The Perfect Gift for Dog Lovers – ‘Quake Dogs’

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Animal Photography, Book Review, Books, Boston Terrier, Chihuahua, Christchurch, Christmas Gifts, Dog, Dwight D. Eisenhower, French Bulldog, Gifts, Gifts for hard to buy for people, Irish Wolfhound, Labrador, Lord Byron, New Zealand, Photography

‘Quake Dogs’*
Text by Laura Sessions
Photography by Craig Bullock
(Image from Furtography)

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog. (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

‘Quake Dogs’ will make you melt…

At 12.51pm on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake severely damaged New Zealand’s second-largest city of Christchurch, killing 185 people. It followed an earlier ‘quake of 4 September 2010 which caused significant damage to the region, but no fatalities.

‘Quake Dogs’ is a dog’s perspective of surviving the Christchurch earthquakes. The book is made up of a series of stories about individual pooches and what they went through.

100 dogs, 2 cats and a chicken were photographed for the 68 stories in the book. And as sappy as I know it sounds, each one is more engaging and heart-warming than the last… Honest.

Cilla
(Image from Furtography)

Cilla, the Boston Terrier, may have slept through the big ‘quake, but the many aftershocks caused her great anxiety and apparently her hair started falling out, and she lost a lot of weight.

She has since moved to just north of Auckland where she lives with her owners and new best friend, Oakley, the French Bulldog.

Jet
(Image from Furtography)

Jet, the Labrador, was collected by her owner’s daughter after the 2010 quake. She developed separation anxiety and was able to anticipate aftershocks.

When the big 2011 quake hit, she was alone outside and had to wait, surrounded by liquefaction, for three hours, teddy in her mouth, until her owner could get home. Fortunately, her separation anxiety is much better now.

Chloe
(Image from Furtography)

Chloe, the Chihuahua, lives with Caiou (a Greyhound) and Little (a Labrador). When the big quake hit, the dogs were home alone. Apparently, their house was like the inside of a washing machine on spin cycle…

To avoid being crushed by a falling cabinet, Little smashed through a glass door and received a nasty glass cut on his head. Caiou and Chloe followed him and they all huddled in the garden together until help arrived.

Today, Chloe has proved the most resilient of the three pups, although she is small enough to fit in a hand-bag, so this may be a contributing factor!

The poor dog, in life the firmest friend. The first to welcome, foremost to defend. (Lord Byron)

My Mum sent me my copy of ‘Quake Dogs’. I just love it.

Written by Laura Sessions (who has two dogs – George and Mildred) and photographed by FURtographer Craig (who has no dogs, but three cats – Jazz, Mr Tinkles and Millefeuille), part of the proceeds from the book go to support HUHA, a national organisation that works to rescue and re-home animals around the New Zealand.

If you have a dog lover in your life, they will love this book! The book has been such a success that it has sold out BUT new stock is expected by 2nd December (in time for Christmas!). You can order through the Furtography website (payment through Paypal) and the book will be sent to you. AND, you can even get a personalised dedication… All for NZ34.99!

*Guinness, is the face of ‘Quake Dogs’ – in New Zealand he became a very familiar scruffy face and appeared regularly in the TV news updates. The enormous, shaggy Irish Wolfhound became the pin-up boy for the Student Volunteer Army and was awarded a medal for his work with their rescue effort.

I’ve Got a Thing For Pukeko

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Animal Photography, Art, Beatrice Carlson, Bird, Kiwi, Mixed media, Native Bird, New Zealand, Pukeko

‘Pukeko Kete’ by Beatrice Carlson
(Image from Essenze)

Like most Kiwis, I have a bit of a thing for the Pukeko. With its distinctive bright blue colouring and bright red beak, it is always easy to see against the green of the New Zealand wetland.

Also known as the New Zealand Swamp Hen, the Pukeko is a member of the rail family, and it is similar to other species found all over the world. There are apparently 15 sub species of the bird and their range includes southern Europe, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Melanesia, western Polynesia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, so it is a very common bird. In New Zealand, you can find them in almost any grassland area, especially in swampy locations.

Just why they have struck such a chord within the Kiwi culture is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps it is because they are a little ungainly, but still full of character. It’s certainly not because of their flying ability – their take off is laboured and they are awkward flyers with feet dangling and often crash landing into a tree or bush, although they can fly long distances.

‘Blue Comme’ by Beatrice Carlson
(Image from Essenze)

For me, one woman who has captured the quirkiness of the Pukeko perfectly, is Beatrice Carlson. She apparently originally studied oil painting and it has given her an understanding of layers and transparency that she now uses in her digital work. Her works are dramatic in scale – the piece above is 1200mm x 1200mm – but she works with the smallest of details, adjusting the images pixel by pixel.

I think I would quite like Blue Comme on my wall…

Essenze sells Blue Comme for NZ$2,901 and will ship anywhere in the world. You can check out their site here.

 

Julian Wolkenstein Horses Around…

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Animal Photography, Art, Design, Horses, Interior design, Julian Wolkenstein, Megan Morton, Pets, Photography, Rachel CAstle, The School

Julian Wolkentein’s ‘Florence’
(Image from here)

A horse is a thing of beauty… none will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendour. (Xenophon)

Sometimes, I’m a little behind the eight ball. Sometimes, it takes me a while to catch on. Clearly. This is one of those times…

I was having a mooch around the School*, that most fabulous site that is the brainchild of the lovely Megan Morton. To be honest, I was looking for Rachel Castle’s next screen printing class (It’s on 15 March, 2014, if you’re interested!) and then I found these splendiferous wee horsey pics by the talented Julian Wolkenstein. I kind of love them.

That is to say, I kind of love them, despite the fact I don’t fall into that ‘I love horses‘ camp that some girls belong to. They make me smile.

Julian Wolkentein’s ‘Misty’
(Image from here)

Apparently, Mr Wolkenstein had the idea of experimenting with horses’ manes after a conversation with another advertising mate.

With a background in advertising photography and used to working with a very specific client brief, Julian also thinks, “It is important to do personal projects just for fun, not to sell anything, but just to remind you why you make images, but mostly, and simply, to make you smile.”

Julian Wolkentein’s ‘Harmony’
(Image from here)

Apparently, each horse took around four hours to groom, with hair extensions being added by hair-stylist Acacio da Silva. Wow!

You can order prints of Julian’s horses from The School. They come in 3 sizes: 

The small print is 20cm x 26cm and retails for $125

The medium print is 42cm x 52cm and retails for $580

The large print is 72cm x 102cm and retails for $1,250.00

*If you live in Sydney (or Melbourne or Auckland! – there are road shows!) and consider yourself the teeniest bit creative, it’s illegal not to know about the School. If you don’t happen to live in the region, it’s still worth a look-see. I’d quite like to be like Megan Morton when I grow up…

Ren Netherland Photographs Poodles in Drag…

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Animal Photography, Best in Class, Breeds, Colour, culture, Dog, Dog Show, George Jean Nathan, Pets, Photography, Poodle, Recreation, Ren Netherland, Rita Rudner, Show Dog

Bella, the miniature poodle
(Image by TSL)

Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle and sometimes for a man. (George Jean Nathan)

Regular TSL readers will know about Bella, the miniature poodle. There’s a bit of a story about when I met LM. Bella was his dog, and frankly while I love dogs, I couldn’t imagine getting excited about, what was in my mind at the time, a slightly effeminate breed.

Oh, how wrong could a girl be…? I have fallen so hard for this poodle. I now cannot imagine life without her.

We all know that a dog can only have one master. Well, Bella has proven to be just the teensiest bit of a turn-coat, and has chosen me to be her master instead of LM. This may have something to do with the fact that I feed her every day… She is now very much my dog. You can even occasionally hear LM say, “I used to have a dog…”

Anyhoo, I am a poodle convert. Just love ’em.

I’m not so sure how Bella would feel all dressed up for a photograph session with pet photographer extraordinaire, Ren Netherland, tho’… Oh the indignity!

They’re not dogs [poodles], they’re art. (Rachel Leigh)

Pirate Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Panda Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Camel Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Bison Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Pittsburgh Steeler Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. (Rita Rudner)

According to his bio, Ren Netherland of Animal Photography is a highly sought after pet photographer. He travels the length and breadth of the States for eight months of every year in his mobile digital studio bus.

To be fair to Ren Netherland, he has many wonderful images of pets on his website (and these are not limited to poodles in drag, although there are more of these, too). If you’d like to see more, you can access his site here.