wow.

I just realized this baby was still active!?

Check us out and our much improved blog-site: www.dane-dane.com/blog!

updates!

Sorry for the radio silence friends - we have been slaving away on our new website and our NEW blog! I have been hesitant to post here because the new one is so much prettier :)

Just a few very important notes:

#1 We have scheduled two VERY fun Valentine's Day Portrait events.

If you'd like to get prints back in time to GIVE to your sweetheart, I recommend you join us at Lucky Dog Outfitters in Tacoma next Saturday, January 31, 2009 from 1pm to 4pm. Not only will we be shooting great valentines portraits but Lucky Dog will be kicking off their "Be a Sweetheart to a Dog is Need" drive where they will be donating and accepting donations of all doggy essentials to be dispersed by Noah's Pet Project to needy pups. If you donate you can write a personalized note to the dog your goodies are bestowed upon AND you will be entered into a raffle to win great prizes like a "Fresco" portrait sitting with us, or Dog is Good tees, or a myriad of other goodies! Make a deal with your sweetheart - pet portraits on Saturday - Superbowl on Sunday, win-win! Feel free to call Lucky Dog Outfitters for more details: (253) 761-4486.


If you'd like to go to a Valentine's Day PARTY and get portraits of you and your furry four-legged love all dolled up, join us at the CityDog Muttmixer at the W Hotel Seattle. on February 11th from 6pm to 8pm. As always you can expect great V-Day portraits with us, delicious cocktails, good times and whole gaggle of other urban Seattle pups to socialize with. Feel free to email CityDog Magazine for more details: info@citydogmagazine.com.


#2 We are the Official Pet Portrait Photographer of the Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show

Our second bit of exciting news is that we are now, quite officially, the Official Pet Portrait Photographer of the Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show. What this means to you, is that if you will be showing your pup at the SKCDS, you can come by our booth for a portrait sitting at a great price that includes all the HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES - this is an unprecedented deal and will be a ton of fun! If you are just visiting the show, be sure to stop by to see what other goodies we've got to share :) Also, our sister company Dog is Good will be right next door selling some new and fab tees and gits.

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Ok friends, that's all for now... I have to get back to designing those tees and finishing that new website... More soon!

Idawg candids

Well as most of you know, we produce the marketing photos for Idawg Clothing (and if you don't know - go look at their site: FAB jackets and hoodies for big dogs- PERFECT gift for Fido or Fido's friends :)

Anyway- our shoots are always hilarious. We coax the perfect shots from our eager models with treats, squeakers, and with Diego (the official Idawg mascot) - with tennis balls.

The expressions we got from the VERY handsome Diego were too funny for me not to share with you. My favorite one is this one... Check out how HUGE Diego's pupils are: GIVE ME THAT TENNIS BALL!!!

MANIC DOG :) that's Joanie in the background laughing at her crazy mutt

P.S. Idawg was the only American dog fashion designer invited to the runway at Pet Fashion Week this year. Way to go!!

Mystery Model: Poodle style

Well since we are still squarely in the "surprise holiday gift" zone I can't really share any specifics about this shoot - which is a shame because there are some really fun tidbits I would like to include to accompany these images... I would also like to share some great images of this pooch's human, but alas that could give it all away!

So instead I will keep this brief and simple and just say: this is one cool poodle :)




This is also a great example of how studio lighting can make all the difference for a dog that is black as night (and therefor VERY hard to photograph)

dane + dane archive: November 2006

Through my mad holiday sorting, print ordering, website re-designing, client calling etc. etc. I came across one of my favorite shoots ever from WAY back in 2006.

This sitting was a surprise and therefor has NEVER seen the light of day or blog. Our jolly subjects included two Corgis named Lewis and Clark, one horse named Alaska and a glimpse of a resident Newfoundland whose name completely escapes me. Am I getting old already? *sigh*

Anyhow - these photos bring back fond memories of autumn in the Northwest, of Bainbridge Island and of a time when I photographed horses more often.

Since it seems I have been photographing nothing but holiday surprises lately - and thus have not been able to share them here... It seemed fitting to throw in a blast from the past.

Enjoy!

******* These last ones are my favorite - WHAT a scene!? *******

Sophie + Rocket on the loose!

Yesterday we were joined at the studio by Sophie and Rocket - salt and pepper siblings on a mission to strut their respective small dog stuff.

S + R's parents specifically requested black and white images - which is a fun departure from our typical sittings and a welcomed solution to the "black and white dog side-by-side" lighting conundrum.


As you can see Rocket (who is a white schnoodle) and Sophie (a black Scottie) took right to their roles as models and hammed it up for me and their parents and anyone else who was willing to ooh, ahh, feed them treats, or reveal the whereabouts of that rascally squeaky toy that kept disappearing.

Their dad even joined them for a brief moment - clearly the pups were glad to share the spotlight with their papa. ( I just love those paws!! Their mom says she thinks they look like tiny little polar bear paws and I have to agree :)


If Sophie and Rocket were a Hollywood couple, their joint name would be Sprocket. I think it fits, don't you?

"It's not a mystery, it's a job. It's a good job, but it's job."

Annie Leibovitz lecture, Benaroya Hall, 11/19/08

Annie Leibovitz says that she doesn't really have a favorite photo, but that this one of her mother has really grown on her.

This comment defines what, in one short hour, I could surmise about Annie's take on things. She seems to be pragmatic and calm, simple and yet incredibly intelligent - humble given her immense fame and above all, she possesses that little sparkle that haunts every great photographer I have ever met - a little secret behind the eyes that exemplifies her distinct vision.

I first noticed this sparkle when I met Ebet Roberts when I was an official photographer for Farm Aid in 2004 - in a lot of ways I have always pictured Annie to be a lot like Ebet and now that feeling is somewhat confirmed. Both women started out with painting in mind and just fell into rock n' roll photography in the 70's - both women are tall and thin and unassuming - gentle and somewhat soft-spoken with a silver touch to their hair. By default my affection for Ebet has now been transferred to Annie.

Anyway back to her new book.

Listening to Annie read from her book "At Work" and explains some of her groundbreaking photographs was like listening to any photographer-USA talking shop, she's not particularly eloquent or charismatic but she is quite funny and very insightful. In some ways, she is so serious about her work and in others, she's still just an artist playing with blank canvas - she just happens to have access to a canvas with no boundaries.

When she speaks of her famous portrait of President Bush and six members of his administration she says, "I fear this will be the photo I am most remembered for," explaining that she opted not to shoot in the Oval Office because of the distracting technical difficulties presented by the wall of windows behind the desk and also "I don't like the way Bush has it (the oval office) decorated - too many Remingtons" - ha!


In stark contrast, Annie speaks glowingly of her experiences photographing Obama and his family - mentioning the optimism she felt (didn't we all!) She will be at the inauguration, of which she says with a smile, "I want to be in the back to capture the whole scene... I will be spending a lot time in Washington in January..."

In many ways, listening to her speak filled me with the same feelings of hope and pride that are inspired in me by our new President Elect. For a young photographer with big dreams and high expectations, she represents the ultimate promise of greatness.

* * *

In parting, one of my favorite quotes of the evening - Annie speaks of some of her photographs of Olympic athletes:

"They were very pretty... but so what? Sometimes pretty is not enough." -- Annie Leibovitz

------------ all images in this post are by Annie Leibovitz --------------