Angus, Ginger, Tracy and Scotty at the Albany Dog Park

“It’s the biggest dog park in the world” Tracy said when we were discussing options for her portrait session with her husband Scotty and their two dogs Ginger and Angus.  Being relatively new to the dog world in San Francisco, I was a bit skeptical but I’m always up seeing new places so we agreed to meet at Pt. Isabella in Albany.  More exactly at the Sit and Stay Cafe which I think is one the best cafe names I’ve come across.   Tracy and Scotty are super nice and Angus and Ginger couldn’t have been happier to be among many, many four legged friends.  I can’t say for sure if the Pt. Isabella dog park is the biggest in the work but I can say that it is freaking huge. Swarms of families and children and many more dogs.  It’s all off leash so there was a good amount of “how are you?  Can I sniff your butt?” going on.

Thanks for showing me something new Tracy and Scotty and hope you enjoy the photos.  A few samples photographs below and full gallery here (password required).

Kvaal Family Portrait Session

In the past few years, my family and I have had the great joy of getting to know the Kvaal family – Amy, Andrew and Caroline.  Sue (my wife) met Amy in a Golden Gate Mother’s Group Playgroup (and for those of you that don’t know, GGMG is THE mother’s group in San Francisco) and our children (Caroline and Lucius) are about the same age.   Amy and Andrew are two of the nicest people we know and little Caroline is cute, fun and has more energy than all the solar panels in California combined.  Amy and Andrew have their second child on the way so they wanted family portraits before the little-little one arrives.

We met at their apartment in San Francisco and spent an hour photographing them doing what they do.  I always love seeing families relaxing in their own special way.  You just know that Andrew and Amy spend a good amount of time reading with Caroline on the bed and in their rocking chair.  That of course would explain why Caroline is so freaking smart.

I also got to meet their cats.  You can’t really tell this from the photograph but the brown tabby is about the biggest cat I have ever seen.

Thanks Kvaal’s – I had a great time and hope you enjoy the photos.  Samples Below and full gallery here (password required).

Bella the Dog’s 2nd Birthday

I’m not too proud to say that I was a bit nervous when Alice called me asking me to photograph Bella’s 2nd Birthday.  Bella you see is an incredibly cute, love-able, energetic dog (sorry I don’t know dog breads).   Bella was having a birthday party with all of her friends.  4 dogs and 8 people can make for a very interesting photo shoot.  But like many people in San Francisco, Bella is Alice’s baby.  And since I’m a child and family photographer, I couldn’t walk away just because someone’s child is of the 4-legged version.  Wouldn’t be neighborly of me.

And I can tell you, that Alice through quite the birthday party.  She and Adam put out a fabulous spread complete with cupcakes and killer tacos.  Their friends were great and Bella had a slew of little buddies to play with. I definitely had a hard time keeping up with the dogs.

Thanks Alice, Adam and Bella – I had a great time and hope you enjoy the photos.

Few samples below and complete gallery here (password required).

Frankie the Dog

I’ve never considered myself to be a dog photographer but then again I never thought I would be a children and family photographer either.  But with my Groupon ad, I’ve scheduled a fair number of pet focused photo sessions.  Makes sense of course – for many people in San Francisco and the Bay Area, their pets are their family.  This weekend in Tahoe I spent some quality time with Frankie the Dog – a fun loving ball of white fur (don’t ask me what kind he is).  I took a few photos to see what it’s like working with four-legged little ones.  Not too much different than children, but Frankie did stay still on this pillow which was nice.  I especially like the big furry ball shot -  gives you sense of what he was like to touch.