Chocolate and Fudge - it's not what you expect

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

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

The Capper Clan

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.

Birman cat portraits

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!

Chloe

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 :)

Marlo

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

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

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