Hey, it's my 100th post ! 

It's fitting that it's about my favorite, beloved four legged subject.  

We have cats, which I adore, but you know cats, they are snobby and do what they want.  When we were kids, we had a small dog. This big dog-- that again, is unfortunately not ours is novel to me.  I absolutely heart him.  Big puffy heart him.

Although I'm still on my kick about available light this post is about details.  I will however say that the discussion about available light rather than natural light has made me look for light in different ways then I used to.  

I didn't just think, crap, I better go outside, I investigated ways to harness light to impact the way I wanted my images to look.

But like I said, this post is about details.....

Feet, big, clumpy, awkward doggy feet.

 The beauty of a sleeping dog

 This adorable little patch of whiteness under his chin that I just recently fell in love with.

(yes, I did say "fell in love" with in relation to a dog)

Say what you will about me.

Beautiful doggy nose

 Puppy dog eyes- literally

Puppy dog ear hair.

And general puppy dog love.

This sweetie will be gone in a few months.

I'll miss him so much.

If you catch me in random yards photographing dogs, please don't call the police, I'll give you copies of the images...haha.

light

Glorious sunshine through my bedroom window this morning.

I was considering a recent conversation that I was having with an experienced photographer.  She was referring  to "available" light, rather than "natural" light.  Of course, natural light is a term used frequently to describe a style of photography.  Natural light photographer.  So although I was using natural light for these images, the new to me term of available light was in the front of my brain.

So there are two images I took, sunbathed images in my bedroom, with beautiful available light from the sun streaming through my windows.  

Basically SOOC.

SUN HAZE

BEAUTIFUL BOY  :)

And one other gem that I missed during my initial edit.  I love this one of my boy with his "sleeping baby"  his beloved baby has been with him pretty much since birth.  I love that in this photo my boy, who is now 3 and always seems to look so grown up looks more like the little boy of past months.   I love the older stages, but I do miss the little boy stuff too.

Out today with a fellow photo enthusiast and her little ones, we stood on deserted roads, we played near barb wire fences, we petted stray dogs, we danced, we posed, we photographed, we had fun.  

 I love kitty whiskers- they have been on my "to photograph" list for a while.  I always think of whiskers sort of like antlers, really striking and beautiful.  This post is dedicated to kitty whiskers.

Two beautiful captures on our morning drive to see what the bit of frost might give us in the way of lovely images.  We drove up up up... through dense fog,

and just before we broke out into full, beautiful sun, I captured this.

This is SOOC- it really was that majestic.

And I`m a sucker for red barns, fence lines, and snow.  I love this image.

February Photo Challange

Along with a few others, i`m doing a daily photo challenge in February.  I got a bit behind, so i`m going to lump them the last few together here, but from now on I`m looking to keep up daily !

source-pintrest

02.01.12- My view- my cutie in the bath full of bubbles

02.02.12- words- a book from my favorite show, sex and the city.  I will forever heart you Carrie Bradshaw.

 02.03.12- hands.  my husband`s manly hands.  one of my favorite things about him.

02.04.12 A Stranger- the stranger who I sometimes (not always) see in the mirror, who has smudged makeup, more lines, and usually her hair piled up on her head.  In some ways this is me, and in some ways it`s a total stranger.

02.05.12 -- 10 am.  With my husband on our way out to do shooting (cameras not guns) and shopping.  He always has to have a coffee when he`s driving.

My crush

I'm heartbroken.  Simply heart-broken.  Despite the fact that we have three cats, I have a dog "friend" who I am completely and utterly smitten with.  He comes to my door daily with his wet little nose and sweet smile.  He's been known to come in, eat treats, and yes, I've snuggled with him on the couch, and recently in the bed.  Don't judge, he's the sweetest soul around, and YES, I realize he's not mine.  It's a love affair despite cat protests.  

Back to the broken heart part- yesterday his owner let me know they were moving away.  Leaving.  Going.  No more daily visits from Oakley.  No more cuddles.  No more dog love.  

Now I like his owners too, but I BIG PUFFY HEART him.

So today, while he was in the house, he was nosing around and found a remnant of a previous day's valentines day craft on the floor, and it stuck.  haha.

Awwwww how can you not love that??

my latest project

I love the idea of repurposing old items and making them into something unique.  I recently <ahem> acquired an old window.  I'd been looking for one FOREVER !  It was pretty rustic when I got it.  This is my cat Diego wondering why I brought this piece of crap into the house.....

I think my husband was wondering too.  It sat in our bedroom for about 2 months while I kept staring at it... thinking, planning.....(being annoying)  I kept asking him to verify how cool it was.  The best I got was a grunt.  He did agree that he just couldn't "see my vision"

I knew I wanted one of the panes of glass to be chicken wire.  I felt so guilty smashing one of the windows.  I swear, I debated and debated.  Felt so mean smashing it.

When I first started to work on it, I tried to make it rustic, sanded it down, tried to make it old, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I saw this beautiful blue colour in my paint box and took a chance.....I love it.  I wanted it to be personal, and an item that I could change and modify as time goes on. The old broach is my grandmother's, the old whistle is Mat's grandfather's, and the old key... well, it's just a cool old key.  

The clips will will allow us to change photos frequently, which I LOVE.  As a photographer, my favorite photos change almost weekly.  I love that I can easily display them here.  My beautiful french fabric piece is a work in progress.  I might add something vintage to it... I might add another clip for photos... or I might get a better idea !!  The black frame up top is ready for a 4x6 image.  Again, can be changed frequently !!

I'm pretty pleased with the transformation, but unfortunately my new piece doesn't yet have a home on my wall yet.  Not sure where to put it... YET.

       BEFORE                                                                                                                 

AFTER

 Would you do anything else?