I had a shoot the other day for the cover of the 2011 GRRAND calendar. That’s the calendar that raises money for the Golden Retriever Rescue and Adoption of Needy Dogs. It’s a wonderful organization serving Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati.
The calendar cover goes to the highest bidder during the live auction at the GRRAND Affair fundraiser. In this year’s calendar (2010), you’ll find the gorgeous Beatrice gracing the cover.
But the 2011 calendar cover will be entirely different because it will feature *three* fabulous goldens!
Meet Wade, Duke and Madeleine……
Wade is a darling older chap. He’s on the left. He is just the most gentle soul- and he was the easiest to shoot because he was very alert and cooperative! Duke is in the middle and he was the toughest to photograph because he wanted to be with his Dad every minute and kept wandering out of the shot. But who can blame him, right? By the way, just how much do you *love* Duke’s spotty tongue. It totally makes that shot, I think! And Maddy, the super photogenic dog on the right, would have probably stood on her head for the right treat. She’s adorable!
I think you can tell these guys are great buddies, I love that they will just squeeze together for a shot. That’s kind of unusual- a lot of times the dogs want just a little space from each other!
I think the image below is really fun because they’re just hanging in their back yard. Madeleine and Wade are looking right at my hand ( there’s a treat in it) and Duke is looking off at his Dad. Cute!
I think the photograph below might be my favorite. I just think it shows their personalities because Wade looks like he’s in a dog show- standing perfectly and being a good boy, Duke is a tiny bit anxious because his Dad isn’t right there but he’s trying his best not to show it, and Madeleine is staring at that treat I’m holding like she’s afraid it’s going to fly away. Ha! It’s really fun to shoot multiple dogs, especially when they are so big and gorgeous as these guys.
So… not sure which image we’ll end up choosing for the calendar cover, but I’m happy we pulled it off:) These dogs really deserve the cover because they have all been through a lot at some time in their lives. They are all rescues and bring such great joy to their parents- as adopted dogs almost always do!
If you’re interested in learning more about GRRAND- even possibly adopting a dog like one of these three, just click here: GRRAND
