On-Location Client Session ~ Zada and Zeus in Toowoomba

My first session in Toowoomba was a blast from the past, as the client was actually an old neighbour and friend of mine. We met back in about 2004 when I was living on the Gold Coast. Back then, Hayley had a gorgeous little Pug called Maddox who now lives with her parents. Even then, she was a dog person and especially a lover of the squishy faces and rolls of skin. A few years later, while posted to south west Queensland for work, she added a new little girl to the family, a Neapolitan Mastiff x English Mastiff called Zada.

Zada is a stunning girl with a beautiful face, and is also very energetic. She spend most of the session making sure that her “pack” were all ok and sussing out the area to make sure it was safe, so we managed to get some really alert expressions from her. Being so active, her tongue did make a rather regular appearance!

Zada is nearly two now and Hayley had always been talking about booking a photo session for her. Time got away but everything happens for a reason, and soon enough, Hayley and her partner Maurice added another Mastiff to the family, a Neapolitan Mastiff called Zeus.

We decided to book the session while Zeus was still just a pup at 4 months old, so we could capture that gorgeous wrinkly goofy goodness that is a Mastiff puppy!

Hayley and Maurice are quite obviously devoted to their fur children. They are often away from each other for long periods of time, being posted to different areas in western Queensland, so it was lovely to see them all together and enjoying an afternoon in the park.

After exploring the park for a while, we headed back to the gardens at Queens Park and took advantage of the lovely green grass on offer. I love these shots of Zeus against the grass, he was quite interested in the treats we had and soon proved that he is in fact a bit of a guts! For good reason though, he needs to fill out some of those wrinkles.

Zeus is pretty much the complete opposite of Zada in character. He’s totally chilled out and laid back, nothing much bothers him and he takes almost all situations in his stride (which will become quite a stride when he’s older and grows into those legs and feet). He was so chilled at our session that he often ended up in this position when encouraged to lay down. Why not just go the whole hog and lay down all the way? Much less effort!

I used to love my Luna’s velvety soft wrinkles and floppy ears when she was a pup, but looking back, she had NOTHING on what Zeus had to offer! Just ridiculous! He sure has lots of growing to do.

Zada was settling down a little and quite interested in the treats I had to offer by this stage, so I did some focusing with her and ended up with what I think is the funniest image from the session. Those teeth! What a look, she has the best facial expressions.

Just as the sun was setting, we headed to the formal gardens and made use of the pathways for a few walking shots of them all. In the second shot below, I’m pretty sure Hayley is having a discussion with Zada about walking nicely on the lead for the photo.

It obviously worked!

Often I am so in love with the colour in photos that I much prefer them over black and white versions. I do rather like this shot in black and white though, it has almost a photo documentary feel to it and I love Hayley’s expression.

We had just enough light at the end of the session for a few more shots of both dogs near the beautiful flower beds of Queens Gardens. It was in full bloom and just stunning! Both dogs were pretty worn out by this stage so we just did some sitting and staying which they were more than happy to do.

Having lived there for ten years, I love visiting Toowoomba, especially at this time of year (spring and early summer) when all the flowers are out. It was fantastic to be able to photograph some gorgeous dogs this year and of course catch up with an old friend. If you’re interested in a pet photography session in Toowoomba please get in touch, as I make the trip every month or so to visit friends and family. I hope to see you soon!