawes Arboretum today), travel companion & co-pilot. She is my family & stands in for my family that has passed. She is the happiest, sweetest dog I have ever owned & is my 1 in a million. Just over a year ago I almost lost her to acute pancreatitis. Every day since then I consider a bonus day & am ever grateful. She has rebounded & is so energetic, happy & goofy. She always brings a smile & happiness & I love her to pieces!

9.30~ Just thankful for so much

9.30~ Just thankful for so much, originally uploaded by *ojoyous1*.

It was a busy day & I didn't have much time to reflect on gratitudes. My fridge is about dead, my computer is on it's last legs & I still have a big vet bill. But this is supposed to be a gratitude, right?!

Well, tonight as I was walking Maggie & we were doing 2.5 - 3 miles instead of the .5 mile this summer, I was jubilant. I am thankful for my incredible vet who did her best to save Maggie. The vet gave me back my energetic Maggie girl who wants to walk a brisk 3 miles (plus 1-2 miles in the AM!). I am thankful that with the difficult economy, I am still in business doing what I love. I'm so thankful for food on my table, for insurance & a good doctor, & for a roof over my head. I'm really thankful that while I live very simply, my big splurge is a pedicure... & it makes me feel so good - like I won the lottery! I feel rich beyond measure...

Birthday Girl - [Columbus Ohio Pet Photographer]

Maggie May had her 9th birthday yesterday! She's a little Valentine! I got her 8 years ago at CAHS, & can't believe how quickly it has gone. She is just so tolerant & loving! Of course it helps that there is always cheese or a hotdog involved behind the scenes! Trust has a lot to do with the great shots I get of her. Well, and of course the food thing again! But the trust is so important. A large part of the trust building came from the Obedience Classes we took together. The classes helped build trust, rapport and relationship. So many grown dogs need good homes. It might be a good time to stop by your local shelter and find your Maggie!

Meet Gracie! {Columbus Ohio Pet Photographer}

Autumn and early winter are great times for pet portrait sessions. The cooler temps make it easier on the doggies (and the owners), and you can still have beautiful backdrops at this time of year! Gracie, the Newfoundland was quite pleased with the cooler temps we had for this mini session the other day!

Co-Pilots {Columbus Ohio Pet Photographer}

October and November are my busiest months and I feel as though I'm either at my computer or out doing a portrait session. And at night I dream about sessions or processing - I'm sure all photographers have 12 hour days during these months! But, I love what I do and I really love doing pet portraits - this is the perfect time of year for photographing pets with the cooler weather!

A preview from a recent session...

Wishing you a Warm & Merry Christmas!!

This year has flown by so very quickly. And Christmas is upon us once again. Thank you for your support, your business, your friendship and your comments!! I so appreciate it!!

I'm hoping this Christmas finds you counting your many blessings, feeling the love of family and friends, and remembering that Holy Night so many years ago. Merry Christmas, warm wishes and love to you!! I'll be gone several days, and will see you after Christmas!
Merry Merry Christmas from Joy & Maggie May the Holiday Dog!

Holiday Textures - FREEBIE!

Holidays & freebies - now it just doesn't get any better than when those two are paired!! So.... here are a couple holiday freebies for YOU!! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!! Click HERE for the download link. The link is only good for two weeks (until December 26) so download and save NOW! This is Molly, the Boston Terrier. The shot was taken by her owner, the multi-talented Char. Have fun & enjoy!


ORIGINAL SHOT.







OK – How did these texture images happen? In the snowflake shot, I pulled the texture over the Molly shot, & used blending mode Hard light set at about 70% opacity. I then used the ELIPTICAL MARQUEE TOOL with pixels set to 120 & worked it around on Molly to erase the texture from on top of her. The pixels set at 120 feathers the erased area.

For the red polka dot shot, I used the POLYGONAL LASSO TOOL to outline Molly. Once she was completely outlines with the lasso tool, I hit erase & poof, the texture was gone from her body.

Then just flatten the image & save as… I am currently using Adobe Photoshop Elements5. CS is on my wishlist!!

Going to the Dogs... / Central Ohio Pet Photographer

I had a wonderful, fun and memorable session the other week. I've done many pet portrait sessions, but this was a first - 4 Rotties, 1 French Bulldog and a Corgi (Pembroke - correct me if I'm wrong, Elissa!). They are such gorgeous dogs - so full of personality and spirit!! We met at a local park where the dogs could romp and, well... be dogs! And from there, we took a short walk to a creek to cool off and splash in the water!! I'm a little behind in processing due to our Ohio "hurricane", but wanted to give a quick preview/sneak peek of that great session!!