If you’re looking for a mini vacation with your dogs, Provincetown and its shop owners are not just dog-friendly  but dog LOVING. The Bark Park website lists many of the resources and activities to check out. I know I look forward to heading out there again to say hi to all the tail-wagging friends we’ve made!

**UPDATE: The same day I posted this, I learned that Dog Fancy voted Pilgrim Bark Park second best dog park in the United States! Apparently one of my photos has hit Dog Fancy pages again, weeee! Must go track one down!**

It’s a Friday, and I’ve come to a decision. For years now, I’ve had a personal blog for our friends and family around the world. I used to post to it often, but this site has demanded much more of my attention over the last year. In fact, it hasn’t demanded attention as much as I’ve just been drawn to it more. I love it more. My photography is ME, so I don’t need another “personal” blog to be about me.

At the same time, my photography blogging hasn’t been very personal. I felt rushed this year; busy with sessions and orders, and thankful for it! But not really sharing anything about myself when I post.

So from here on out, Fridays will be the day I share something from my own life (as in, search by category LIFE at the top of this page). Whatever is going on at the moment, or whatever thoughts or recommendations I think to share with you. I hope that you’ll get to know me better. (Maybe even as well as everyone over on Twitter does!?)

Today’s topic is still slightly photography-related. You may have noticed that I’ve been photographing things other than dogs these days, and I want to give you some background on that. It seems many photographers are bashing the non-niche photographer’s business model lately, and I tend to disagree. If you like me and you like my style, I’m pretty damn confident I can capture what you’re looking for in any situation.

Anyway, a couple of months ago a DOG client pointed me to a charity event at a golf club. Said event needed a photographer at the last minute that week, and said event happened to include some of the hottest players in New England sports. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t about to say “nope, sorry NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB players… I stick to dogs”. If you think that’s off-brand for Cold Nose Photo, just check out my photos of the country club’s mascot Zeus, or take a minute to think of all the players’ dogs back home. I wasn’t there to lie about or betray my business, I was simply there to help.

A few weeks later, the sports marketing agency that worked that event called again. This time they had a bowling alley full of the entire Boston Celtics team, hosting a charity event to benefit kids in the battle of obesity. Do I market bowling alley photography? No. But do I have all the equipment and love my Boston sports teams? Yes. I gladly spent the night elbow to elbow with Paul Pierce, who later Tweeted all of my photos to, um, the world, by the way.

So it’s a good sign when the marketing agency keeps calling, and the next event was a private party for designer jeans company Hudson Jeans. It was utterly swanky, complete with an incredible DJ and models standing on podiums. Finally… this is where I thought to myself, “damn, I’m gonna have to start explaining this to my dog peeps.”

And here we are.

If you’re still with me, let’s step on over into my “other” life now. The place where I spend at least 40 hours a week (and another 10 commuting). This is where it all comes together for me, so I hope it helps you understand too. I’m lucky enough to have my day and night meld together into one.

• I have dogs, I love dogs, I rescue dogs….. so it makes sense for me to love photographing dogs. You’ve likely gathered that part already.
• Secondly, I grew up in a New England sports-loving family. I collected as many Red Sox autographs at Fenway as possible when I was a kid. Now that I’m married, our TV is always tuned in to Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and lately even Bruins games (while the DVR is recording Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, etc).  I don’t know if I’ll continue to work so many sports gigs, but I love it!
• I have an MBA in international business and I work on corporate marketing strategy for a company that is consistently listed among the top three most recognizable brands in the world. I work with marketing budgets in the millions by day, and in the hundreds (if that) by night. I utilize various marketing tactics across both – ideas from one are always helping the other.
• Lastly, the focus of my day job is on the strategy of ….. ready for it?…. events. Experiences. I consult on the strategy of the exact things I’m photographing at events. I think about what or who will most draw customers in, and ways to engage people with the brand. I also help design the physical experience, the entertainment and the giveaways during the day, and I’m meeting up with the same vendors at night when they’ve designed what I’m photographing. It’s VERY cool. I love my jobs melding.

So I’ve been doing a few other types of photography lately, yes, and I thought I’d get that out in the open! I love what I do, and that’s most important to me. I hope it shines through for you too, whether you meet me in person or just enjoy seeing my work. I’m excited to share with you all that’s to come in 2010, but rest assured there will always be a Cold Nose Photo and I will consistently market to the same type of client:

Authentic | Outdoorsy | Carefree | Adventurous | Fresh | Active | Unique | Thoughtful | Connected

As you can see, Lollie is well-versed in photographer speak.

Yes, this is a bath house…

And  yes, I laid down on the ground of it.

If we were looking for “beach” scenes, you can bet we found the lighthouse and the beach grass too!

Seaweed, check. Clam shack, check.

Thanks for a wonderful morning walk, Lindsay, Ryan and Lollie! It’s moments – and people – like these that assure me I’ve got the best job on earth!

I tried to stop myself from posting more, but a few additional photos are on my Flickr site.

Sadie’s own home in Orleans, MA provided many beautiful backdrops, including beach grasses, daisies, fences, old boats, brick and more. We even included some parting shots in the back of the car – one of Sadie’s most beloved spots!

This session was a Christmas surprise, as Marci was dog-sitting for her parents over the weekend… but no sooner than I finished my editing and posted the photos up for viewing did Marci cave and forward along to her folks! Ha! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Personally, I missed picking apples this year, but was thankful when my husband came back from Vermont with some this weekend. And we’ll definitely be carving pumpkins in a few weeks with friends. But this past Columbus Day weekend I was out celebrating CHRISTMAS with four-year old golden retriever Rigley!

Rigley was such a good sport, moving from one prop-filled scene to the next. The beauty of incorporating a sleigh is that you can lug all the other goodies down the beach in the sand!

If any upcoming clients are interested in having these large ornaments or sleigh in your photos, just let me know when you book! We aren’t going to have snow on the ground in time for holiday cards, but we sure can improvise!

In this first shot, you’ll see current/former New England Patriots players Troy Brown, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Vince Wilfork, posing alongside David Wood, the general manager of Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee, MA, and Denise Durham-Williams, executive director of One Family Inc.

Did these guys get professional smile training or what?! These pearly whites were shining throughout the whole event.

Also participating in the charity golf tournament was current Patriots tackler Matt Light. I’d like to say Matt was giving the “#1″ symbol here after his first tee-off, but he was actually saying “don’t worry, I’ve got it” after a mulligan shot. Sorry Matt!

I managed to capture Troy Brown horsing around with Julian Edelman – the young man drafted this year to Troy’s former position as Patriots wide receiver.

Several Revolution players joined the festivities as well, including Taylor Twellman who was lauded as Bay State’s #1 Bachelor the very same day!

Also in attendance were legends Steve Grogan (Patriots), Ray Bourque (Bruins), Luis Tiant (Red Sox) and Reggie Lemelin (Bruins).

… and Will McDonough was there, known most affectionately as “Tom Brady’s Best Friend“.

The course was gorgeous in the middle of cranberry harvest season, and the festivities included a longest-drive and putting contest. There was a silent auction and a short live auction during the cocktail hour and dinner, emceed by sports reporter Steve Burton.

And of course there was a DOG!!! This is Zeus, who’s calling in life is to chase geese! Thanks for stopping for a photo with the little people, Zeus!

Seen chuckling with friends and athletes throughout the event was a man we’ve enjoyed seeing around Cape Cod for quite some time. Paul Fireman is a self-made billionaire – former chairman of Reebok, owner of elite golf clubs such as Willowbend, and founder (with wife Phyllis) of One Family Inc., an organization focused on ending family homelessness in Massachusetts.

More photos of the day can be found HERE.

First is a selection of vertical folded cards – you’ll see the front, the middle spread, and the back.

Here are some flat cards, where you can choose your front, and the back will take on a similar texture.

The following are examples of folded horizontal cards. This first one is a bit non-traditional in color, so I’ve shown you what I mean when I say all colors are customizable.

Enjoy this little peak for now, but there are many more things we can create together to match your holiday spirit in 2009! Please allow for a two-week turnaround on custom holiday greetings.

We are best friends with our veterinarians, and every once in a while they introduce me to a special patient who deserves a splash on the beach and a photo session to capture it. Mekia recently underwent a difficult surgery to remove cancer from her mouth and jaw. I was a little nervous about doing our session too soon, but Mekia greeted me in all her beauty, without a single physical or mental scar detectable!

A glance of her left side, you’ll see a slight indentation of where part of her jaw was removed. In exchange, the surgery left her with a most adorable tongue-droop off to the side. I couldn’t get enough of it!

One of the most fun things about this session – other than standing in the water up to my butt-cheeks – was also meeting Mekia’s humans. Patrick and Michelle are an awesome couple, married over 22 years and blissful in life and love with their furry kid. I look forward to meeting up with them again, with or without a camera!

What a great area for off-leash dogs, rumored to be THE place to be around 5pm any weekday. Not only was I able to capture vibrant images of this blank and white “speck”led dog, but many of his friends along the way as well.

All session photos can be found HERE.

As a side note, yes of course I travel to Marshfield! I consider the South Shore very much my beloved “workplace”. We share a gorgeous coastline, a love of dogs, and a barefoot mentality… Anyone looking to book a session along Route 3 enjoys the same session rate as my fellow Cape & Islanders.

Thanks so much to Kay and Speck for a beautiful Sunday evening walk on the beach!

I gotta say… I just picked up a few print copies at the village store and WHOA! The article – and the photo – are huge!!

What’s even cooler, however, is the fact that I grew up in this town, and have been in the Barnstable Patriot through elementary school, middle school and high school for various activities such as crafts, clubs and sports. We were so used to having their photographer on the sidelines among our parents. Now that I’m back here (as of five years ago), it’s really an honor to see myself in this paper again!

Welcome to all new friends who stop by the Cold Nose Photo site today! I hope you’ll stick around!

Chance has suffered from many ailments and allergies over his life, as well as inflammatory bowel disease that may or may not be related. He’s an old man, but still a sucker for a tennis ball!

Chance, I hope I get the pleasure of meeting you again, but if not – I know you’ll be a great companion for the dogs who have passed before you in our family!

Later the same day, someone asked me how I get dogs to pose and smile. See the thing is, I don’t want them to pose and smile at all! I want to capture them doing whatever it is they do… showing their unique personality. It seems to me that this is also exactly what you love about your pet, right?

Take Lucy, for instance. She H-A-T-E-S the camera – she hid behind Amanda’s legs the minute she heard the sound of the shutter. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t even looking through the lens when I stole the shot above. But what Lucy does love is to roll around in the sand.

“What shutter click? I didn’t hear any shutter click!”

Turns out, this is Amanda’s most favorite thing that Lucy does. There’s no rule that you have to put a yearbook-worthy pose of your dog on the mantle!

Got a funny pet photo of your own? Please feel free to post a link in the comments section below!

Penny is about to leave for vet school in the Caribbean, so I was happy to oblige in sending her off with photos to scratch and sniff enjoy while Cooper is quite literally at the family farm in the midwest.

No really, a real live farm, not “THE farm” you were told about as a kid.

This photo made it to one entire side of my new 5×7” flat cards, and that’s not even because I was off to a Border Collie event that next weekend.

My husband remarked how some dogs just have that model gene: in the voice of Cooper, “Okay, I’m gonna hold this ball right here, and dangle my tongue just a little to this side. I’ll look up at you. Is my background okay?”

The photos and the story were meant to highlight ARL Boston’s capabilties and to draw attention to Duke himself. Crazy thing is, he was ADOPTED just days before I was scheduled to arrive! Yay Duke!

Thankfully, his wonderful new owner, Megan, brought him back for the big event.

To the staff of ARL Boston: You guys are truly wonderful and giving, and I could see the personal connection Duke has with each of you!

To Megan: Thank you for taking a chance on a senior dog who was waiting for your love to arrive!

To give you some perspective, Brewer – in red – is 30×20 inches large. Buddy, licking his tongue, is 16×24 inches, and shelter-pup Heinz is 14×21 inches.

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