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

Nov 6

Getting Acquainted With A Photographer Online

I enjoy doing commissions for clients in addition to working on my personal photography projects. These days, most everything is done online. Therefore, I do my best to showcase who I am, not merely what I do. In addition to my website, my blog, a daily practice, has been a wonderful way to share more about myself and my work.

This is important because if a person hires a photographer, it is vital that the prospective client really likes and trusts the photographer and really likes the photographer’s work. It is important that personalities align and the client is comfortable in the presence of his/her photographer. A relationship with a photographer is unique — no two photographers are the same personally and each photographer’s work is different. Below are a few tips to help a potential client find a photographer who is a perfect fit.

1. Perform Research – Photographers have have endless resources to create an online identity to covey who they are by way of their websites and blogs, etc. It is important that a potential client does his/her homework in advance and learns as much as possible about a prospective photographer.

2. Send Initial E-mail(s) – If a potential client is looking to communicate with the photographer who is best suited for him/her, it is best to first e-mail the photographer a few times to see how the photographer responds over e-mail. This will give the prospective client an idea of how quickly a photographer responds to e-mail inquiries, while simultaneously being able to obtain a feel and sense for the photographer to help make a more informed opinion and decision about the photographer.

3. Read the Bio/About Section – The bio section is a photographer’s opportunity to communicate to potential clients who they are and what he/she is passionate about. The best photographers communicate this information well, and the bio section of a website becomes an integral component to ensuring the potential client and photographer are a great fit.

4. Ask Questions – A potential client should never be afraid to ask a photographer any and all questions. A potential client should be able to ask the photographer whatever questions she/he needs to ensure that the potential client feels comfortable with his/her decision to hire the photographer to commission work. A photographer should be able to fully and promptly answer a potential client’s questions. A great client-photographer match/fit should create a relationship that will be professional and mutually beneficial, which affords a remarkable client experience!

Happy Wednesday!

Oct 31

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Happy Halloween From Victory!

“Dogs have a way of finding the people that need them…Filling an emptiness we don’t even know we have.” ~Thorn Jones

Happy Halloween! Over the weekend Doug spent time carving our pumpkin for Halloween — Doug did a wonderful job on our pumpkin! A photograph of Doug’s pumpkin masterpiece is shown below! Of course, Doug carved a pumpkin of a dog and dog bones in honor of Biscuit and Victory! Doug used a Dremel along with some pumpkin carving tools to help create his pumpkin! (You can see some previous pumpkins carved by Doug here.)

Victory is a ladybug for Halloween shown in the images below! Victory was kind enough to pose for the camera next to our pumpkin! Victory is so adorable in her little costume that she tolerated wearing! Victory is going to help hand out candy tonight in her little Halloween costume and meet some other furry friends in their Halloween costumes!

Victory is doing well and she is making a little progress each day in her new home! Victory is now shown on the blog in the upper right hand corner under the heading of the ‘Vision — Biscuit’s Space.’ Biscuit’s image will always remain as the header of this blog as Biscuit is the inspiration, namesake, and living proof of the power of Biscuit’s Space. Biscuit sent us the ‘right’ little sheltie — Victory. We are very grateful that Victory has entered our lives and that she has become a member of our family. Here is Biscuit in his panda costume last year!

Next year, when things are not so new and we are not going through this transition with Victory, we will be taking little Victory to the pumpkin patch, one of our favorite outings together!

Happy Halloween!

Oct 28

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Victory: All Freshened Up!

“Dogs come int our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog; it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs your heart is very big.” ~Unknown

Victory is doing well and she is still getting acclimated to her new home. Doug and I gave her a bath this weekend and Victory did a good job! A few times she did put her front paws up at the top of our soaker tub, but she let me finish bathing her — however, she was happy to be out of the soaker tub! He fur coat looks great and she greatly enjoys her walks. Doug and I took her on many walks this weekend as we had beautiful weather for long walks! When she is ready, we look forward to taking her on outings!

Victory went to her new vet last week and she was a very good girl! Victory even hopped up onto a chair in the waiting room like a human! She let the vet examine her and the vet really liked Victory as well! While we were waiting in the waiting room at the vet’s office, Victory even saw another female sheltie friend to sniff!

This weekend, Doug spent a good amount of time carving our pumpkin — stay tuned!

Below are some photographs from this past weekend taken just prior to sun set of our precious Victory — she gets more beautiful each day!

Happy Monday!

Sep 30

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Why I Like Photo Albums

Most people today have their images saved on their phones and computers. Doug and I actually still keep photos in our wallet/purse. Some people are surprised to see this “old-fashioned” method of sharing photographs. Creating actual photo albums seems to be a practice of the past. Especially after Biscuit’s passing, I am thankful that I have consistently printed images and continued make photo albums documenting our life together. It is also nice to go back and look at photographs from when Doug and I first met nine years ago! It is nice to be able to flip through actual pages of the albums I have made. I have made about 18 photo albums over the past nine years. Being able to see and touch the pages in a photo album has a tactile element that is often lost with our technology today. (I also electronically store and archive all of our digital images as well). I am in the process of making the remaining photo albums of our little Biscuit. It is difficult knowing that I am not able to photograph Biscuit any longer.

The photo album making process also helps me determine what images I am going to hang and/or display in our home. The select images that I am especially fond of I have printed on fine art archival paper; and then I have these images matted and framed in an archival fashion and displayed in our home in order to preserve these photographs.

If you print your images as you take them, it makes the task of creating photo albums much less daunting. Thus, I encourage you to create actual photo albums, which simultaneously make nice family heirlooms!

Happy Monday!

Sep 16

Featured: The Wall Breakers

I am very grateful to be featured in The Wall Breakers displaying my photographs in my black and white series. The Wall Breakers is an online publication dedicated to a establishing a creative community displaying works of industry professionals and artists. You can view the entire feature here.

A big thank you to James, Co-Editor and Co-Founder, The Wall Breakers!

Sep 12

Dog Rescue: The Power of Photography

Recently, I received this lovely note shown below from a person (couple) who rescued a dog because of the photographs that I created of Josie (formerly known as “Lady“) last summer at the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS). A fine art image of Josie is shown below — one of my favorite images. From BARCS, Josie went to Jasmine’s House, a pit bull rescue organization, where Josie was placed with a foster family. The images of Josie struck a chord with this couple despite the fact that this couple had just recently lost a life-long furry family member of 17.5 years, and they had decided to wait to rescue another dog. I have always been a believer that photography can save dogs’ lives, and this story confirms this belief. I am so happy that Josie has a loving furever home! It is wonderful that photography can bring furry friends and humans together creating families.

In a recent post, I wrote about pursuing your passion. While you pursue your passion, it is necessary to release any attachment and expectations to any perceived outcome. This is a Buddhist teaching. My mantra and intention this year has been “create.” I think that my word for next year will be “open.” I have learned that the best things come to us when we surrender and are open without attachment and expectations to any outcome.

Sometimes, through this journey of creation, you do not know where it is going to lead or what impact, if any, your work will have, which, at times, can be unsettling and uncomfortable. Other times, you hit road blocks, but your inner fire keeps you moving forward despite the road blocks and unsettling feelings because regardless — you know what you are creating is important. Other times, your work has a tangible impact, which is even more inspiration and confirmation from the Universe to keep moving forward! This unexpected note warms my heart! Our precious little Biscuit is the inspiration for this work, which continues to help other dogs like Josie.

Hi Katherine,

My name is Gina and I adopted Josie from Jasmine’s House. I just wanted to take a minute and compliment you on your gorgeous work. I am in awe of your talent. the way you capture the dogs…you can almost feel their emotions through your photographs.

I wanted to tell you that the reason I contacted Jasmine’s House about Josie was because of your photographs. We had just lost our dog of 17.5 years a month prior of me seeing the photographs of Josie. For some reason I was drawn to her photograph. My husband and I had agreed we were going to wait before we started looking for a new dog but after seeing Josie’s photographs, I could not stop thinking about her. So many thoughts ran through my mind…her eyes looked right through me. Finally, I decided to inquire about her. We brought her home a month later!!!

Thank you for your beautiful work and for photographing these loving babies. You are helping so many dogs find wonderful homes.

Thank you.

Love, Gina, Nick and Josie

Sep 10

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Honoring Biscuit: Biscuit’s Trip to Vermont

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” -Helen Keller

This past spring, we took a trip to Vermont with Biscuit. Unknown to us at that time, this trip turned out to be our last trip with Biscuit. We had many other places that we had planned to travel together — Biscuit traveled very well and he loved going with us on adventures! My intention was to share the Vermont images on the blog upon our return. However, in June our priority was addressing Biscuit’s health issues to the best of our ability, and after Biscuit passed away, it was extremely difficult for me to edit and work on these images. I have finally completed editing these images after working on a few at a time consistently over the course of the past month. The finality of Biscuit’s passing is very difficult — accepting that I will never be able to photograph Biscuit, my muse, again. Perhaps, this is why it took me so long to complete these images. Doug and I greatly miss our precious little Biscuit.

Doug, Biscuit, and I had a wonderful time together in Vermont and we will forever treasure these memories. Just by looking at Biscuit’s face and smile he exuded contentment and happiness. Doug and I are so grateful for meeting our little Biscuit. He changed our lives forever — in ways that we could not have imagined. We are also very grateful and thankful that we were able to make a trip to Vermont and the Orvis flagship store as Biscuit represented the Orvis Petfinder Commitment.

Most of all, we hope that Biscuit’s wonderful rescue story inspires others to consider rescuing and adopting a furry family member. There are so many dogs/animals who need a second chance like Biscuit. Doug and I are thankful that we were a part of Biscuit’s journey. We know that Biscuit will send us the ‘right’ sheltie dog who is also in need of a second chance similar to Biscuit.

Below is a small sampling of photographs from our last trip together with our little Biscuit to Vermont. We all had a grand time together!

Biscuit you are forever imprinted in our hearts. We love you with all our hearts. You will always be the most perfect and handsome sheltie dog ever!

Sep 9

Featured: Four&Sons

I was incredibly honored and I am very grateful to have a feature interview in Four&Sons, one of my favorite magazine publications, discussing my photography and the photographs in my black and white series. Four&Sons is based in Australia and this print and online publication documents the relationship of man and his best friend. Four&Sons covers art, design, fashion, music, and lifestyle. Four&Sons brings together an eclectic mix of inspiring ‘dog-centric’ content to dog-lovers passionate about culture and creativity. Four&Sons is curated with a strong editorial approach and written by people who find dogs a constant source of inspiration — where dogs and culture collide. You can read the entire featured interview here.

A big thank you to Marta Roca, Editor, Four&Sons; and Emma Guthrie, Writer, Four&Sons!

Sep 2

Featured: Pets Blog, The Magazine for Pet Lovers

I was incredibly honored when Roberto Russo, a writer, from Petsblog, who featured my photographs from my black and white series. I am very grateful to have a feature article in Petsblog discussing my photography and also sharing my images. Petsblog is based in Milan, Italy and this online magazine is dedicated to the world of pet animals. You can read the entire featured article here. (The English translation is displayed immediately below.)

A big thank you to Roberto Russo, Writer, Petsblog!

The Dogs and Their Personality in Photographs

The photographer Katherine Carver takes photographs in black and white of dogs trying to highlight their personality.

Dogs are cute, they are nice, cheerful, playful, and gullible. And they are all different from each other. Obvious to us that we live with dogs, but perhaps not so obvious for those who think that dogs are a big category in which the only difference is more or less the tonnage of Fido. The dogs, however, have their own well defined personality that not only varies from breed to breed, but even within the same race in a thousand shades — you will never find two dogs of the same breed that have the same personality. Like us humans, even non-human animals are all different from each other.

She knows well the American photographer, Katherine Carver, who photographed many dogs in a project strictly in black and white to emphasize the intimacy, the singularity, and the emotions of our furry friends with the intention of shedding light on those aspects that often escape us and that, perhaps, you take for granted.

It all started when Katherine Carver and her husband adopted Biscuit. Sharing life with this dog, has meant that Katherine always went around with her camera to capture the special moments in the life of her furry friend. And this commitment to tell the stories of dogs through this medium of photography, Katherine Carver continues to carry it forward even not that her Biscuit went to the Rainbow Bridge. So Katherine continues to tell stories of dogs everywhere, highlighting the personality of each of them.

Aug 26

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Featured: Click Blog, The Photography Magazine

I was incredibly honored when Simona Marani, a writer, from ClickBlog recently contacted me because she wanted to feature my photographs from my black and white series. I am very grateful to have a feature article in ClickBlog discussing my photography and also sharing my images. ClickBlog is based in Milan, Italy and this online magazine highlights photographers and current events in the world of photography. You can read the entire featured article here. (The English translation is displayed immediately below.)

A big thank you to Simona Marani, Writer, ClickBlog!

The Personality of Dogs in Photographic Portraits by Katherine Carver

The portraits of dogs by Katherine Carver are intimate, unique, exciting, and designed to ferret out what escapes us and is taken for granted.

Katherine Carver’s images are not just a gallery of portraits, but poems that tell of exciting shades of long hair fluttering in the wind and carved by the flashes of light and darkness.

Biscuit, shown above, a dear sweet Shetland Sheepdog, who has touched and stimulated our imagination has changed my life and photography by Katherine Carver, who adopted Biscuit by freeing him from the street. Biscuit has become the protagonist of many photography shots, and an entire blog, which carries the memory after the disappearance, giving space to the stories of other special dogs who have been given a second chance.

Biscuit was the inspiration for establishing Katherine Carver Photography. Biscuit awakened a desire to carry my camera everywhere – creating images that preserve fleeting moments that chronicle Biscuit’s story forever.

Biscuit, a life partner, awakened artistic adventures for Katherine Carver who lives in Maryland, specifically her desire to photograph the dogs in a different way – utilizing unique features of each dog thereby creating unique and intimate photographs.

I am the happiest behind my camera creating photographs and recording another realm that would otherwise remain unseen. I believe those who hire me are actively searching for a customized and alternative fine art documentary approach. I work on location in a documentary and unobtrusive manner, creating compelling, story-telling photographs that go beyond the predictable and scripted images.

Portraits in black and white, dogs of different breeds, sizes, and stories, each with unique personalities and characteristics, such as the patch of white hair in the black coat of Jax, the beautiful stray dog rescued by Jen from the Baltimore County Animal Shelter, along with many other dogs that come from animal shelters. You can peek into this small gallery with your eyes containing profiles to contemplate and to recognize emotions and memories to awaken a host of dormant consciences.