I definitely have the cutest dog! I have been taking so many photos of Maya lately... if anyone is interested in setting up a pet session, I would love to talk to you. There's a couple more days left in June, which means that the monthly special is still in effect (one free 8x10 with the payment of a portrait session).

Such a pretty dog!

We are running a special promotion on Pet Sessions for the month of April in order to support the ASPCA, the American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals.

ASPCA Mission: Orange is a focused effort to create a country of humane communities, one community at a time, where animals receive the compassion and respect they deserve--a nation where there is no more unnecessary euthanasia of adoptable animals simply because of a lack of resources and awareness.

Yesterday, I took Maya to the dog park for her first time. We attended a meetup of the Fort Lauderdale Dachshund Meetup Group so we could play with other adorable doxies!

As you can see, Maya was a little shy in the beginning. She looks a little confused about why her mommy brought her to this place with so many other doggies!

But, she soon warmed up to things when we saw that someone had brought a tennis ball (she loves tennis balls), and decided to have fun, play, and get a little dirty!

Here are some of the friends we made:

Hopefully we will get to attend another meetup soon, and we definitely will be returning to the dog park. We both had a great time!

I decided to see how the new lens performed photographing my pup, so I took it out for a spin last night before heading out for dinner. Here are some adorable shots I took.

Two of Maya being super cute outside in the backyard (yes, we do have a pink house). The first was taken at ISO 1600 and the second at ISO 200. I love the first one with her wrinkled nose... soooo cute!

One from later on before bed - Maya loves to snuggle up under the covers! So cute! This one was taken at ISO 3200 on my 5D.

Oh, and since inquiring minds want to know, I purchased the Canon f/1.4 model of the 50mm lens. So far, I like it a lot!

This morning, I went up to Jupiter, FL to Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, a wonderful place which rehabilitates wild animals who have either been hurt or somehow cannot survive in the wild.

Someone in the South Florida Camera Club, which is the local photo enthusiasts club I belong to, arranged for us to go to the park on a day that they were closed so that we could have a very personal experience with the animals. We got to go inside the eagle and deer enclosures and take some close-up photographs. At one point, I was even being licked by three deer at once!! Yes - licked!! They were so friendly! It was such an awesome experience, and since I love animals, I was in heaven!!!

I didn't do any Photoshopping of these photos at all... these are pretty much right out of the camera!

Since posting a bunch of wild animal pics here is probably a little ridiculous, I have a lot more posted in my Flickr account that you should definitely check out. There is a self-portrait of a deer trying to lick me there. Soooo cute!

Today I went to the Las Olas Art Festival with my friend Jeni, whom I've known since middle school! We had a great time looking at all the art and jewelry at the festival, and enjoyed lunch and wine at a restaurant on Las Olas Boulevard called The Grape.

After a few hours of walking in the heat, we headed back to her house, where I did an impromptu photo shoot with her dog, Kaya and cat, Loki.

Kaya was just the cutest, happiest Golden Retriever in front of my camera!

"Are you sure I can't go swimming in the lake, Mom???"

Loki was so sweet and shy.

She seemed to enjoy her little modeling session after a few clicks of the camera!

Your animals are so beautiful, Jeni! Thanks for hanging out with me today and letting me photograph your lovely pets!

Today is a special day! It's our little dog Maya's fourth birthday.

For her birthday, she got a new doggie bed for her crate, a new ball, some squeaky stuffed animals, and LOTS of treats, including a brand new rawhide bone (she loooooves those!).

Maya is a miniature long haired dapple dachshund. Isn't she adorable?

I hung out with my friend Heather a while ago when she was visiting from New York. She has a beautiful Alaskan Eskimo Dog, Rocky, who is getting on in age, and I jumped at the opportunity to photograph him when I went to see her in West Palm Beach.

I absolutely love photographing animals! I have always been an animal-lover, myself, and think that animals have just as much personality (even maybe more!) than humans. Often times we forget to take pictures of our furry friends - I know that I wish I had more photos of some of the pets that I had growing up, so photographing my animals now is really important to me.

Rocky was so much fun to photograph. I hope you enjoy these, Heather!

If you are interested in having pet photos done at your home, please let me know. I would love to add more animals to my portfolio, so please allow me to work with you to build a custom package!