Making memories to last a lifetime….

Shelter dog (Photo by Shelter-Me-Photography)

Photo: Shelter-Me Photography    Nanette MartinSince our last article about Shelter-Me Photography, pet photographer Nanette Martin has remained steadily on track.

Mid February Nanette found herself traveling to Southern Colorado Spay and Neuter Association, to photograph a pair of Double Merled Shepherds (term used to describe a color pattern), Willie and Annie. The pair had come to the shelter some 5 years ago, along with their litter mates and have been there ever since. They have been there so long because you cannot adopt just one of them, you must adopt them both.

Why? Because they are a special needs pair. Annie is deaf and blind and extremely dependent on her brother, Willie. And a few years ago Willie was attacked by two other dogs and almost died. While he manage to pull out of it and live his badly injured left leg had to be amputated. They need each other, it’s that simple. (Full article)

Most digital camera’s are loaded with auto settings that can make even a seasoned photographer’s life much simpler. For a newbie, they are almost a must. Each auto function on your camera will cause a specific technical outcome of your photographs.

These are some of the basic auto functions found on most cameras today, and what they do.

(Full article)

Photo by Gila Todd

In today’s economic climate, among budget cuts, home repossessions, and the growing jobless rate, we humans are not the only creatures suffering through hard times. Our four legged friends, all over the US, are suffering right along beside us. And they do so loyally.

Rescues and shelters are taking in record numbers of pets as they are abandoned in the streets and turned into shelters daily. More and more people are turning in their beloved pets for lack of money to feed them, take care of veterinary bills, or some because they no longer have a home to provide.

Many facilities will be forced to turn away new arrivals due to over populations in their kennels and the need to preserve funds for animals already living in their care.Shelter administrators are working diligently trying to find homes for all these homeless pets but there just isn’t anywhere for them to go. Everyone is over capacity. While there are many no kill shelters across the nation , great numbers of pet shelters are forced to euthanize animals on a regular basis to make room for the ever growing numbers walking in the doors. (Full article)

The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri will be holding it’s monthly mobile pet adoption at the Cape Girardeau Petco April 17, 2010 from 12pm-3pm. They will be bringing several lovable pets with them and hope that you will come out them. Bring your family, including current fur babes, to meet the pets available for adoption!

The Petco store is located at 266 Siemers Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO. They often sponsor pet adoption drives for local shelters and rescues. You can find an adoption drives going on just inside store doors most weekends.

(Full article) Photo by shelter volunteer. Editing by Gila Todd

Photo: Gila Todd

Caruthersville Humane Society had a successful adoption day at Petco April 10th. Out of the eight animals they brought along only 2 went back to the shelter. Four kittens and two dogs were discovered by their new families just as you walk through the door at the Cape Girardeau Petco Store.

Just across the aisle, a few feet away, was an adoption booth forSafe Harbor Animals Sanctuary from Jackson, MO. Safe Harbor too had a good day for adoptions.

(Full article)

Photo by Erma Page, Caruthersville Humane Society

Caruthersville Humane Society is once again teaming with Petco to show off their adorable pets up for adoption. The adoption drive will be Saturday, April 10, from 11am to 4pm at the Cape Girardeau Petco. The store is located at 266 Siemers Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO. (573) 332-1580.

Coming along to meet you will be Duchess, Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot. All are pups from the same litter and folks at the shelter believe they are a Beagle/Chihuahua mix. All are up to date on their routine shots, de-wormed, and kennel broke. All three are adorable. See them in the slideshow below, along with other shelter adoptables.

At the last adoption drive the shelter didn’t bring along kittens but this time they will. Come see Lyza and her fuzzy kitty friends. They are all looking for loving homes.  (Full article)

Photo by Gila Todd

To shoot rescue and shelter photography will require great patience, a little skill, and a decent grasp on organization.
If you are a big animal lover, have a few pets of your own, or have had a good deal of contact with animals in your life, the patience is a given.You already know that like children, pets are unpredictable and you will understand the challenge going into this situation.

The skill will come from showing your patience and persistance getting the job done, and done well. (Full article)

If you have been keeping up with St. Louis Pet Photography articles and contests it’s not hard to see how popular pet photos are. 

With only two contests held so far, a whopping 1454 votes have been cast between the two of them! That’s a load of people interested in pet photos and there are thousands more out there just like them waiting to be invited in to have a look.

Holding these contests has confirmed a few things…….(Full article)

Photo: Gila Todd~~ Pet from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri

Blue Shadow Photography offers outstanding and timeless portraits of your pet(s).If you are looking for a St. Louis photographer, with a   comfortable, pet friendly environment, look no further.

Blue Shadow Photography can be found at 6948 Arthur Avenue, in St. Louis. There you’ll meet Steve Tharp and Kathy Broderick  who have been offering their services to pets and people alike for the past 6 years.

You may note that pets were listed first in the intro. That’s because although Blue Shadow Photography provides a wide range of services, they started their business because of pets; their own, Blue and Shadow.  (Photo: Blue Shadow Photography)   (Full article)

Robyn Arouty and her fur babe, Apple

Edgy you say? Yes, edgy. Edgy, gritty, over the top, out of the norm, bold,  and in your face. That’s Robyn and that’s “how she rolls”. She takes a shot of reality and mixes it with a splash of fashion and kicks out quality work that’s way beyond your average portrait. She pushes the limits and drives an image over into what one can only define as works of fine art. It only takes a glimpse of her work to see that description come to life. (Full article)

It would seem quite simple to be a volunteer rescue/shelter photographer. Just show up, snap a few photos, upload them somewhere, email them, or turn them over to a shelter employee, and your done, right?

Well, not exactly. It’s a little more complex than that. If it were that simple, shelters and rescues would be overflowing with photographers just beating down the doors to help photograph the adoptable pets waiting to be reintroduced to the world. But that just simply is not the case.

It’s true that anyone can hold a camera and take a few snapshots. But what justice does that actually do the animal that is so desperate for a “furever” home. His or her photographs, the ones you take, may be the determining factor in getting people into the shelter to see them. So like any human portrait, those images should reflect the true beauty and personality of each pet. It’s up to you as the photographer not only to provoke that personality, but to capture it. (Photo by Gila Todd)   (Full article)

Puppies by Linda Sergenese -ONTARIO

Congrats to Linda Sergenese and her new fur babe Dexter, for taking first place in the Valentines Day Pet Photo Contest!

“Puppy Love”  is an early portrait of the latest addition to the Sergenese family. The winning photo was taken during a family visit with Dexter, before his homecoming February 12.

Dexter was a Valentines Day present. Now almost 10 weeks old he’s settled in a bit and probably hasn’t seen the last of Linda’s camera. She’s been snapping away since he came in the door and I suspect this is not the last we will see of this little guy. (Full article)

Entries are all in and accounted for!

Please take a few minutes and check of the pets that enrich the lives of some of our readers. They were all so adorable I am sure contestants had a hard time choosing which one photo to submit.

• Voting will end February 21, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
• You will be allowed to cast 1 vote.
• Poll results will show on poll itself.
• Winner will be formally announced  February 22, 2010
• A feature article will be written highlighting the winner of the contest.

(See full article and see results of the contest)

We need your input.

Are you a volunteer pet photographer for a shelter or a rescue? Or are you a shelter or rescue administrator who manages volunteer photographers?

If so, we want to hear from you!

Volunteers photographers: Please take the time to fill out the survey contained in this link. Please tell us your experience in this field and tell us how we can help you broaden your operation. Volunteer Survey            (full article)

Please note the following St. Louis area photographers who specialize in pets.

Those listed have websites containing all information necessary to begin shopping for your pet’s next portrait session. Click on any screen shot or link for details on each photographer.

(full article)

Scenario: You’ve just brought a new puppy home to join the family. You normally shoot a fair amount of photos of all your pets but this one seems to be more photogenic than most and demands that you shoots scads of photos of his daily growth. Seems like everyone on your Facebook,Twitter, and Myspace account wants to see him on a daily basis, so you gladly comply. There are photos of the new pup piling up everywhere, including your hard drive. So much so that they are filling up all your storage space on your PC. Now what do you do?

This is a common problem with people who shoot a lot of photographs cinsidering the average image is 3-5MB’s each. (full article)