biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Jul 2

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!

Jul 1

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ASPCA — First and Free Interactive Mobile App for Pet Parents

The ASPCA recently contacted me to share its first and free interactive mobile app designed for pet parents to help pet parents quickly locate their furry family member when their precious furry family member goes missing. You can download this app for free on the iPhone and Android. The ASPCA believes that this is an essential app for pet parents and pet lovers as it show you exactly how to search for your pet if he/she goes missing, which is (1) tailored to your specific circumstance; and (2) each pet’s individual personality. With July 4 quickly approaching, furry family members often go missing after being scared by fireworks and other loud noises.

Furthermore, through the app, users are also able to build a digital lost pet flyer that can be shared instantly on their social networks. The app will also provide the most critical advice on ensuring a pet’s safety before, during and after a major storm or natural disaster.

Lastly but also importantly, the app will allow pet owners to store all their pet’s relevant information, such as vaccination history and dietary info, all in one convenient place.

Anyone would be panicked and understandably upset if their pet went missing, and this free app from the ASPCA looks like a great tool to help locate one’s pet if he/she goes missing along with keeping one’s pet’s records in one place. To download the app, please visit here.

Happy Tuesday!

Jun 30

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Weekend Snapshots

It was a beautiful weekend! Doug made it back home after a long day of travel and it, unfortunately, ended without his luggage — the airline left his luggage in London. Fortunately, Doug got his luggage back last night! Over the weekend, we took little Victory to Wegmans and Ritas for an outing and she had a great time — all smiles! (Unfortunately, there are not as many restaurants near our home where we can take Victory with us. When we lived in the city, there were more dog friendly at restaurants!) My flowers are blooming and I am watering them often! Doug made us homemade buttermilk pancakes on Sunday for breakfast and they were very good! Victory loves Siggi’s yogurt and we usually give her some vanilla Siggi’s yogurt on Sundays when Doug makes breakfast! And, I had two photo shoots for my photography project — there is still much work ahead of me on this project!

Happy Monday!

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!

Jun 26

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How Do You Work?

How do you work? What is your optimal working environment to do your creative work?

For me, I work quietly in my home office, which I try to keep free of clutter, i.e., piles on my desk. To organize my day, I make a list on paper of items that I hope to complete. Invariably, the list is never checked off completely! Currently, I spend the vast amount of my time working on my long-term dog photography project. I edit images; work on the logistics of photo shoots; go to photo shoots; follow up with rescue and shelter organizations; consistently maintain and update data in a large spreadsheet; and prepare blog posts.

I find that I am able to focus when I get plenty of rest. Working on each image can take many hours and it is very tedious work, which requires much concentration, and some days I have better results than others. For me, it is easiest to concentrate on one image at a time, and when I am done, I always go back to each image to see what I might have missed. Also, time away from an image can help me see the image with a new perspective, so I implemented a practice of revisiting each image at a later date to ensure I am happy with the final image or to continue further editing of the image. Working on a body of work is like a puzzle and you have to finish to see how the pieces come together to see which images really are strong and work with the body of work and determine which images do not serve the body of work. This process is very intuitive.

I find working on my images is a very meditative process and I often can get into a zone while I am working. When I work, I turn both the email off and the Internet off and concentrate on the task at hand, and I set a dedicated time later in the day for checking email, etc. Victory is always close by. However, she still likes to stay in her hut! However, when I sit on the sofa and work when I am not working on images, Victory always comes over and sits next to me. Biscuit always slept near my feet while I worked. I still very much miss having Biscuit close by. Most days, I can work for hours at a time and the time seems to just zoom by. Other days, I need more breaks and the days seems a bit longer, depending upon the work.

I am a morning person. We go to bed early and wake up early. I am more alert and focused in the earlier hours of the day. I think that is when I do my best work. Everyone is different and works differently, and it is interesting to hear how other work on their creative work.

The most important lesson I have learned is to keep showing up and keep leaning into the work each day, even during the most challenging times.

Jun 25

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Things I Love: Summer 2014

It is officially summer, and I wanted to share some items that I love! We are looking forward to longer days and more time outside!

1. Still Writing by Dani Shapiro – I am almost done reading this book, and it is great and I highly recommend it to creatives! Shapiro talks about the struggles of writing, but almost everything she says can be applied to any creative discipline. It reminded me that showing up and being dedicated to the work every day is how creatives create their work.

2. Big Green Egg — Since it has become warmer outside, Doug has been grilling on our Big Green Egg! The food is always tasty!

3. Orange is the New Black — We are almost done with Season 2 of Orange is the New Black, and we enjoy watching this series!

4. Groove Short — I love Lululemon and recently got these shorts — they are very comfortable and nice to wear in the warmer months. Plus, Victory came with us to Lululemon and she even came with me into the dressing room like Biscuit used to do — furry friends are permitted in all Lululemon stores!

5. Rita’s – We love Rita’s! Sometimes we go several evenings in a row! Fortunately, there is a Rita’s not too far from our house! Victory loves to go with us as well. She loves the vanilla custard — in moderation, of course!

6. Petzlife — Victory came to us with a bit of tarter on her two back molars. Fortunately, with regular brushing and use of the Petzlife Oral Care spray, we have gotten rid of most of the tarter! We try to brush Victory’s teeth four to five times a week — she tolerates me brushing them! We also give her dental treats from the vet to also help clean her teeth! Otherwise, her teeth are in great shape and we want to prevent teeth cleanings to mitigate her going under anesthesia.

You can view other things I love here!

Happy Wednesday!

Jun 24

Creativity: Wise Words

Below are wise words from artists on creativity and making art.

“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work.” – Chuck Close

“Show up, show up, show up.” –Isabelle Allende

“A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood.” – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” – Ray Bradbury

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, the just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” – Steve Jobs

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” – Albert Einstein

Jun 23

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Victory: Photography Project — 23

“Some of our greatest treasures we put in museums; others we take for walks.” ~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 a few images of Victory in our bed waking up in our bed! Okay, she really does not sleep on her back all tucked in, but she humored me and Victory let me pose her on a recent weekend morning, when we had good light coming into our bedroom! Of course, Doug thinks I am nuts when I have these photo ideas using Victory, but he is always happy with the results and smiles when he sees the edited images! Thankfully, Victory is so patient with me when I am photographing her and I think that she had fun as well! I think that she is really getting used to the camera, and she is a perfect muse like our Biscuit.

Wouldn’t you want to wake up to this furry goodness each morning?! We do! Victory is just adorable and we love her so much and she is really coming into her own and filling out with her sheltie furs! Doug and I are so happy that we found love again after Biscuit, who is always with us in spirit. Victory has been a true blessing to us and we think we have all bonded and we are Victory’s pack! Victory is our fur girl and she brings us so much joy! We are certain that Biscuit sent us the ‘right sheltie!’ Truth — Victory does sleep with us every night and she usually sleeps above one of our heads and the headboard and she sometimes goes between sleeping above our heads at night as well! I love waking up to her each morning and receiving all of her love and kisses. I love our ‘tuck-in’ routine as well. She is always so excited to go to bed! Recently, we noticed that she likes to go upstairs to our bedroom during the day to rest on the bed! I guess Victory has an affinity for our bed — well, more like her bed!

Victory is going to miss her Daddy as he is leaving for overseas today for work; and I know Doug is going to miss his fur girl as well!

Enjoy the fun photos of the ‘morning faces’ of our little Victory below! Isn’t Victory adorable!

Happy Monday!

Jun 20

Updated Website — katherinecarver.com

I have made some recent changes to my website, including a new domain name, a new email address, and some stylistic changes and updates have been made as well — after much work! My goal was to ‘freshen up’ my website with a slightly updated, modern look and feel. My Dad helped me update my logo; my website host helped me make other stylistic changes; the company holding my domain name helped take care of items on the back-end; and I made content updates. This undertaking was a bit more work than I had anticipated; however, I am happy with the new domain name, look and feel of my website, which fits nicely with the blog. After much thought, I changed my domain name because I wanted an artist’s website associated only with my name to share my work, and I wanted to secure the new domain name as well. I believe developing your web presence, look and feel, is an ever evolving process.

The new domain name/address of my website is www.katherinecarver.com, and my new email address is katie@katherinecarver.com. (The prior domain name automatically forwards to the new domain name; and my old email address automatically forwards to my new email address.)

And now, I hope you will go check out my updated website!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Jun 19

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Victory: Photography Project — 22

“The journey of life is sweeter when traveled with a dog.” ~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.

Last week we got a new car, our first SUV! My car was getting old, and for a few reasons, we decided it was time to get a new car. Once we settled on the type of SUV, options, and color, etc., the dealer needed to get our car from another dealership in Maryland. So, the evening we went to buy and the see the car for the first time and trade in our old car, Victory hopped into the SUV and she did not want to get out, as pictured below! We think she knew it was hers! She approved! Victory has made her mark in the new SUV as her sheltie furs are everywhere! Fortunately, her furs do not cling to the material too much making for easy clean-up, when needed!

Happy Thursday!