Hairy Dog in the Woods!

Kasper the Hairy Dog Goes Wild in the North East

And there are photographs to prove it...

Jamie Emerson

Hairy Dog Photography - specialist dog and pet photographer in the north east

Langley Street, 

New Herrington

DH4 4LN

07866127732

01915845442

Kasper and I had a fantastic, muddy, slippy woodland walk today.  It's been at least a week since I took any photographs of the poor dog, or even sat him down for a portrait session.  This neglect had to end, so we sallied forth into the north east countryside for a pet portrait session (formerly known as a 'walk').

This is what Hairy Dog Photography does best - I love nothing better than to be out with a dog or two capturing your pets' characters in an environment where they are free to just be themselves.  Some dogs thrive on bounding back and forth, others are happy to lope along and sniff everything.  It doesn't matter - a pet session with Hairy Dog will always give you a beautiful set of photographs to look back on, hang on the wall or just to stick on Facebook!

The countryside round Durham really is rather lovely, and despite the weeks of rain, the paths alongside the River Wear were mostly not too sodden.  I had packed my 50mm lens for use with the Nikon D300s camera, partly for ease of carrying and partly as I am just in love with my 50mm, f1.4 lens.  It's one of the cheapest 'pro' lenses available, weighs very little and gives absolutely stunning results.  Most of the photoshoots I carry out for dog portrait clients involve my 70-200mm VR, f2.8 lens.  It's just the ticket for fast, erratically moving doggies but even at its widest aperture, it doesn't give bokeh like the 50mm f1.4!

Close up portrait of white dog near Durham

That blurry background is what I'm talking about when I say 'bokeh'

The next five photos all use a spot of flash.  The flashgun is set away from the camera and set off using a wireless trigger, controlled by the camera.  It makes it very easy to create a little dramatic light, and is obviously very helpful to a pet photographer in a dark, rainy wood!

Kasper the dog enjoys a pet portrait shoot in the north east countryside

Action shots of dogs are Hairy Dog Photography's speciality

Lurcher sitting by a stile near Durham, north east England.

Action photograph of a dog leaping a style by Hairy Dog Photography

And to finish, just a lovely natural light shot of Kasper walking through the daisies in a patch of sunlight.

Do feel free to get in touch to book a doggy lifestyle portraiture session.  They start at just £40 and I can also provide gift vouchers - what dog owner wouldn't like a gift like that?!

Want to see a whole lot more photos of dogs being doggy?  Have a look here; specialist dog portraits, durham

Dog Photography at the beach, Tynemouth!

Hairy Dog Photography at the beach, Tynemouth.  Jamie Emerson specialises in action dog photography and pet portraiture throughout the North East.  

Outdoor doggy photoshoots are always a bit hit or miss - the freezing, horizontal sleet we've endured over the last few days did not bode well for Thursday's photoshoot with five dogs on Tynemouth Beach!  Amazingly though, the day dawned crisp, fresh and sunny and I dug out my sunglasses and warmest fleece.

With really bright, low winter sunshine, there's very little to be gained from using speedlights - they just cannot compete with the sun (especially when the subjects are fast-moving and unpredictable!).  So out came the 70-200mm f2.8 VR lens.  It's a monster and weighs a ton - so much so that I've almost stopped using it at weddings and had been considering getting rid of it and buying a lightweight 85mm f1.8 prime, but after yesterday, I think I'll hang onto it a little longer.

Anyway, this isn't a lens review - bring on the dogs!!

Black Lab Cocker X running full speed on beach

That's Arthur above, going full tilt to fetch his ball - like so many dogs, he has a full blown obsession with balls!  If I recall correctly, Arthur and the other black dog Millie are both Black Labrador-Cocker Spaniel crosses.

Ex show Whippet running on Tynemouth Beach.

 Names are definitely not my strong point and trying to remember the names of two humans and five dogs seems to be beyond me!  Anyway, this handsome fella is an ex show dog - his markings really are amazing and he's such a total softy.  I want a whippet!

The smaller dog in the photo above is a hunting Whippet apparently.  He's also most definitely the boss dog - his lovely owners tell me that he can eat any of the other dogs' food with impunity!

The Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR lens is just a thing of joy and beauty for this kind of work!  Pin sharp photos, time after time, even with five dogs hooning around on a beach!

Black Labrador in the sea at Tynemouth by Hairy Dog Photography

Me and my shadow!  Whippet and Black Labrador on Tynemouth Beach by Jamie Emerson

I really, really like the shot above - it was a total chance shot but the Whippet seems to have a lumpy shadow all the way round him!

The speed of this chap was mindblowing.  He also just can't stop without something to crash into - usually his owner!

Smiling Whippet dog on the beach

That is one happy dog right there ^^^  If that's not a smile, I don't know what is!

And back home for a few studio type shots - as always, the portable studio fits into pretty much any size of space with very little fuss.  This might have been the last outing for the white backdrop though - it's had every type of dog biscuit imaginable slobbered all over it...

All the dogs were happy to have a snooze after their beach exertions!

Sleepy puppy in black and white

What a great day, and if I dare say it, what a great set of photographs! You can see the whole gallery of this shoot on the Hairy Dog Website.  If you would like a doggy photoshoot, do pop over to my website specialist dog photographer, north east and use the contact page to get in touch.  Gift vouchers are also available for your dog-obsessed friends :-)

Upcoming work for Hairy Dog Photography in the North East

Commercial dog photography in Newcastle and the North East, plus exciting tie-in with new Grooming Parlour!  

Just a couple of exciting bits of news to share this morning.  Commercial and advertising work is something I've done a little bit of in the past, so I was delighted to get a call from Jo at Newcastle based professional movers and storage experts, Quicksilver.

Jo's beagle Rio is very much an office dog and the plan is to get a good range of photographs of Rio climbing around Quicksilver's new, branded boxes, then plaster the huge images all over their new vans and social media pages.  Can't wait!  Even after all these years, it's still a huge thrill to see ones' work in the public domain!

The other very good bit of news is that Hairy Dog Photography is in talks with a local new-start dog grooming business.  The studio will be based right round the corner from me in Philadelphia, and Linda the owner has big plans!  She has also spent a long time learning her craft.  Between us, we will be offering some incredible photography / grooming deals to celebrate the launch of the new enterprise, so do watch this space for further details.

So you may rest assured that your pooch won't end up looking like poor Kasper after his one and only trip to a chop-shop...

When dog grooming goes wrong!

Thanks for looking in!