Meet Alaska, the Siberian Husky from Mosman who is 21 years old (that’s equivalent to three in human years). My assistant Montana and I first saw Alaska through the glass windows at ‘Pets In The City Grooming and Boutique’ in Neutral Bay. We were instantly captivated by her luminous icy-blue eyes and thick sand stone/white coat. She was an absolute stand out amongst the gorgeous group of dogs.
According to Alaska’s family, we aren’t the only ones who are completely fascinated by her beauty. Alaska is rather well known in the local community, and to some people Alaska’s mum is known not by her first name, but as ‘Alaska’s mum’.
Alaska was first discovered as an 8wk old pup by Natasha. She found him in a Pet Store at Warringah Mall. Natasha, who was 14 years old at the time, instantly fell in love with the puppy and sent a photo (from her phone) to her parents who were away at the time. Natasha and her brother James had been trying to convince their mum and dad to get a dog for some time. Natasha’s mum who was yet to be convinced, said as soon as she visited the pet store it was easy to be sold on Alaska too!
I asked Alaska’s mum to tell me about their husky’s qualities and personality. She said she is intelligent, has a love for people, loves attention, is head strong, stubborn and a little bit of a devil.
When we photographed Alaska at home she loved the experience and all of our focus on her. We did notice she was very sensitive to the strong light coming through the windows and tended to give us the funniest rolled back eyes as a result. You can see this in the second photograph of her.
Meet Morgan, a beautiful 3 year old Bengal cat owned by North Shore Vet Laura Moore and her husband. In order to capture Morgan at his most relaxed and in his own environment we set up our portable studio and photographed him at his very cool Cremorne ‘pet palace’.
Researching Bengal cats you can instantly see how beautiful they are in photographs with their desirable ‘wild’ look with large spots and rosettes, but it is not until you see one up close and in person that you catch what truly majestic animals they are.
Bengals are a hybrid breed of cat, formed by crossing domestic felines and Asian Leopard Cats Prionailurus bengalensis which is where the ‘name Bengal Cat’ was derived. The name is not actually derived from Bengal tigers as one might expect.
In the series of photographs above, my assistant Montana played fishing games with Morgan. His superb athletic ability to jump and stretch was absolutely impressive and incredibly exciting to capture!
Laura describes Bengal Cats as quirky, interactive and super fun but also needing lots of attention. She commented that you can’t leave them alone for too long, hence Laura has made her home wonderfully entertaining and fun for Morgan.
Morgan’s home sports an impressive cubby house with a mini maze, an indoor cat tunnel, a floor to ceiling cat climbing post with spiralling steps and a cat water fountain on their verandah – everything a cat could desire! To see a hilarious image of Morgan see our Niwa Photography facebook wall http://www.facebook.com/niwaphotography
Meet Blue, the Short Haired Border Collie, recently photographed at our studio in Brookvale, Sydney.
When we met Blue we were fascinated and intrigued by his eyes, one being blue and the other being brown.
We also took family portraits with 13 year old Blue at home with his family. Pictured at their Freshwater home are Mary-Louise (centre) and her children Sarah and Harry. Blue has been a part of their family since he was 6 weeks old.
Mary-Louise said he is a very loyal, obedient dog who loves everyone and everyone loves him! It is not hard to see why he is a well known and adored ‘celebrity’ at Freshwater Village on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Blue is a true gentleman, and was a pleasure to photograph.
Meet Hunter and his one year old pet Dog Duchess the Groodle. We photographed the beautiful pair at their home near Balmoral Beach, Mosman. The photo shoot was hilarious and was like a comedy act as they both loved being centre stage. Hunter’s parents Pam and Steve have a commercial video production studio at their home so this is where we photographed them. Instead of using our own studio equipment we made use of their continuous video lighting and the lovely natural window light.
Duchess has a very happy, friendly and loving nature. If you have never heard about the groodle designer breed before and are wondering, they are a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. I am told that when these delightful dogs are fully grown they reach 65cm and can weigh between 30-45kg.
Talk about this little darling dog melting our hearts! We photographed this beautiful Schnauzer dog at our professional photography studio in Brookvale on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Read about Pebble’s story as told by her proud owner Gillian (below).
Gillian explains how she came to be Pebble’s loving parent. ”My husband Mike put our name down with a Schnauzer dog breeder as there is usually a 6 month wait for pure bred puppies. I had no idea that he had done this. I was still grieving for our previous dog Chopper that had died aged 6 years old from a tumour on the spine. I was rather vehement about not having another dog, thinking I could never love another.
When Mike got the call that they had a puppy for us just six short weeks after Chopper had died, he literally had to drag me there to see Pebble. I remember hardening my heart and saying I would look after her, but never love her as I had Chopper.
Well of course, that took Pebble about a day to overcome. Born in a very large litter, and labelled rather cruelly I think, the ‘runt’, she was incredibly tiny and in constant need of being held close to the heart to settle her. She had, and continues to this day to have, a real knack for connecting with women. I think it is this need of hers’ to be protected and nurtured, very much like a small child, that calls to women.
Pebble is now 7 years old (born in May 2004) and has got the middle age signs of greying hair and stiffer joints. Call me biased, but I think she can still turn a head or two!”
Montana, my photography assistant and I were sooooo taken by Pebble with her human like expressions, placid nature and adorable big black eyes. We first met Pebble earlier this week when she was quietly starring in Gillian and Mike’s family portrait at their home in Collaroy. Pebble was most comfy nestled in close to Gillian’s heart with both front legs on Gillian’s chest (just like Gillian explained Pebble has done since puppy days). Can you hear us gushing at how gorgeous she looked!!! Our ‘behind the scenes’ video footage from both shoots was hilarious.
