Rescue Sessions ~ Peninsula Animal Aid 2013 Calendar

Early this year I was asked to photograph dogs and cats for the Peninsula Animal Aid calendar for 2013. The dogs and cats were selected from those who had found new forever homes through the rescue organisation and were happily in their new homes and with devoted owners. It makes a nice change to see and read about the success stories in the pet rescue scene, so I happy obliged.

We photographed the pets over three days at various locations – all the cats were done in-home – and most of the dogs were photographed at lovely big dog-friendly park in Clontarf, Brisbane called Kroll Gardens.

Peninsula Animal Aid have chosen their final images, but I thought I’d post my favourites here. The calendars will be available through Peninsula Animal Aid.

Without further ado, please meet the gorgeous stars of the calendar!

First up, this is stunning Devon. A very playful boy, he hardly stopped moving the whole time!

You wouldn’t guess it from the photo, but Jack is a very timid boy who would have much preferred to spend time in his mum’s arms than down on the ground posing for photos.

Beautiful Polly loves to spend time lounging around on the bed, so we captured her doing what she does best. She often shares the bed with her two canine companions!

Rupert is one of Polly’s doggy brothers and is a little live-wire, always into something – sniffing, running, playing and generally living life to the fullest.

Coraline is very much loved by her family, regularly engaging in games of chasey around the backyard. With her stunning striped markings and bright eyes, she’s such a pretty girl.

Little D’arcy is probably the smallest dog I’ve ever photographed. What he lacked in size, he more than made up for in boldness, off exploring everywhere with great enthusiasm as soon as his feet touched the ground.

Madeline shares her home with greyhounds and was a joy to photograph, quite content to hang out on the dining table posing it up for me. Her mum, who is a talented photographer, had a selection of her work hung on the wall behind her which made for a lovely colourful backdrop to this shot.

Jack was fantastic to photograph, happily standing in the one spot and throwing me a variety of looks. I like this one the best!

Dougie is a very sweet little boy who was contentedly hanging out on the deck in the sunshine when we accosted him for a photo. I just love his beautiful eyes, so colour-coordinated with his coat.

Vegas is an absolute star. Such an unusual looking dog with the long body of a sausage dog and those bright eyes, she was very motivated by the toy we were playing with which made for some very intense looks.

Minx has the most unusual coat I’ve ever seen on a cat. The top layer is black, with a very light layer of almost white fur underneath. She was a bit timid on the day but we managed to coax some poses out of her to show off those big beautiful eyes.

Aussie is a very cute sausage dog cross who was much happier cuddling up to his new mum than exploring the strange environment of the park (and rightly so). I do love the background of this shot with the late afternoon light filtering through the trees.

Abby was actually the first cat I photographed for the calendar, and what an initiation of fire it was. She has a LOT of personality and probably the most vocal cat I’ve ever encountered. I did shoot some shots of her looking happy and content, however this is my favourite as it shows her personality off more.

Rusty was very focused on his beloved ball during our session, often going into a typical herding pose, crouched down and ears back. We did however manage to coax those lovely ears into an upright posture for a few shots, which I think was totally worthwhile.

Oscar is a really character. Who knows that breeds he has mixed in there, but one thing is for sure, they were definitely scruffy ones! He’s much loved by his mum and dad and was a great model, sitting beautifully for me while I angled to catch the backlight through his abundant fur. And how cool is his topknot!

While I was photographing Oscar, his mum took some super sneaky behind-the-scenes shots of myself and Claire from Peninsula Animal Aid at work.

The calendars will be available for purchase ($15 each) from around October. They can be purchased at the shelter (www.peninsulaanimalaid.com.au) – at Duffield Rd, Clontarf, or from Elizabeth (ph 3283 2907) – she will organize postage if they cannot be collected. All proceeds from the sales of the calendars will go directly to the shelter to provide food, medication etc for the animals residing there.

A big thanks to Peninsula Animal Aid for allowing me to be involved in such a great project, and special thanks to super-woman Claire who organised all the dogs and cats and came with me on the shoots to assist.