Pugs, Play-Time, and Parenthood
Photo Shoot with Jeff, Hilda, Quinn, and Sturgis Kirchmaier
With Special Guest Appearances by Buster and Rocky



Okay, I really have it rough. I've braved it as a kitten wrangler and now I'm courageous enough to take on pugs. I originally met Hilda and her family through my Baby Love (aka "Steve") but never had the opportunity to spend more than an hour or so with her family. Let me tell you, you really get a sense of family dynamics and how someone is as a parent or a child when you're photographing them. I was truly blown away by what good parents both Hilda and Jeff are and how patient their sweet kids Quinn and Sturgis are. And as if that wasn't enough, I got to shoot the pugs, too!







I'm a total sucker for puppies and kittens, I've gotta say. I grew up with animals (peacocks, bear, turkey, exotic deer, crocodiles, ferrets, raccoons, horses, dogs, cats, and so on...just your typical Midwestern Childhood on an exotic animal farm) and I feel real comfortable with them. But it's a true treat to have the chance to work with them as well! And let me say, these were the most photogenic, patient puppies you could imagine...as soon as they knew I was pointing the camera at them, they relaxed and put on their best "mugs." Since they're growing fast, Hilda wanted to catch some great pics of the family with the little ones before they get any bigger. At the time of the shoot, they were a couple of months old.

OH MY GOSH. THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!





Towards the end of the shoot, the sky had turned really dark from storm clouds. I had hopes that we'd get a thin sliver of light down at Hendry's Beach before nightfall. We raced down there and literally had about three minutes to get in a couple of really magical moments of light before it was gone. Such are the moments in photography. As an old friend once told me, "Everything in life, like in photography, comes down to two things: good timing and good lighting."
Touche!