Aww, you guys. Last time I photographed Lindsay and Rishi was in 2019 when they were pregnant with their first daughter. Now they have two insanely cute daughters and are back in the area after several moves in the last decade, one of which was abroad. Lindsay and I kept in touch during those times because I became quite internet-attached to Bogart, her cat, who I had never met in real life but felt like I knew in my soul. And while I unfortunately never got the opportunity to meet Bogart, I now have finally met Roxie, their dachshund, who was just as impressive in person as she is online. In fact, even more so, because this is the very first dog in my entire 38 years of life who I’ve ever seen truly beg. Like, sit on her hind legs, stand up, put her paws together and move her hands back and forth beg. Like a little circus dog. The best part? Lindsay and Rishi never taught her how to do that – she just came that way. And now, all these years later (Roxie is a dignified senior), she still does it. And it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. It was so much fun to photograph this crew in their home and looking for treasures on a walk (their daughters collect these treasures in a treasure box in the garage, which is a beautiful group of perfectly preserved deceased butterflies, cicadas, feathers, leaves, pinecones, grasshoppers, etc). And another Familiar Dolls cat doll may have made an appearance towards the end…#shamelessselfpromotion.
A lot of my photography depicts super happy times in the lives of people, but it’s also necessary to document the not-so-happy times. Even though it might not seem like it now, the not-so-happy times are still happy because you’re together. So even while you’re fighting a difficult battle, you have each other, and every day is worth celebrating.
It’s the celebration of Zoe’s life that brought Spencer and Ed to me, and I was happy to help them document the love that they have for her, and she for them. It was a bittersweet session, but the sweet outweighs the bitter in that they care so much for this adorable little pup, and they are making sure she makes the most out of her life and is living happily and comfortably in her remaining days. The photos were taken in the gorgeous front yard garden of their house (Ed has worked so hard on it!).
Spencer adopted Zoe when she was just 12 weeks old, and they have an incredibly close bond. That bond was shared when Spencer fell in love with Ed three years ago, and now Zoe loves them both (and vice versa). Zoe, at age 6.5, was diagnosed with lymphoma. While a little tired between rounds of chemo, she is still a major cuddlebug, and happily follows Spencer and Ed around. It was a joy to get to know her fluffy face and to capture the bond between this family (minus the cat, who was out galavanting but I’m sure he shares the same sentiments). I wish Zoe the best with her treatment and care, and know that she has two very loving parents who are making sure she knows she’s loved.
Bailey and Baxter are two delightful and adorable senior pups that we had the pleasure of photographing alongside their humans Shannon and Jason. Bailey is 15 years young (!) and is like a miniature German Shepherd fuzzy mutt dog who acts more like a cat. They adopted her back when they first moved in together after finding her in a drain. She is a shy, sweet dog who adores her humans and canine companion Baxter. Baxter is a 10 years young (!) Jack Russell Terrier who is very active in his retirement. He enjoys barking at other dogs (in a friendly way) and smelling things and get very excited, after which he generally collapses on a blanket. They are truly wonderful dogs, and Shannon and Jason love them very much. Our job was to capture everyone’s relationship at this point in their little senior doggy lives, and we had a great time doing so. We also loved getting to know Shannon and Jason! They’ve been married for nearly 13 years and love traveling and cooking vegan. After we shot this session they left for the Bahamas but didn’t invite us to come along, and we’re still in the process of forgiving them. They are also the only people we’ve ever met who had the opportunity to see SNL live, and we’re now also trying to forgive them for that too. They get to do all the cool things! But we get to photograph them… and we know that’s pretty cool too. :) So happy to have worked with these guys and their pups!
