Project 52 - Introductions

January 02, 2015 by Carol Locey

Happy New Year! 2015 is upon us and I, for one, am so happy that 2014 is behind us.

Our very first blog post of the year for Beautiful Beasties Network is Introductions. So, I'd like to introduce you to myself, and more importantly, to my 2 dogs that you will be seeing a lot of in the coming weeks.

I am Carol Locey of Carol Locey Photography. I've lived in Cincinnati, Ohio my entire life. I'm married to my wonderful husband, Dan, coming up on 35 years. I have two children, Emily and Chas, and an incredible daughter-in-law, Sarah. They have pets of their own so you may be seeing them from time to time as well.

For those that don't know, my husband and I experienced a devastating house fire last June. 6 of our 7 pets died in the fire and our house was totally destroyed on the inside. We are still currently living with our daughter until our house is rebuilt. We are hoping that will be in the next 2 - 3 months. Believe me, you will know when that happens!!

And now, I'd like to introduce you to my 2 precious dogs, Lucy and Huck.

First off is Lucy, the only surviving pet from our fire. She is our miracle. We don't know how she survived but we thank God everyday that she did. Lucy is 4 years old and so very sweet. Her favorite past time is herding squirrels.

We recently added Huckleberry "Huck". A 10 month old Beagle mix boy. Also a rescue from Louie's Legacy. We were not planning on adding another dog to our family until we were back home. But when we met Huck, it was just meant to be. He was exactly what all of us needed to help with our healing. He is a goofy little guy that loves to snuggle and play with his big sister.

Together, they love to do what hounds LOVE to do...smell all the smells!

There you have it! I hope you will follow me, and the other wonderful pet photographers, as we take on weekly photo challenges and blog about them.

Next on the blog circle is Denver, Colorado pet photographer, StinkDog photos. Just click their name and you will be traveling through our blog circle until you end up back here!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy new year filled with the love of your furry friend.

Project 52 - Family

December 05, 2014 by Carol Locey

After taking a break for the past two weeks due to travel and the Thanksgiving holiday, I was really itching to get back to the blog!

This week's theme is family. If you are really lucky, like I am, you were able to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by family and loved ones. This year was very different for me. It's the first Thanksgiving without my mom, without our dogs and cats that perished in our fire, not living in our home and the very first Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant.

But, I consider myself to be very blessed and I'm grateful for my family who has provided support, love and a home to live in these past 5 months.

This Thanksgiving is also different for my Lucy and Huck. It's Lucy's first Thanksgiving without her sister (and brothers) and also not in her home. For Huck, it's his first Thanksgiving ever. And I'm so happy he is spending it with us, a family that loves him so much; instead of in a cold, scary shelter.

I thought it was fitting for the photo's in this week's blog to include the dog family that is no longer with us. And to include Huck who makes our family complete again. The composite I've included in the photo's was created and gifted to me by a very dear friend, Jen Powell, who is the Ohio Volunteer Foster Coordinator for Louie's Legacy Animal Rescue, the rescue I work with and where we have adopted all of our dogs the past 4 years. I will treasure this gift forever.

After much cajoling and handing out of treats, I finally was able to get a shot with Huck. He looks like the typical kid in a family photo, who does not look happy at being made to sit still!

Please click on Khanya Photography of Poughkeepsie, NY and continue clicking through all the posts to meet everyone's family!

Project 52 - Catchlights

November 14, 2014 by Carol Locey

Beautiful Beasties is an online resource and forum for professional pet photographers where we can share and learn from each other. 52 Project is a group that is provided a different theme each week to stretch and grow our creative minds.

It is now week 46 of this year long project! I have been on a self imposed hiatus from participating, due to a tragic house fire this past June. But, it's time to move forward and attempt to create a sense of normalcy in my life. Taking part in this weekly photo/blog project is a big step for me towards that end.

The theme for this week is catchlights. This is a term commonly used by photographers. For those of you not familier with it, Wikipedia's definition is: "Catch light or catchlight is a light source that causes a specular highlight in a subject's eye in an image." It's the "twinkle" in the eye and is really what brings life to a portrait. Be it human or pet.

There are many different ways to create catchlights. If the photographer is using artificial lighting, then the type of light diffuser or modifier she uses can affect the shape of the catchlight.

In Greater Cincinnati, summer is long gone and Autumn provided one last (we think) glorious weekend of weather. We headed out to Cincinnati Nature Center since the dogs love going there and smelling all the smells.

I decided to start breaking Huck in as my new little model. Let's just say he is a work in progress. This first image is how not to capture catchlights!

I was finally able to coax him to look at me. Since I wanted to capture natural catchlights from the sun, I made sure it was situated at my back. This would be critical if you want to capture natural catchlights in your subjects eyes.

Cute Huck with catchlights and derp face.

Click through the blog circle to check out everyones take on catchlights! Next up is MJ Photography!

The Red Ball

October 27, 2014 by Carol Locey

After a self imposed break, I'm back. The past almost 4 months have been the most difficult, sad, darkest and hopeful I've ever experienced. The fire that tore through our house and our lives, on June 19th, changed me forever. Some bad changes and some good changes. I've been trying to focus on the good.

We are still displaced from our home while it is being rebuilt. Living with our adult daughter has been good. We all needed to lean on each other through this. Having my son and daughter-in-law close by has also been instrumental in our healing. At the end of September we all took a family vacation together and, for a brief moment in time, were able to laugh, play and relax. And forget.

On October 12th we adopted little Huck. A 7 month old Beagle mix who has brought innocence, trust, joy and light back into our lives. We feel like a family that is going to be okay.

Going back to the house today, we took Lucy and Huck with us so they could enjoy our backyard in the beautiful Autumn weather. Sitting there, greeting us as usual since the fire, is a little red ball. We received this in our first monthly shipment of the Barkbox subscription I had signed up for. It is the only surviving dog toy we have since it was the only one Peanut Butter and Jethro took outside. It's a sad reminder of sweet, innocent lives lost.

Today I was feeling especially sad and melancholy. Even seeing how much fun Lucy and Huck were having chasing leaves, digging in wood piles and generally being happy dogs. I couldn't help but think of Buttercup sitting on the bench and how she would be soaking up the warming rays of afternoon sun. Or of Peanut Butter chasing Jethro through the tall weeds and being barely able to see either of them. But being able to hear their racket.

We are having a beautiful water feature created in the backyard as a memorial to our lost pets. I anticipate the sound of water gently cascading out of boulders specifically chosen to represent each of the dogs. But more, I envision that the little red ball will always play a larger part of our remembrance of the pets that we still miss so much.

52 Project - Fun time!

June 13, 2014 by Carol Locey

I've been out of the 52 Project for a couple of weeks now. We've had a lot going on and as much as I wanted to, I just have not had the time or opportunity for the weekly themes. I've missed being a part of the blog circle big time!

This weeks theme is "Fun Time"!! We have had a lot of rain this week and I was worried I wouldn't be able to get the pack outside to make some fun. But, the skies cleared in the nick of time and what better way to engage in summer fun time than...BUBBLES!!

Lucy and Buttercup have played with bubbles before, but it's been a long time. This was the first experience for Jethro and Peanut Butter.

At first, Peanut Butter was intrigued. But when the bubbles started touching and popping on him, he got a little freaked out. Silly Peanut Butter.

Surprisingly, Jethro was not a big fan. At all.

Lucy is by far the biggest bubble fan. She really enjoyed chasing and biting after them. And waiting for more!

After a while, Buttercup became bored and just watched the shenanigans from a safe perch.

I must thank my daughter, Emily, and husband, Dan, for being the bubble makers for this session!

To see more of the fun times theme click on my good friend Kathryn Schauer Photography and keep following the blog circle until you end up back here!

If you'd like to schedule your own custom session contact me at carol@carolloceyphotography.com. We will have our own fun time!

52 Project - Wide

May 16, 2014 by Carol Locey

Wide is the theme for this week's project. We were encouraged to "shoot as wide as you can" and to be creative. I immediately knew where I wanted to show-off Buttercup in a wide angle shot.

This is a local garden shop, The Olde Garden Shack, and it is a beauty with their lush, full flowering baskets and planters. It was perfect for a wide angle shot

There was an explosion of color and texture no matter we turned.

I seriously could load this blog with photo after photo of Buttercup in a sea of flowers.

There was one other location I really wanted to see if it would work for this theme. And it did.

This is the playground of a now defunct elementary school in my little town. The tires were almost as colorful as the garden setting. But, Buttercup could climb on these and explore.

Thank you for joining Buttercup on her wide world adventure. Click on my fellow Cincinnati, Oh photographer, Suzi Pix Photography to see her take on the wide theme. Keep clicking the links until you end up back here!

To schedule your custom session in your own unique setting, contact carol@carolloceyphotography.com.

52 Project - Angles

May 09, 2014 by Carol Locey

Angles is the theme of the week. This makes me think of Old European paintings with stairs and doorways cast in deep shadows with stark highlights. It also make me think of modern architecture with sharp lines.

I have nothing like either one!

I went with different perspectives in my images. Not necessarily through light and dark, but with point of view angles. So, in the photo above, I peaked around a tree trunk to get a surprise angle on Buttercup.

I stood directly over Peanut Butter and shot down in the next image. I got him to look up at me while holding the chewy toy they were all playing with moments earlier.

I'm so interested in seeing everyone else's interpretation of angles this week. Click on Portland, Oregon's For the Love Pet Photography and continue clicking on the links until you return here!

Contact me to schedule your custom session, carol@carolloceyphotography.com.