Photography | biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Jul 24

Victory: Looking Beautiful!

Our beautiful Victory got a bath this weekend! She was in desperate need of one, especially with these hot and humid temperatures. It takes both Doug and I to bathe her, and we have a system down now where one of us fills up buckets with water and lines them up in the tub to expedite the bath process, while one of us washes her and keeps her from jumping out; then, we rinse her shampoo and conditioner as quickly as possible working like a little mini assembly line! We do our best to give her a speedy bath! To keep Victory looking her best, I brush her daily; use baby powder around her ears daily (she always smells so good); brush her teeth about five times a week; and we give her a bath once a month along with a monthly visit to the vet for a paw and nail trim! Thankfully, she always does really well at our vet!

I took this image below of Victory earlier this week and I noticed how much Victory has physically changed over the past nine and a half months since she came to live with us. See this image here to see a comparison of how much Victory has physically changed since bringing her home! It is quite amazing. She looks beautiful and healthy! I cannot wait for her one year anniversary in October to see how much she transformed over the course of a year!

Victory’s confidence has also improved and she has less anxiety. She will now even sit under my desk for hours at a time while I work; whereas in the beginning, she would retreat to her ‘hut‘ and she did not like to be on the floor. Biscuit always used to sit near me while I worked, so I am happy that Victory does the same and that she is feeling more secure in her home! She showers us with kisses every night and every morning — what more could you ask for! So, we are making progress and we are so grateful for our beautiful little Victory entering our lives!

Happy Thursday!

Jul 23

Instagram: Biscuit’s Space/Katherine Carver

We may be a little late to the Instagram party, but we’re now on Instagram! Doug and I decided that it was time to get iPhones, so we are now in the twenty-first century with our phones! I now have another method, the iPhone, to document little Victory, which will come in handy during those time I do not have my regular camera with me!

I am a visual person and I love photography. Thus, I thought that a ‘dog-centric Instagram’ would be a neat place to share images of Victory, our adventures together, along with snippets of our lives together, which I just started last week. If you wish, please follow along here. If you do not have a free Instagram account, you can follow along on the right side of the blog! I plan to post at least one photograph per day (likely more), including the weekends! So feel free to come by for a visit! (Instagram is the only social media that I use.) Victory has already made sheltie friends following her in Japan and Israel! It is amazing to see so many sheltie friends from literally all over the world!

Happy Wednesday!

Jul 18

Victory: Photography Project — 26

“One of the most enduring friendships in history — dogs and their people, people and their dogs.” ~Terry Kay

Beginning in January of this year, I began a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog! I have also been documenting Victory’s milestones so to speak each month — you can read these here! I think that it is fun to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories.

Doug happened to leave the laptop on the sofa, and Victory hopped up and decided to go to work on the laptop! Victory told us that she does e-mail and she is pretty good at skyping, too! This images of Victory below reminded me of this image of Biscuit.

Happy Friday!

Jul 15

Making Photo Albums

A friend recently ask me how I keep my photo albums up to date. I previously wrote about how I like to make and have tangible photo albums. The way that I keep my photo albums up to date (most of the time) is that each week I edit images and then send them off for printing. I have found that it is much easier for me to keep up with this on a weekly basis or else I will get buried in images and editing and it becomes quite cumbersome to get current. When the prints arrive, I edit through the images and insert the images in chronological order into the photo album. For the images I especially love, I get archival fine art prints made and mat and frame these images. So much of our world today is digital; and I think it is really nice to have these tangible photo albums to flip through and reminisce. Also, people love to flip through the albums when they come over to our home. Below is a snippet of a few of our photo albums. I have made roughly twenty photo albums over the recent years.

Happy Tuesday!

Jul 14

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Victory: Nine Months In

“The more I know about people, the more I love my dog.” ~Mark Twain

Saturday marked nine months since we adopted our little Victory! You can read more about the previous months’ milestones here. The time is just flying by and Victory is blossoming!

Below are some things that we learned about Victory this month:

She continues to enjoy riding in the car!

She loves to go on outings!

Recently she loves to eat popcorn when I make it in the evenings! She runs up to me in the hopes of getting some popcorn!

She loves when Doug grills and she has been going outside on the deck with her sniffer in the air! She even refuses to eat her dinner until she gets some meat from the grill!

It has been a little too warm to take her to the dog park. We plan to return to our weekly visits once the weather cools some.

Victory does not like walking in this heat, but we make her walk so she will go potty — otherwise she will leave us a nice ‘little present’ of poop in the house!

She continues to go out to eat with us since the weather has been so nice! She loves to go on outings!

She loves ribs — Doug made homemade ribs and he made a few unseasoned ones and cut the meat off the bone for little Victory — she gobbled the ribs right up! You can see her looking at her Daddy for more ribs!

She has not been chewing on as many ‘not for chewing’ items! She is sticking with chewing her chew toys that she loves to hoard in her hut! We have a weakness for buying her toys on a regular basis!

She still loves sitting on my hip, especially if we are out and about and she gets a little nervous. Whenever Victory gets nervous, her little paw goes up — Doug says she ‘strikes a pose’ with her paw!

She still has not barked as of yet!

Most of all, we love her so very much!

If you have not already, be sure to check out the six month video, our second video, and our most recent video of our little Victory!

Happy Monday!

Jul 11

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Victory: Photography Project — 25

“Not every person knows how to love a dog, but every dog knows how to love a person.” ~Unknown

Beginning in January of this year, I began a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog! I have also been documenting Victory’s milestones so to speak each month — you can read these here! I think that it is fun to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories.

Victory loves to eat with us especially if it involves her getting food! Whenever we eat at the dinning room table she wonders from side to side in the hopes that we will give her some food! We know that this is a bad habit — to give in and give her food as this just reinforces the fact that she gets what she wants! When we eat in the kitchen, she wonders into the kitchen in the hopes of getting some treats! She loves when we go out to eat and take her along with us! She is getting more confident and she knows when we go out to eat she will get some goodies! She even used to be afraid to come into the kitchen and now when she smells Doug cooking, she has no problem coming into the kitchen and sniffing around hoping for a treat! On Sundays, while Doug makes breakfast, Victory gets Siggi’s vanilla yogurt and she licks it up in no time flat!

Below are some images of Victory when we went to dinner at Wegmans recently — We wish that we had more dog friendly restaurants near our house!; and an image of Victory getting ready to eat her vanilla Siggi’s yogurt! However, Victory does not mind where we go as long as she can come with us (and get some treats)!

Happy Friday!

Jul 8

Photography Study: The Family — Zed Nelson

I came across this interesting long-term photography study by Zed Nelson documenting a family each year over a twenty-one year period using the same lighting and backdrop. It is fascinating to me to see all of the changes in this family over the years. I really like the idea of keeping the background and lighting constant with the people inhabiting this space changing over time. “There are no distractions,” Nelson says. “Only the miracle of growth and the changes of time and age.”

A screenshot of an image by Zed Nelson is below, but you can view the entire project here. This is a very neat idea, and I found the images very moving illustrating the changes of the family throughout the years.

Jul 3

Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc. — Part XIII – Rescue dogs in need of furever homes

I am excited about a long-term Dog Photography Project that I am working on with the Baltimore Animal Rescue Care Shelter (BARCS) as well as some local dog rescue organizations, including the Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc. I hope to share further information in the future. Using the following links, you can view Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX and X, Part XI, and Part XII.

For now, I can share some color photographs of these doggies pictured below in the hopes that they receive furever homes! If you are interested in adopting (or fostering in some cases) any of these dogs pictured below, please contact Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc. for further information. Please consider dog rescue! Biscuit’s rescue story illustrates that we can make a positive difference and impact in one dog’s life.

At this point, almost all of the images for Part 1 of this project have been photographed! I have been working on this project for over a year! Part 2 of this project is also under way! I can’t wait to share this project upon its completion!

Below is a brief description of the dogs in the order they are pictured below.

1. Simon — is a male 14-year-old Fox Terrier Mix. Simon is very loving, sweet, and easy going senior dog, and he is in need of a furever home!

2. Mello — is a male 4-year-old Corgi Mix. Mellow is a happy go-lucky doggie who is in need of a furever home! Mello is housebroken and he does well with children!

3. Skylar — Adopted!

4. Fiona — is a female 8-year-old Maltese Mix. Fiona had a terrible flea infestation when she arrived in rescue. She has been treated and, as a result, has some skin issues that are being treated. Fiona is in need of a furever home!

5. Patches — is a 12 week old Pit Bull Terrier. Patches is full of energy! Patches has a medial issue that is being treated by the rescue. Patches is looking for a home with someone willing to care for and train a puppy pit bull.

If you want to adopt a rescue dog; donate money; and/or contribute your time to the Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc., please contact Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc. via email at fallstonrescue@aol.com. To learn more, you can also visit the Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc.’s website.

Jul 2

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Victory: Photography Project — 24

“Dogs are miracles with paws.” ~Unknown

Beginning in January of this year, I began a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog! I have also been documenting Victory’s milestones so to speak each month — you can read these here! I think that it is fun to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories.

Below are some recent photographs of Victory at the dog park! She loves going to the dog park and sniffing around! Hopefully, the temperatures will cool off some so that we can take her back to the park again soon. Since Victory is covered in fur, she warms easily! Isn’t Victory looking so fluffy and pretty! Doug says everyday that, “Victory is the most beautiful sheltie girl ever!” I agree! She is blossoming more each day!

Happy Wednesday!

Jun 27

Behind the Scenes: Preparing to Photograph Dogs

Working with and photographing dogs requires a lot of patience and hard work! Below is a list of items that help me photograph dogs.

1. Prepare Gear: Make sure your camera is in good working order; your batteries are charged; your memory cards are cleared; and your lenses are cleaned.

2. Find Good Light: Whether you are working inside or outside, find good light. It will make all the difference in your images. If you are photographing inside, photograph the dog near a natural light source such as a window or french doors. I find it is best to raise the blinds, open the curtains and let the light in and it will make a difference in your photographs.

3. Treats: Bring natural treats to help keep the dog’s attention. (Prior to giving any treats, I always make sure that the dog does not have any allergies or food restrictions and I make sure to buy only treats made in the United States.) If the dog is not treat/food motivated, speak to the dog’s human and inquire as to what motivates his/her dog!

4. Toys: Ask to use toys to help get a dogs attention. Sometimes a squeaker toy works really well for getting and holding the dog’s attention.

5. Patience: The most important attribute one must have is patience while working with dogs. Each dog is different, and I find that each dog shows me who they are when I surrender and just let the dog be himself/herself. This approach often produce the most authentic images.

6. Be Present: Whenever I am photographing a dog my mind is solely focused on the dog I am photographing. My goal is to create authentic images. In order to be effective, I must stay present and really observe and interact with each dog in a way that elicits the dog’s personality.

7. Stay Physically Fit: Working with dogs requires one to stay in good shape. You have to be able to move quickly and sustain a lot of time on your feet and position yourself at awkward angles in order to get the shot you hope to achieve. Working for several hours non-stop can also be draining on your body.

8. Wear Comfortable Clothing and Shoes: Wear clothing that is comfortable along with comfortable shoes, which you can move easily in. Also, wear clothing that you do not care if it gets dirty or slobbered on by the furry friends!

9. Rest: Get plenty of rest. If you are well rested, you will be able to concentrate and focus better.

10. Hydration: If you are working outside in the sun photographing dogs, it is best to keep hydrated so that you do not become dehydrated.

With all this said, each dog is different and you have to be able to adapt to each dog and connect with each dog in a way where the dog can be himself/herself. I always hope for images that just occur serendipitously during the photo shoot, as these images are gifts that usually result in some of my strongest images.

Happy Friday!