Tag: cardigan

Saturday’s Canine Companion

Focus on Stuff, one of our Cardigan Welsh Corgis, who had a tough week and is a love regardless. He’ll take some time to recover, as we take care of him.

This week’s edition is a special one, as it’s been a rather intense week for our featured canine (and for us as well). In last week’s installment of Saturday’s Canine Companion you met Darwin, the first of our Cardigan Welsh Corgis. If you think this week’s handsome boy has a lot of Darwin’s looks, you are right. It almost caused us not to choose him, but we’re lucky enough that he chose us to be his human companions.

Here’s a look at this handsome boy…

Stuff on the Couch

When Stuff hangs with me in my office area, he loves to sit on the couch, so he can keep an eye on what I am doing. He always is on the lookout for a potential treat that might come his way.

Stuff has had a rough week, as on Wednesday he lost control of his hind legs and was in a lot of pain. We took him to the Veterinary ER that evening and got him at least a bit more comfortable until we could see a specialist on Thursday morning. An MRI revealed a bulging disk in his spine, which was repaired surgically on Thursday afternoon. As Stuff had all the feeling in his legs, he has a good prognosis to recover and get full control of his legs again after sufficient time for healing and careful recovery. He is still with the specialist at the moment, but we were told that we can bring him home tomorrow, which is great news!

During this entire ordeal, Stuff has been nothing but the loving dog that he always is; regardless of the pain, he seems to understand that all of us are trying to take care of him and make him feel all better again.

Saturday’s Canine Companion

Our first feature in this series highlights Darwin, our first Cardigan Welsh Corgi, who was our perfect ambassador to the breed.

Over the years I have photographed a lot of dogs competing in agility and also in relaxed settings, such as an occasional portrait. This has led to a collection of well over 300,000 photos, among which there have been some memorable ones. Over the next year or so, I’ll do some more work on creating a greatest hits list from this collection, which I’ll feature on Saturdays.

Here’s the inaugural contribution with a photo from 2009…

Darwin

Darwin was our first Cardigan Welsh Corgi, aptly named Llanbryn’s Theory of Evolution. We first met Darwin when he was about 6 months old, when he ran to me for protection from the pack of aunts who liked to chase him around. After an eleven hour ride home (with stops) with us, Darwin was introduced to our mutt, Tonka, who loved him right away.Darwin wasn’t so sure, about Tonka, as she was more than twice his size. They became best friends!

Darwin gained his confidence through my wife training him in agility and herding. He was our perfect introduction to the Cardigan Welsh Corgi breed, as he was forgiving of our mistakes and had an inner toughness combined with being a truly lovely companion.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 140

Your posts warmed my heart!

Welcome to the 140th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

This delayed round up starts us on the ground floor for the year; it’s nice to have finished the flooring project and start getting caught up on therest of my life.

Thank you for your patience and the wonderful Cold and Warm posts that you created! Despite the holiday season there were lots of creative entries for the week and I really enjoyed reading them.

I hope that you enjoy reading each other’s posts and have a wonderful New Year!

Here’s one way to deal with the cold…

Stuff, the Cardigan

When he first came home with us, December of 2017, it was pretty cold outside and Stuff was still a little, bitty thing. So we got him a cute little coat to keep him warm while going into the cold outside. Nowadays, he’s a sturdy 36 pounds of dog with a lush coat of his own, so he doesn’t mind the cold at all!

The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:

  1. This week, pensivity101 starts things off with the warm glow of the Sun, despite the chilly temperatures!
  2. In Life Amazing‘s post, we get a great view of Christmas at her house and staying warm with the right coat!
  3. Another great post in A Day in the Life catches the lovely warm glow on a very cold day…
  4. Jase’s post in Proscenium sings a little tune that Tom Petty might have appreciated, and it fits the season!
  5. Maria has some excellent snowboots in KameraPromenader; I’m sure that those keep her feet warm. Those snow crystals are magical!
  6. Woolly shares the spirit of the season in Woolly Muses, as he captured a great tree and some cool decorations (it was cool enough to think about wearing more than shorts).
  7. Tatiana captures some rather hot looking fountains in her post in Vegas Great Attractions; although I’m not sure that it’s ever cold there…
  8. Penny’s poem in Penny Wilson Writes really exemplifies both the hot and cold; it’s a great read!
  9. In Junk Boat Travels, we get the ultimate in cold, as there’s more than a little ice…
  10. In this week’s post in To See a World in a Grain of Sand… Ann-Christine went for an early morning walk when it was really cold, and captured some great sunrise shots!
  11. This week’s entry from theonlyD800inthehameau has plenty of humor in the shot that shows how to stay cool on a hot day!
  12. Deb’s photo in Twenty Four is a wonderful example of how the warmth can be seen to escape in an image!
  13. Sarah’s post in By Sarah features a photo that is just gorgeous and makes me feel both warm and cold!
  14. Another fantastic photo in Land of Images: great use of the bright Sun’s heat against the ice crystals in the clouds!
  15. This week’s entry from sgeoil is absolutely gorgeous, as the warm tones stand out!
  16. Sandy’s capture and poem inspired by the image in Out of my Write Mind are simply phenomenal; they make me feel like I’m in a snow globe!
  17. In a lovely post in Take a Walk and Discover, we take a look at the view from the bridge.
  18. In another great post in WhippetWisdom, Xenia reflects on 2018 which makes for lots of great photography and stories!
  19. In a great year-ending post in ForgivingConnects, Debbie expresses her gratitude for all that is wonderful and what forgiveness brings to her life.
  20. This week’s post in One letter UP – diary 2.0 talks about one of my favorite items: snow! And how to stay warm!
  21. Debbie’s photos in Travel with Intent truly capture the warmth of the golden hour!
  22. Alice’s post in the 59 Club is simply fantastic, as she captures a great way to get warm during the Winter cold!
  23. Olga’s post in her awesome blog Stuff and What If… describes the story of her daughter building a quinzee in their backyard. I great cold place to keep warm!
  24. In Touring with Kids, we find out more about a great place to keep warm in the cold of Iceland: the Blue Lagoon!

I hope that you enjoy these posts and let the authors know!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Birthday

Stuff turns one!

Welcome to Week 129 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

The idea for this week’s theme came from the fact that Monday saw a Birthday in our household: Stuff, our youngest Cardigan Welsh Corgi, is now one year old!  We are amazed that he made it this far, as he is a mischievous, crazy little boy with no sense of self-preservation; he does things just to test our patience, and jumps of the armrest of the couch, as if he can fly!

Take any creative license that you wish with this week’s theme, as Birthday can refer to any creation, be they Nature or Human made.  So, unleash your creative minds, lenses and pens, and share what you come up with for the theme, and, most imortant, have some fun!

I’m filled with anticipation of what you might produce!!

Here’s that little boy, when he was 9-1/2 weeks old…

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Stuff, the Cardigan

As it was getting pretty cold outside, and he was just a little body, we got him this cute little jacket, so he’d stay warm long enough to do his business outside.  It looked pretty fashionable!

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
  • Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
  • Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
  • Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

I’m definitely looking forward to finding out what supersized items appear this week!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – In My Life

Salute of Innocence

Welcome to Week 96 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge.  Thanks to all of you wonderful participants for a truly outstanding week of entries for the theme of Exotic!

This week’s inspiration started not with an image, but rather a song that has been stuck in my head for the past couple of days…  That said, I thought it might just make a good theme to have this week’s entries be focused on In My Life!  It will give everyone the opportunity to share some of the things that are part of their lives, whichever they are.

In my wife’s and my life, a good portion goes to the dogs, literally!  As we truly enjoy having our dogs be part of our family, their contribution to our lives has been and continues to be significant through their wonderful acceptance of being part of the pack and sharing their every moment with us.  With 4 Cardigan Welsh Corgis, our house is usually not very quiet, but it is always filled with joy.

Have fun with this week and I’m looking forward to your contributions!

Here is one of those little demons….

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Dorothea Lange

Dora, or Bean, as we often call her, is currently taking over the role of dominant female in our pack, as Bette is getting older and slower; her name was a happy coincidence of dogs and photography intersecting!

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
  • Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
  • Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
  • Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

I’m looking forward to your what you choose to share of your life!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Pets

Enough warmth to melt snow!

Welcome to Week 88 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge.

I’m still working on going through all the wonderful responses to last week’s theme of Season; they are spectacular, but I’m a little behind on my part of the work 🙂

One of the reasons that I’ve fallen somewhat behind is the lack of sleep due to the center of attention and this week’s theme; Stuff, our Cardigan Welsh Corgi puppy, is the inspiration for this week’s theme of Pets!  They are wonderful and make us feel warm inside and smile, but when they are young, they wake us up in the middle of the night, as they need to go out (Stuff is very good about this and sleeps nicely during the rest of the night).

Of course, Pets come in all sort of varieties, shapes, sizes and species!  I’m very much looking forward to finding the amazing ones that are spending time with my fellow bloggers!

Here’s the sweet little boy at 10 weeks old…

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Stuff, the Cardigan

My wife bought Stuff a little coat, as it has been very cold outside, and his puppy hair doesn’t keep him warm enough yet.  When he grows up, Stuff will have a double coat of fur, which keeps him warm in the cold and allows him to play outside in the snow for hours!

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
  • Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
  • Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
  • Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

I’m looking forward to seeing what catches your eye this week…

Dogstar Thursday – vol 15

Ain’t I a stinker?

With today’s dog star, I’m going purely for cuteness without any guilt or reservation, as it is a photo of our little Dorothea Lange when she was only about 10 months old…

My wife and I took her for a stroll through Moore State Park, located in Paxton, MA which has wonderful trails and allows dogs in the park.  Little Dora really enjoyed the walk and was very good, as she proved in this image…

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I’m so cute!

Even at 10 months old, she knew how to go for cuteness and throw head tilts when being photographed 🙂  After all, how can she get in trouble when she looks at you in that fashion?  Yes, it has saved her many times!!

Hope you enjoy this image.

Technical Details

This image was captured with an iPhone 5S using the standard Camera app.

Thursday’s Dog Star – vol 13

Beauty perfected

This week, I’m presenting another Cardigan Welsh Corgi portrait, this one from quite a while back.

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Demi

This photo of Demi was from a portrait session I did for a number of Cardigans during the Summer of 2005.  Demi was an incredibly sweet dog, and she was the mother of Ransom our 2nd Cardigan, who is 13 years old at this time.

Unfortunately, Demi crossed the Rainbow Bridge during a Cesarean Section for her second litter.  Demi’s owner and many of us were heartbroken by this tragic occurrence.

Those events still make this image bittersweet for me, as she was gone all too soon after this photo was taken.

Technical Details

This was a Canon EOS 1D Mk II using an EF 28-80mm f/4.5-6.3 lens and Speedlite 430 EX as a fill flash.  The flash was intended purely to produce a catchlight, as I used a gold tone reflector to create the very warm light on Demi.  The exposure settings were 1/1000 second at f/8 at 400 ISO.

The Marked Woman

Bette Davis Eyes

I’m sure you’re aware at this point that we have Cardigan Welsh Corgis ruling our house.  In age order, they are Darwin (14.5 y/o), Ransom (13 y/o), Bette (11 y/o) and Dora (2.5 y/o); each have their own personality…

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Intense Bette

Bette, aka The Marked Woman, is affectionally known by my wife and me, as ‘The Bitch’.  If she were to be cast in Monty Python’s Holy Grail, she would be in the role of the harmless little bunny.  Yes, Bette, although she has mellowed quite a bit at this age, is rather intense, which came across in this quick shot that I took of her during a walk.

She has plenty of good characteristics, but a pleasant disposition is not one of them; if she is acting really nice, we usually end up taking her to the veterinarian, as she is sick.  We love her just as much as the other three.

Bette used to be an excellent agility dog, but has been retired from agility for a couple of years to eliminate the wear and tear on her body.  She is deathly afraid of sheep, so herding was not her thing, but she has found a new passion: barn hunt.  In barn hunt, one or more rats (in protective tubes) are hidden among hay or straw bales, which can be stacked; the dog’s job is to find the rats and indicate where they are within a set time limit.  Bette gets excited when she finds a rat, so she is enjoying this game.

Technical Data

This portrait was shot with my Canon EOS 5D Mk III using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.  Shutter speed was at 1/100 second with f/6.3 at 400 ISO.

Dogstar Thursday – vol. 5

It’s the Bean!

A lot of my dog photography has been of dogs in action and to this day, a lot of people still know me for this part of my work.  Portraits are a bit rarer in my oeuvre, so here’s one that I enjoy…

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Dora

The dog in this photo is our youngest Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Dora aka Bean.  Her full name is White Raven “Salute of Innocence”, Dorothea Lange.  Dora is now almost 3 years old and has quite a sense of humor, which is not a bad thing in a cute dog.

She stays busy with duck and sheep herding and agility, which means that she has something on her schedule most every weekend.

It is not coincidental that this little love shares her name with my favorite photographer.  As I got to pick her registered name, “Salute of Innocence” was an easy choice, as it is one of Dorothea Lange’s most poignant images of Japanese American children saluting the flag during the pledge of allegiance.

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Salute of Innocence – Dorothea Lange

This image is from Dorothea Lange’s time photographing Japanese Americans in internment camps in 1942; a dark period in American history that we should ensure to never repeat.