 I love the walk between my home and my studio. With my studio located behind the house I grew up in, I know the walk, and the neighbourhood, very well. That being said, there's always something new to look at... this is my walk from Sunday...  For dogs whose humans work from home most, if not all of the time these days, getting left home alone can pretty confusing. So when Tica's human had to leave her for a couple days to go in to the office, she asked if I could take her for a lunch walkies. Well, I ended up staying for most of the day both days and working from there because I just couldn't leave the little snuggle bug! I see Tica every week at our fridays at fleming dates, but we haven't spent much time just hanging out at her house so I took it as an opportunity to build our friendship. So along with our neighbourhood walkies, she showed me how she naps, her sleepy face, her "let's go outside" face, running in her yard and how she likes to chase sticks. Fun times... thanks Tica!  When you have a little, old dog whose routine is tv and couch time in the evenings, it’s hard to leave the house after dinner, so I haven’t… in a looooong time. So, with some good friends coming over to make sure Mr Coco got his evening cuddle time in, I walked out into the dark evening. The event? Our friend Grant had brought his Grant Lawrence & Friends: An Evening of Story & Song to town, and he’d asked two of the members of one of my favourite bands, BUM, to play a couple songs. We've known Grant since the early 90's because Rob (my husband) and Andrew's band BUM used to play with the band Grant was in, The Smugglers. Neither band is playing these days, but the bond that was forged amongst smoke-filled bars and a type of #vanlife that would make current social media van-lifers run screaming into a picturesque sunset from their bathroom & kitchen fitted, custom, cozy home on wheels, has kept those friendships going. Grant is an incredibly engaging storyteller and his subjects this evening ranged from musicians to BC Ferries line ups and the cast of characters he’s met growing up in Desolation Sound. Peppered throughout the storytelling his ‘friends’ at this show were singer/songwriters Joel Plaskett, Ashleigh Ball and Lindsay Bryan, as well as Rob and Andrew from BUM. All of the performances were so beautiful and heartfelt and the evening ended with a sing along of Joel Plasket's song, Hey Moon. I spent most of the magical evening watching from the sidelines and exploring backstage… here’s a snippet of what I saw. To see where Grant's playing next: https://grantlawrence.ca/events  I usually photograph other people's dogs, but I recently took some time to photograph our Mr Coco. Being 14 and basically blind and deaf, I've been meaning to get some portraits of him because I know all too well, time isn't always on our side. Plus, he's not a superfan of my camera, it's easy to put off. But I've been doing more palliative pet photo sessions lately so I figured if all went well, it would be a chance to work on the photo I wanted for our wall, as well as be a bit of an experiment -- to see if I could capture him as I do for other people's pets. It was just me and him in the studio, and if I'm being honest, it was kinda tough. Partially because he's not really comfortable in my studio anymore. He used to love it because he'd get treats and had a special bed, but that's no longer enough and it's now just kinda confusing for him. And he doesn't like the slippery paper of the backdrop so he didn't want to stand on it for very long. And all that got me thinking... Am I capturing him how I see him? Like really see him? Or am I capturing some other, more fearful part of him? Do others see him as I do, or how he appears in the photos? Are those the same thing? Is he enjoying this in any way? And that led me to ponder... Do I capture other people's pets as they see them? How much do other people want to see their pets as I see them? Really, this experience opened a bit of a can of worms in my brain, but at the end of the day, that's part of what being an artist is. There's self doubt, there are questions that may never be answered, but I know this: 1) I love photographing pets, including my own, and 2) I consider it an honour to be able to share someone's pets through my lens and my eyes. So, here are a few more photos from my session with our Mr Coco. Thanks for stopping by, ~w  walking the same routes I've walked so many times before looking up, up looking down, down and looking into the eyes of Maisy       From Spain to Montreal to Victoria, it's been a big week for rescued Galgo, Dylan. He arrived into rescue care at Galgos en Familia in Malaga, Spain in July 2023. He was just skin and bones.   Over the six+ months he was in care in Spain he gained some weight and learned to trust again. So with the help of rescue parters and EGP's Golden Basket Project, this sweet senior made his way to Victoria, BC where he's now in foster, awaiting a home. Dylan is amazing. He was sweet and gentle even though he would've preferred pets and loves to posing. It was almost to the point of "click" goes the shutter and Dylan comes to me for a pet. His foster mom Heather then entices him back with a treat, then "click" goes the shutter and back Dylan comes for another pet. So yes, we took a number of breaks... (thanks Heather for the pic!)  If you meet Dylan, you will fall in love instantly. He's got the marks of age and a hard life -- little bumps and scars -- and eyes that tell a 1001 stories. He's inquisitive and interested and has the cutest tiger-striped tail. If you told him all your secrets he would just look at you with understanding because he knows. Dylan looks for reassurance, which is expected given what he's been through in his life. And he looks for it from humans. Kindness and softness will go a long with this brave guy. Our session lasted about an hour and he showed off his head tilting skills to the max. He isn't a sitter so we thought we'd try to get him to lay down on a soft bed. When our words weren't working, we enlisted the help of a spanish translator app so we could encourage him to "lay down" (tumbarse) in a language he was familiar with. And when we said it, he seemed to understand, but it still took him a few moments to relax enough... but down he went. And when he did, it was a beautiful thing. Here are some captures from our session on Sunday -- I like to include a variety so you get to see those little nuances and expressions that make him the beautiful, unique being he is. I wish Dylan all great things in this next chapter of life. xo For adoption info, please contact: Extraordinary Galgos & Podencos of Western Canada https://www.facebook.com/egpwesterncanada
                    
 After all these years of photographing rescue dogs - the mixed breeds, the bulldogs, the sled dogs and all the dogs in between - I thought I'd seen a lot. Not seen it all of course, but enough that I've become very adept at compartmentalizing. So as I've been doing some photography for Extraordinary Galgos & Podencos Western Canada (EGPWC), I've also been learning more about the lives of Galgos - the Spanish sighthound used for hunting. The class of sighthound covers a number of breeds -- at least 28 according to Wikipedia -- and includes breeds I've met like Podencos, Salukis, Greyhounds and Whippets. But Galgos aren't just used for hunting in Spain, they're used in Portugal and the Middle East too. And today I encountered something new when I met Ramon, a Bahrainian Galgo who's missing the tops of his ears. Galgos usually have floppy ears - they kind of floppy that can perk up and be super expressive when they hear the right sound that piques their interest - so it took me a bit before I noticed Ramon's half-ears. When I asked one of the EGPWC volunteers I was told it was likely for speed... floppy ears can catch wind... which after thinking about it made no sense to me because his ears don't flop at all now that they're cut (see photo above). Now I'm not saying that was the reason in Ramon's case, but I did a bit of digging and discovered that for Galgos and Podencos ear cropping, along with tail cropping, is also done to limit injuries when dogs can sustain when chasing prey. And it's done for identification too -- both when they're alive to differentiate them from others in the group, and when they're dead, because if the dog has an ear tattoo, it can be traced. But Ramon still has half his ears, so I continue to ponder this... and then I read a story about a racing greyhound, Xicota, who collapsed mid race and started to go purple so her owner used an old-fashioned approach and chopped of a bit of her ear to save her from heatstroke. Needless to say, Xicota did not survive. And then I thought about a dog's ear bleeding. Have you ever seen a dog's ear bleed? Even the smallest cut can yield enough blood spatter to look like a crime scene. So the reason to lob off the tops of two ears? Again, I can't understand. (If you, dear reader, have other insights, I'd love to hear them) So while I have no idea how or why or when Ramon lost parts of his ears, I can pretty confidently surmise that it wasn't for any good reason. But Ramon isn't dwelling on his ears, so neither will I. This guy just loves to be loved, even in a group of people he doesn't know... tail wags, snout sniffs and the old lean-into-the-human-for-all-the-pets. It's no wonder he's been adopted already! The other new arrival for EGPWC is the handsome Dylan. (red coat) Dylan was a bit less outgoing than Ramon, but he still wasn't one to shy away from human attention so he got his share of loves too. Apparently he's quite a novelty for the female greyhound in his foster home, getting her to act all silly around him, which sounds pretty sweet. Dylan's coming to my studio tomorrow for adoption profile photos so I'll be able to report more after that. Willow, Dakota, Lazarus and Dilly all have homes but were on hand to meet their new friends and educate people about the Galgo breed. Meet n' greets in a pet-food store can be stressful, but their humans advocated for them and everything was kept pretty chill. There are dogs everywhere in this world who are being failed and exploited by humans and I'm grateful that there are people networking to help get them to safe and loving homes where they can just be their doggo selves, getting opportunities to learn what they like and don't like and become the beloved family members that they're meant to be. Thanks for stopping by! ~wendy
Arturo came over for an adoption profile photo session recently and since he was so chill about it we had time to experiment with the dreaded black dog on black background! I recently tried it with a fawn-coloured dog and really liked the look so I had an idea going in, but each dog is so unique and in Artie's case, he's a bit of a head wobbler so I have to work on pushing my settings a bit more for dogs who can't hold still, but I'm looking forward to adding this look to my repertoire. Thanks Artie! Arturo is being fostered with my friend Shannon so I've met him a few times now and he's just an amazingly sweet, chill guy. She's brushed his teeth, trimmed his toenails and has taken him on some runs in the forest and he's cool with it all... except cats apparently. No cats. I've included a few of Artie's adoption photos below, but his and Zorro's adoption photos can be found on my site here: home away from home But please check out the rescue that's helping these sweethearts into a life of love: Extraordinary Galgos & Podencos of Western Canada https://www.facebook.com/egpwesterncanada   
 That balance between time spent at the computer and time spent doing other things, like getting a good dose of fresh air and exercise has been a bit off balance for me lately. So when the opportunity to go on a hike with a friend came up, I was in. Horth Hill, here I come! The moment I pulled into the parking lot I was in awe of the gorgeous fall colours. Are they more vibrant this year? I don't know. Maybe because it's been raining, everything just looked super fresh and extra vibrant. Then Jill arrived with her OWL crew (Ollie, Wilson + Luke) - 3 Weims who are all about outdoor fun and adventure! I've known Ollie and Luke since they were wee pups and met Wilson as a young'un. Wilson came into their family as a medical foster after suffering a broken pelvis and other injuries after being hit by a car at 5 months old. And surprise, surprise, he never left! He's all healed up and keeps pace with his brothers no problem. All three have been to my studio for photos, but this was the first time I got to see them let loose and release the zoomies! It was magical. Up trails and down hills catching up and me catching my breath along pathways admiring vistas, fungi and a no-eyed dog photo ops (and outtakes) and waiting... and waiting... for one who led his own expedition into the woods treat stops band photos and dogs on a log finding light amidst the canopy and through conversation and by the end, the crew could've done it all again... and again. p.s. our route looks like a boot kicking a plastic shopping bag.  Thank you so much to all the doggos who came out for a Howl-o-ween photo mini photo session and helped raise $700 for Victoria Bulldog Society! xo  |
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Website and social media content is copyright protected. © Wendy Nesbitt // All rights reserved.