Karamika Pet Photography

Chloe - our new addition

2010-02-07T22:24:00.003+13:00

Here she is! - for those of you who do not have Facebook - Chloe - the new addition to our family.. Five months old and a chocolate labrador - who is as adorable in her temperament as she is gorgeous in looks... Loves stealing and eating apples from under the tree in the garden seems to be the issue at the moment...... Caught her trying to snuggle up to George while he was sleeping.. However George, who actually stopped barking at her on day two, was not having a bar of that... He will come around eventually I am sure...but then again -he is middle-aged and quite a short legged dog who has issues of his own going on! And as for Harry - -well, we won't go there, it will take some time for the big redhead to adjust.. All is not lost though, as Harry is currently stretched out on my bed, waiting for me to turn the computer off...Seems his sulking is only a daytime thing:)

Louis

2010-02-07T22:12:00.006+13:00

Here is Louis, a wheaton terrier - who I recently photographed in Auckland. Louis was the winner of a pet parade competition at the Four Seasons Pet Store in Glen Innes.

We had a great time- Louis was a great dog to photograph, friendly and fun!

Sammy

2009-10-15T21:50:00.005+13:00

Here's Sammy - an eight year old domestic shorthair with gorgeous stripes and green eyes. He has been a few battles I imagine - just by looking at those ears! He loved the camera - and wasn't fazed at all (well not much) as I crawled around the lounge after him. Many thanks to the animal wrangler of the day Nicole and her mum Lyn for their distraction tactics and the great coffee too!!

Rory

2009-10-03T11:02:00.005+13:00

Here is Rory - -one of my favourite ever dogs:) I am pretty sure Rory was a labradoodle -(not a retradoodle) and being quite a young dog (almost 2) he was playful, but so well behaved with it..

I wish I could say the same for my George...(who is neither young nor well-behaved).

Rory's "looks" have an almost human feel to them - - I think it is the eye colour which does it - as they are very amber toned - not the usual dark brown whch feature in a lot of dogs.

It was a great experience photographing the delightful and gorgeous Rory and meeting Sarah his owner.

Sheryl Burnside pastel artist - Papakura

2009-09-28T19:20:00.006+13:00

For those of you who love art - as well as their pets - here is a link to a sort-after a pastel artist. Based in Papakura Sheryl Burnside is very talented and undertakes pastel art commissions.

Contact Sheryl to discusss your artwork requirements. Her work is outstanding and the small image quality on the website does not do her stunning work justice... (maybe I will photograph Sheryl's work for her :) )

Meesha

2009-09-28T19:10:00.004+13:00

Here is Meesha - isn't she gorgeous!

A very lovely semi long haired cat with heaps of personality - from another of the pet photo sessions held at Four Seasons...

Don't you love that white chin and those long white whiskers ?

It was so nice photographing you Meesha - Hope to see you and Jenny again one day.

Star - Sharpei puppy

2009-09-19T09:00:00.003+12:00

This is the stunning Star - a gorgeous wrinkly Sharpei photographed recently from the Showler Shar Pei Kennel. You can read more about the Sharpei bred here .

I have not been around Sharpei before - being the owner of usually "fluffy" type dogs and found them to be nice dogs, huge paws!, cute ears, very fast waggy tails, very strong with quite different coats. It was great to meet Star and the family!

Hamish and Piri

2009-09-13T16:14:00.005+12:00

Hamish and Piri are our goats.. Well let me re-word that - They are my husband Mike's goats. They are about one year old now - and were once well trained (thanks to the Marshall children!) - until it comes to walking through from their secure area - to their grazing paddock. They often taken a detour, if not attached by their leads, into the house garden. Their favourite plants - aside from my old fashioned roses, are globe thistles - which take a severe beating/pruning given the chance - which of course they take at a drop of a hat . Luckily they have not attacked my large ceramic pot full of bulbs - which is beautifullly arranged with white +mauve freesias and ranunculas, anenomes and daffodils!

They have escaped a couple of times - which is not uncommon for goats - as they are pretty smart. I haven't caught them in the house yet... but I do not doubt that one day I will. I was going to rename them when they first arrived " Dan and Carter" ... but they are so.o.o.o. naughty - there is no way I can yell those names using my loud "mother" tone :).

Isabella

2009-09-13T15:57:00.002+12:00

Little Isabella - What a lovely girl! Well behaved and such a star:)
An image from a recent photo session at Four Seasons. Hope to see you again Izzy.

Bailey and Nala

2009-09-13T15:48:00.003+12:00

A couple of my favourite cat images from a recent pet portrait session at Four Seasons.

Bailey and Nala were such lovely cats.. a bit nervous, as most cats are, in a different environment. I would have loved to adopt them both - as they were very laid back and had gorgeous gentle natures :)

Jazz @ Four Seasons

2009-09-03T18:34:00.004+12:00

A couple of images from Jazz's pet photo session held last month at Four Seasons Pet Store went pretty much according to plan - after the initial excitement of being in a new place and all those new smells, Jazz settled down nicely - I think I wore him down in the end :)

Jazz is an Anatolian Shepherd – who came from the SPCA when he was one year old. Four families had put in their requests at the SPCA for Jazz – but the family I met were the lucky ones and totally adore their adopted companion. Jazz is 7 years old, has a gorgeous temperament – loves people, kids and babies but is scared of injections at the Vet!!

It was great to meet Jazz's family too !

Four seasons pet portrait photo orders

2009-08-19T21:26:00.005+12:00

If any of the pet portraits clients (and there are a few of you :) haven't yet contacted me in regards to a link to your online gallery - it is best to please send me an email - to the address which is on the pet photo card you received after your session.
I will then send you a link and password to enable viewing to chose your enlargements.
Any extra photo orders you require from your pets portrait session , prints, enlargements, canvas prints or photo blocks , I am happy to arrange - and payment for those can be made via internet banking.

Louie

2009-08-18T22:08:00.004+12:00

Louie arrived in excitable style at the Four Seasons store, ready for his pet portrait- and was a delight to photograph. Very friendly and a lot of fun to be around - Louie did stay still

(in one place)for lots of great shots - here are a couple of them. Great to meet you Louie - and Nigel. Hope to see you again one day :)

Chanel

2009-08-15T18:18:00.005+12:00

This is Chanel - isn't she gorgeous! Wearing a beautiful jacket bought by a friend of Chanel's owner, from Posh Pets in Brisbane. Chanel was such a darling to photograph and even smiled on command. What a star!! I know my George would love you - being the same size and all . :) Hope to see you again Chanel.

Pet Portraits weekend

2009-08-12T19:12:00.005+12:00

A busy weekend for us at Four Seasons Glen Innes- doing pet photography during their anniversary celebrations. Similar to last year - we photographed a large number of cats and dogs (no mice this time... phew!)

My husband Mike came along this time as assistant animal "wrangler" as I was suffering from laringhitis - and not firing on all "soccer mom" voice cylinders! He was a great help and was very keen to bring home a large number of the cats and dogs to our home in the countryside.
This is Rami - who came all the way from Pukekohe with owner Susan. Rami was very well behaved ,well trained with a lovely temperament and a delight to photograph! It was lovely to photograph and meet you both :)

Four Seasons Birthday specials

2009-08-07T17:02:00.006+12:00

It's all going on at Four Seasons ! Tomorrow we start the pet portrait weekend and we're looking forward to meeting lots of new animals and their owners...

The advert above, shows Ruby the cat and some of what's happening at 137 Apirana Avenue, Glen Innes. There are plenty of in-house specials on premium pet food, pet bedding, toys and pet treats.

Nosh is handy right next door with other shops as well - if you want to spend a lot of time browsing in the shop and feel the need for coffee and food breaks... There will also be a great pet parade with prizes for the winner.. See you all there :::: K

Ruby - the Top Cat at Four Seasons

2009-07-13T18:19:00.004+12:00

Next month is the anniversary of the Four Seasons Pet Store in Glen Innes. This year again - I will be photographying customers pets - which was a great sucess last year. Pet portraits will be at a special rate and bookings are essential during their anniversary celebrations . These sessions are arranged through the store and bookings are necessary to hold your place on a particular day. More info on this will be available soon.

As we had some advertising shots to do in advance - after the storm had abated yesterday- we travelled up to GI to visit the store. We grabbed some brunch first at the famous Nosh store next door and devoured divine corn fritters and perfect coffee.

Ruby was in great form at Four Seasons when we arrived and posed nicely for time - before "active cat" mode took over . Cats are like that - they have mind of their own...:) (I have four of them)

We got lots of great shots - but confused a few customers as they noticed (stepped around) me with Ruby laying on the floor. The regular pet store customers love Ruby (well-- unless they are of the four-legged dog variety) - she has a great purrsonality and is one very gorgeous young redhead. See you again in a few weeks Ruby.

Chocolate and Fudge - it's not what you expect

2009-06-09T20:32:00.003+12:00

As I have said in the past - I am not really into rodents, not at all, not ever... never... However, I did have a pet photography portrait studio set up at 4 Seasons Pets in Glen Innes and these two little chaps , "Chocolate and Fudge" turned up - along with a guinea pig and pet rabbit.

Photographing mice is not easy - they are fast, really fast and small... and well ..I won't touch them . I used the old "kiwi number 8 wire ingenuity and made a little stage for them and the images were great !!

Favourite pooch photos

2009-06-08T19:36:00.003+12:00

A quick few images from a photo session with a little wee fella who was really well-behaved despite a few minor "cat" distractions:)

Max grows up

2009-05-24T20:35:00.005+12:00

Scrappy Max is not amused...

Alert and on active duty

Beneath beds is a great play place

Don't let this cute look fool you...... Max is ONE scrappy cat...Ashley has the scratches to prove it... Max is now 18 months old and since moving from a farm to a culdesac - he has adjusted quite well to social suburban life in the right of way where he lives down the lane. His friend Chad visits all the time ... (Chad is also a fluffy cat with a cute name tag)..

The Capper Clan

2009-04-19T18:26:00.005+12:00

This is a very special photo session.
A few months ago I lost one of my hand-reared grey cockatiels.. China flew off after a door was left open in her cage. India her sister stayed behind... I frantically searched for China - day and night calling her - but to no avail. I listed her on pets on the net and the following week after no luck locating her, fearing the worst, that she may have gone for good, put an advert in our local paper.
A couple of hours after the paper arrived I received a phone call from a lady living 10 minutes drive north west of us, on the Awhitu peninsula. And yes it was China she had found!
I was ecstatic and India was also very happy to have Miss China home to keep her company.
Last weekend I did a photo session, which was fully intended for her lovely Jersey cattle.. but I could not resist photographing the family pets as well - including a very old (20) year old cat..
So understandably this is not the usual regular " sweet young things" that appear here.. but a very special photo session - from a most grateful pet owner.
Many thanks Michele, for all you did for China.

Lexie the Wheaten Terrier

2009-04-19T17:11:00.006+12:00

Lexie was having a "shy" day today and spent most of the time behind "dad's"' legs...Lexie is a three year old Wheaton Terrier and the most gorgeous soft apricot colour.

She had already managed to fit in a busy day down at the beach and a bath - and then onto being support crew, out in the wind, at our local soccer match where I met her.

And the girls won their game !! Waiuku 5 - Bay-Olympic 0

Birman cat portraits

2009-04-19T08:21:00.005+12:00

At least once a year I donate services to a charity . This year it was DARE NZ who held a fund- raising auction event. The lucky person who won a photography session for her gorgeous cats was Jocelynne.

Photographing cats is generally (but not always) harder than dogs. Cats don't usually sit on command and they are not "food-driven," which usually goes without saying for dogs!.

These lovely Birman cats are 14 and had just celebrated a birthday. They definately knew something was up that day... All the windows closed and cat door locked firmly. The cats were rather shy and weren't that keen on having a strange lady in their house - even if I had brought special cats treats, nice yummy catnip thingees and toys with feathers. I felt like the paparazzi following them around and I lay under the dining room table for a few frames and got some great shots. :)

I found this cat joke and thought it rather amusing and appropriate for a lot of situations. Please note:: there were No children in this session ...:) Just me and Jocelynne!

Twins or not?

2009-03-30T22:16:00.003+13:00

This is one beautiful cat, two images. I think his name was Merlin ! Rather a feisty boy who liked to play cat and mouse.. (me being the mouse) - but- oh so gorgeous. I think he knew it too - just look at that pose.
I was actually photographying a dog at the time - and the cat of the house just rocked on in.. posed away and then after a couple of frames - sauntered off...
I think the saying " dogs have masters ... cats have slaves" is very true....

2009-03-29T18:36:00.003+13:00

I had the pleasure of photographying Coco recently - who is a gorgeous black standard poodle. After our "getting to know each other" time we settled in to a great photo session and we captured lots of wonderful images. My sincere thanks to Coco's family - Natalie, Brett and Lauren for giving me the opportunity to meet you all and to photograph one very cool dog :)

Chloe

2008-09-23T18:20:00.000+12:00

This is the adorable Chloe!

A lovely (although shy at first) semi long-haired cat owned by Sarah. After about 20 minutes Chloe settled down to show us what a star she really she was, and we took some lovely images. I loved Chloe's "bling" collar and perfectly pink nose!

Hope to see you again Chloe and Sarah :)

Madison

2008-09-05T21:37:00.000+12:00

This is Madison - a happy dog with huge personality and so well trained!

We had a great photo session and it was a pleasure to meet Courtney and Aaron her owners, who, like Madison, are originally from the USA.

Hope to catch up with you all some time.

Floyd

2008-08-29T21:59:00.000+12:00

Floyd is a retridoodle... which (I think) is a mix of golden retriever and standard poodle . A large fluffy/woolly boy - who had just had a shampoo and blow wave. He was so cute and had the most soulful brown eyes... Full of personality, Floyd is destined to be a star and was a great subject!

Molly

2008-08-25T21:31:00.000+12:00

Lovely Molly the Giant Schnauzer. Beautifully groomed and well behaved she took to the stage like a star.

Giant Schnauzers are originally from Germany, have many good qualities and are nice natured dogs.

I had not been quite so close to a schnauzer before and totally enjoyed our photo session.

Marlo

2008-08-24T22:39:00.000+12:00

Images from Marlo's photo shoot. Very playful and lots of fun and so pretty ( for a boy!)

A caramel and cream spaniel mixed with a wee bit of poodle - Marlo had a delightful personality and was a pleasure to photograph.

Max

2008-08-04T14:48:00.000+12:00

Lots of images from Max's photo session. We had a fun time running/hobbling around his home - even with my leg fresh out of surgery. (Please don't report me to my surgeon!) I did manage to lie down on the floor for most of them. Animals prefer, I think, to be photographed in their own home environment. Max, semi long-haired is a bit of a "battle-cat" and easily jumps 1.5 metres straight upwards and is able to catch neck straps on cameras! We know why he "left the nest" early... his mother turfed him out into a pig pen - probably because he was huge trouble as a kitten. Just a "stroppy teenager" in cat years - and he has the most divine whiskers:)

Chester

2008-08-03T09:13:00.000+12:00

Some of the images from Chester the dalmation's photo shoot.

We had a lot of fun and Chester was a perfect subject - it's amazing what a small bribe of food will do :)

Pet photography is usually quite hard work - and getting to know the animal subject, before the session, is well worth the time taken

Harry's Pet Portrait ~ Photo Session

2008-05-31T18:57:00.000+12:00

Harry is a one year old Chinchilla (and not the rodent type of Chinchilla!)

Chinchillas are a variety of Persian cat with long hair. Harry has white fur and each strand is tipped with black - which makes their coat look quite translucent. They have a placid personality and Harry is very affectionate but also a bit of a mischief maker ! Harry has the typical emerald green eyes of the breed which look as though each eye has eyeliner applied. They are fairly high maintenance though, due to their thick coat - but they are rather gorgeous!

The photo shoot went very well - although he was a bit of a blinker - so most of the shots are taken without fill flash.

George's Photo Shoot

2007-12-30T09:28:00.000+13:00

George 's photo shoot - in the relaxed atmosphere of the home garden.