Typically, I’m on the New Years carriage of resolutions, looking back on the old year, planning for the new year to come. This year I want to do it a little different (hence the multiple days into January we are currently at). 

The past year has been foggy. Mentally I have been lofty, a bit blue, focused on all things (gardening, being outside, farting on my computer, etc) other than dog photography. Oh I’m still sewing with Atomic Collars, though the number of events I did last year was relatively low. Tired, low energy, unfocused in the right direction.

If I missed the emails you sent, I’m sorry. If the normal level of care & awesomeness I bring has been dull and low, I’m sorry.  Mentally it wasn’t a great year which means I wasn’t the best version of me. I feel like I failed you and my business. 

When is a better time to start fresh, then within the first month of the new year? To quote from the song Guerrilla Radio by Rage Against the Machine: “It has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime. What better place than here, what better time than now?”

PERSONAL:

• Vitamin D daily, or at least do my best to remember it every day. 
• Walk more, outside when the weather doesn’t freeze my face off, inside at other times
• Bring Blue out to more places & work on his training & stranger danger
• Manage my weight better (better choices for intake – more veggies!)
• Wear more dresses & skirts, embracing my feminine vintage style more 
• Less Fortnite play time (this is a massively bad habit of mine… play with me – VintageDonut)
• Manage energy & blues better
• Organize & declutter clothes, basement & collections

BUSINESS:

• Dogs of the North Shore > now Dog’s Guide to the North Shore! 
  • There are still LOADS of places to visit from Duluth to Grand Marais and I would love to have a plethora of pups to showcase the highlight areas – Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock, tons of various waterfalls. Black Beach & the Duluth lighthouse are taken but we have so many other places to explore! The goal is to create a guide book that features dog friendly places to visit, eat and explore, as a guide for dogs to do with their parents. Ideally this awesome book will be available at gift shops running from Duluth and up the shore!!!! If you would like to participate, email or text me! 
• More dog photography!
  • Shitty Weather Sessions / Garage Sessions are currently available! We can do clean classic backdrops, ample props or none, treat catching, holiday or seasonal themed, all in a warm cozy garage at my house in St. Cloud. 
  • Spring, summer & fall sessions can be in the garage or anywhere around Minnesota! (We can travel out of state too if you’d like! Mountains perhaps?)
  • more PUPPY sessions! 
  • bringing my damn strobes outside for EPIC images! 
• BLOGGING more & consistently! Dog tips, photography tips, cool training things to do with your dog, and anything assorted that pertains to dogs, photography and the pair combined. Goal is minimum 1 time a week, ideal 2 times a week. 
• More consistency in responding to inquires and upping client interaction to be EPIC every time.  (If you don’t hear from me via email, please call or text!)
• Sewing more for Atomic Collars (there are a bazillion neckties and pieces of fabric that need to be turned into awesome dog collars haha!)

It will be an AWESOME year to come. My mood, ideas and energy have been on an upward trend, a return to awesomeness. I’m mega mega excited for the Dog’s Guide to the North Shore and doing studio sessions. I appreciate all of you and the support you’ve given me. Let’s make this coming year EPIC together! 

EEEEEEK! The fall colors are starting to shift into technicolor!

Enter in the pumpkin spice, Halloween decor… oh wait, they arrived in August bwahahahaha! (Halloween around my birthday is never a bad thing as its one of my favorite holidays! Skulls, bats and zombies, be still my heart!)

Anyhoo… fall colors and summer weather (80s!) makes for a lovely start of the fall season. Sorry I lost my train of thought a bit… haha!

Let’s talk leaf color changes: 

WOAH!!! There are already points of 25-50% PEAK COLORS around the state! And we’re only at September 20th, nearly a whole whopping month early for colors! Mid October tends to be peak season. Though as reported via WCCO, the fall colors most likely will arrive EARLY this year due to the lack of rain we got. 

It looks like the North Shore is getting started as well. 

Which means… the Dogs of the North Shore book sessions ought to have some MEGA pretty colors and wimpy waterfalls haha!

And speaking of the Dogs of the North Shore, did you know you can still book your session? (Book here) And that you will have until NEXT MONDAY, September 25th to snag your session before booking closes! That’s less than a WEEK AWAY!!!!!!!!

You need a reason to snag your session?

• A portion of the session fee goes straight to Ruff Start Rescue! 
• EPIC locations including nearly a bazillion waterfalls
• Fall colors and the North Shore
• Updated awesome portraits of your pup (you can jump in too!)
• Did I mention EPIC locations?

Booking is easy peasy! Head here: calendly.com/aboutadogphoto and pick your location. Times are set for each location (Gooseberry Falls is in the morning, Palisade Head is in the evening etc) so pick your location and you’ll automatically get a time. Ta-dah!

** Also note: you can book a Digital Dog Session or Puppy Series session via the link as well. Pick them if you want a full sized mega awesome session with your dog. Great for updated family portraits and holiday greeting cards! 

PSSST! If you can’t make the September 29th – October 1st times, let me know and we’ll do some mega secret planning! 

Get out enjoy those fall colors with your pup! 

Happy first day of September! Let fall & autumn things be unleashed! (Technically fall doesn’t arrive until September 23rd and ends December 21st… so September is technically summer! Haha!). We need to start talking fall colors even though temps are going to be touching into the 90s this week!

Peak fall colors will prospectively land late September way up north, early October for the middle of the state and mid October for the southern part of the state. Due to really dry conditions this summer, the trees may begin to peak colors EARLIER! I’ll be checking the fall color report weekly and letting you know as the colors begin to move into full peak color. 

And since we’re talking fall colors, we should talk sessions as well!

The week of September 4th – 8th I will be in Las Vegas for Shutterhound! It is slated to be a mega cool conference made by and for dog photographers. Some of those really well known names in dog photography will be there handing out loads of knowledge. If you want to swing out to Vegas, I do have a little time on two of the evenings haha! (Or if you know anyone out in the area who would love to have classic, playful and vibrant portraits of their pup, point me their direction!)

The end of September marks the… Dogs of the North Shore Book! EEEEEEEEEEK! I’m mega excited for this project! We will be traipsing the North Shore of Minnesota from Duluth to Grand Marias from September 29th to October 1st. Dogs and waterfalls? What could be more EPIC? Probably the whole scenic area of the North Shore haha! If you want to participate pop over to the online scheduler and snag your time and location!  PLUS… a portion of the proceeds from each session and any additional sales will be donated to Ruff Start Rescue! AWESOME!!!

After the Dogs of the North Shore book sessions we move into October. There are ONLY 9 sessions available during weekdays during the times of leaves in lovely color.  As for weekends? There is only ONE weekend session available – Saturday October 7th. Snag it fast!

Not sure you can swing a weekday session? Each weekday session will start around 5 pm which means you won’t miss too much work (or take the day off to hang with your pup).  These sessions are super popular and will be snagged quickly. Book your session using this link: Booking Calendar.

Special dates:

• October 14th will be HALLOWEEN Teenie Weenie Sessions. Location is TBD. Each session is 10 minutes and includes one digital image. A great way to capture your dog in an epic costume – or even the whole family!
  
  
• October 15th will be Short & Sweet Sessions. Location TBD, most likely in the Twin Cities area. Each session is 20 minutes, 2 digital images. This is a perfect session for updated family portraits or epic holiday card images. 

Whew! What a cluster of information!

Dates to note:

• September 29th – Oct 1st = Dogs of the North Shore Book Sessions
• ONE October weekend session = October 7th, otherwise pick from 9 weekday sessions during fall colors
• October 14th = Halloween Teenie Weenie Sessions
• October 15th = Short & Sweet Sessions
• Fall colors = early October into mid October, pending trees

In the coming months there will be fall color reports, tasty treats for Thanksgiving as well as tips for making the feast great with an older puppy, special edition holiday sessions, order by dates for prints & wall art to get them in time for Christmas (these make great gifts btw!), holiday tips to employ with an older puppy or eternal pup and possibly some pictures of Blue. 

Enjoy your first day of September and happy back to school!

It’s really easy to have a cool dog this summer – especially since we’ve landed in a hot hot humid hot week that reminds us that summer is for lazing about. 

• First step, AC. Air conditioning. 
  Hot & humid days are rough on us, but they are also rather rough on your pup. Imagine being wrapped in your Great Aunt Val’s floor length fur coat and jogging around the yard. That’s what your dog does on the daily. The thicker your dog’s coat, the more easily your dog can overheat. So crank the AC and lounge indoors with your dog.
• Early ass morning walks and late evening strolls. 
  The middle of the day from noonish to roughly four pm is going to the blazing hottest due to that lovely overhead sun. Asphalt & blacktop is going to be nearly hot enough to cook eggs (surface temp needs to be 158 degrees to cook an egg). In a 95 degree air temp day in full sun asphalt & blacktop can be a blistering 155 degrees. Concrete in full sun lands you at 140 degrees for the same air temp. Dirt & sand can be rather warm too, mid 90s air temps can push dirt & sand into the 100s for surface temp. Grass can get warm especially in full sun, but shouldn’t be as blazing hot as asphalt, blacktop and concrete.  If you need to walk in the middle of the day, see if you can find a grassy park to stroll in (bonus: loads of sniffs).  Otherwise with the ass crack of day for a morning stroll and/or head out for your steps into the darkening evening as the temp drops. 
  
  FYI: A surface temp of 125 degrees can burn your pup’s feet within 60 seconds. That’s an air temp in the 70s…
• Hark back to childhood with sprinklers, hoses and pools
  Hook up the sprinkler and encourage your pup to dash through it. Bonus: you’ll water your dry yard in the process too! If your dog isn’t a fan of the sprinkler, try the hose. Blue is a fan of chasing the water from the hose and biting it. Great for keeping him cool, pain in the ass when trying to water the garden haha! Not every dog is a fan of the hose either, make sure if you chase them with it it’s not a stressful scary event. If sprinkler & hose are out, break out the kiddie pool. Solid plastic pools are the best as they thwart dog nails, collapsible dog friendly pools are another good option, though sharp pup nails can damage them. Put in a little water and encourage your pup in to cool off. For those hesitant, use treats and toss toys they have to retrieve from the middle of the pool. Or step into the water yourself and your pup may follow too! For those who are water lovers, toss in toys that sink and float, ice cubes or treats to make the water even more fun. Otherwise sit back and giggle as your dog swims and splashes laps around the pool. 
• Bucket of ice block
  Literally a bucket of water frozen. Ice cream buckets (we know you have a few on hand, we’re not judging) work wonderfully for this cool toy for your dog. Fill the bucket with a smidge of water, freeze. Next layer add snacks such as peanut butter, carrots, blueberries, or watermelon and add more water to cover the snacks. Freeze and repeat until the level of ice meets the rim of the bucket. Thaw slightly for easy removal, plop it in the yard and let your dog lick and chomp his way to all of the tasty bits! You can add chicken stock to the water for even more enticement. 
  
  
• Look cool with Atomic Collars. 
  Make sure your dog not only stays cool but looks cool this summer. Atomic Collars (made by me – Cahlean!) are MEGA cool dog collars featuring funky and unique materials and patterns. Big collars, teenie collars and everything between. 

These are great ways to keep your dog cool (and looking cool) this summer! Blue & I really love spending our time in the AC with this gnarly heat this week. 

And a quick midsummer update: 

• TONS of gardening, weeding, watering and encouraging growth –  mostly the entire month of June
• A trip to Michigan with mom at the end of June – huzzah for road trips and antiquing
• Blue turned ONE the end of June! EEEEEEK! He’s halfway to adult! His weight? 112 lbs as of this morning! (His dad is 130 lbs!)
• Starting next Tuesday I will be partnering & volunteering with Tri County Humane Society to do updated pictures of adoptable dogs! Stay tuned for blog posts about each dog & cat I photograph and let’s help them find new homes!

EEEEEEEEEK! He’s not a baby any more! Look how Blue has grown! (BTW, this is a good reason why you need professional puppy pictures! Your puppy will never be small and squishy again!)