Category Archives: Pets

Esther & Alfie | New York City Pet Photographer

My friend Esther asked me to take some photos of her and Alfie before he dies; he was just diagnosed with cancer. Although not quite his usual peppy self (he’s only six), he perked up to go for a walk, and was clearly delighted to be strolling down the street with two ladies. In these photos, you can see he kept glancing back at me to make sure I was still there.

After our walk, he had some water and then flopped on Esther’s bed – a newly permissible lounging space – and was so sleepy, even his tongue looked exhausted, sprawled out on the covers.

p.s. I like how nicely Esther’s dress matches Alfie’s pink tongue!

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Tino | New York City Pet Photographer

Do you know I have three dogs? Three. This makes me feel ridiculous sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This is my youngest and my smallest, Tino. He’s built like a barrel, and at 20 pounds is a tiny bad-ass. I found him in 2007, abandoned at a beach in Puerto Rico with what looked like a purposefully broken back. He was dirty and skinny, and his hind legs flopped in the dirt behind him uselessly. All I could do was give him my bottle of water out of cupped hands before I had to leave in tears.

My Spanish is bad now and was horrible then, but I determinedly figured out how to tell the dog rescue organization where he was located using a combination of my memory and Google maps. It was nerve-wrecking and heart-wrenching, and by the time I had gone through that whole mess and come out successful, I realized he was meant to be my dog for the rest of his life. There was no way I could go through all of that and then not ever see him again.

He is one of my greatest victories.

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The Day Family | Brooklyn Family Photographer

We couldn’t figure out what she wanted in this photo at first. It turned out she wanted to hold her dog! And then she wanted to play with her, so we set them both free in the leaves, and the dog ran laps while little Miss laughed hysterically.

“This is getting out of hand.” said Dad.

“Yes!” I said, “but I like it!”

I really like this photoshoot, not only because of the lovely family (and dog! score!) but because it illustrates beautifully one of my deep-seeded beliefs about portrait photography: it is not necessary to have everyone grinning at the camera in every shot to get lovely, joyful photos. Case in point, this little lady was quite serious in many frames, but it’s still clear she was having a nice time with her parents and her dog in the park on a beautiful fall day. Not that I don’t love a great big belly laugh face, but I will never demand that little kids smile at me. That’s fun for no one. It’s an approach that takes a little faith, but it works, because we have these great shots of her soulful, mildly amused face, and it slays me.

P.S. getting little kids to look at the camera is sometimes a challenge, and then I’ll shamelessly sing or wave a toy in front of my camera to see their face. Everyone with kids in New York City seems to have this beloved Sophie the Giraffe toy, and I was making MYSELF laugh dancing her in front of the lens – and even more so when I got this shot of her.

 

 

 

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Asa’s Last Day | New York City Pet Photographer

My neighbor Steve had this gigantic Doberman, Asa, that I would see all the time coming in and out of our building. Every time we bumped into each other, I couldn’t resist hugging this sweet dog. We took photos together on what ended up being his last day.

I have three dogs with rounder, flatter faces that I’m used to taking pictures of, so it was interesting for me as an artist to photograph a dog so full of angles. Also, I worried about getting Asa’s sweet side to show through in photos; he has a face that is so angular, I worried he would look mean. He doesn’t, though, I don’t think. Like humans, you can tell by the eyes that he’s a warm soul.


Ah, buddy. I miss having you as my neighbor.

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“Bashful” – Up for Adoption! | New York City Pet Photographer

If you ever want to hear me squee, give me a puppy.

This is Bashful – she’s four months old and sweet as can be. I met her recently at an adoption event, and as far as I know, she’s still available if anyone is interested. You can contact the Dog Habitat Rescue in Brooklyn to inquire about her or any of her six brothers and sisters, heroically plucked off the kill-list at 10 weeks old by this extraordinary organization.

When I met Bashful, she had spent the day at the park trying to get adopted and was clonking out, snuggled in volunteer Katie’s arms. Thanks, Katie, for keeping her awake just a little longer so I could snuggle and snap some photos.

I like this shot of her investigating the goings-on behind a gate; it shows off her prim little nails.

When you hold her like this, you can feel the full weight of her mushy puppy body. It’s fantastic.

Goodnight, Bashful. I hope you find a forever home soon.

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Matilda (plus mom Jennifer and sister Annie) | New York City Pet Photographer

It’s cats that are supposed to be the ones with nine lives, right? Don’t try telling that to Matilda. This very senior dog has beaten unbelievable odds and is currently living years past her predicted death with her owner Jennifer in a cozy apartment in Manhattan.

Jennifer’s friends put their money together and then informed her that a stranger (me!) would be coming to her apartment to do something nice. I was a surprise! It was a little nerve-wracking showing up somewhere to announce that I was there to take photos – would she be ok with it or get flustered? But Jennifer was delighted.

“I figured,” she said, “that my friends wouldn’t steer me wrong. They’ve known me for a long time.” Those are some excellent friends to have.

Unlike many very small dogs I’ve met, Matilda is quite relaxed and mild-mannered. She was snuggly with her “mom”, and very sweet. At one point during our session I was sitting on the couch photographing her and she decided to trot over and just sit on my lap! She is also very “likcety”.

My favorite two features on Matilda are her heart-shaped patch and THOSE EARS. They are fantastic.


Also appearing on camera is Matilda’s younger sister, Annie. Jennifer worried that taking in another dog so young might upset the senior Matilda, but they get along nicely. It’s even been beneficial; when Annie came to live with them, Matilda had stopped eating. Having someone else potentially eat her portion of dog food inspired Matilda to chow down right away at meal time! So this strong little dog keeps on living thanks to her punk of a little sister.

And during snack time, which happened while I was over, Matilda showed off her most perky side by dancing for a treat.

I am so happy to have met these three! Keep spunky, Matilda.

 

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Oliver the Dog | New York City Pet Photographer

Over the weekend I did a photoshoot with this fabulous basset hound, Oliver.  We were doing an “Oliver around Park Slope” theme.

 

He was pretty happy-go-lucky through the whole thing.  That’s because there were treats.

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