The world is a little bit better than it was yesterday. The sun feels a little bit warmer, the sky is a little bit bluer and the threat of zombies is a little bit less…well, threatening.

It’s a good day. It’s Eleanor Grace Wells’ first day in the world (well, her first outside-of-Kat’s-body day), and that makes the day just all around pretty damned swell.

I waited hours yesterday for Ella’s (I’ve already nicknamed her; I’m big on nicknames) arrival; Aunt Victoria had me packing my camera bag at 10am and waiting by the phone all darned day! But E came in her own sweet time, which was apparently long after I’d gone to bed. But I was up early today to get over to the hospital and get moving on her first photoshoot. And as a professional photographer, I can very confidently say that Eleanor is, at less than a day old, a true supermodel.

I’ve lots more photos of her coming up soon (and of course I had to shoot a couple of rolls of film this morning too, so those scans will be up by tonight), but here’s a quick peek at the newest resident of Long Beach, and I have to say, I think she’s already representin’ pretty well.

I have a confession: of all the types of weddings I’ve shot (and that’s a huge variety), civil ceremonies are my favorite.

I’ve shot some adorable weddings; your little hand-made cards and momentos from your dating years, and yes, even your slideshows have moved me tremendously. And the planning that goes into these weddings boggles my mind. You brides who orchestrate all these things; little umbrellas, chalkboard signs, takeaway gifts–I think I’ve told each and every one of you that you should be a wedding planner. Because when it comes to putting that kind of event together, let’s face it: you kick wedding butt.

A lot of people wouldn’t think there’s anything particularly special about a courthouse wedding; in fact, it’s thought of as the plain-Jane of weddings. The unpretty sister who’s always tagged along on your dates because she could never get one of her own. I’m right, aren’t I? That’s what everyone thinks!

That’s just so, so not true. There is something undeniably charming about a couple in their street clothes going off to get married. They stand in line with the small business applicants and sometimes the court defendants. But they clutch their applications and their little bouquets and they’re all giggly and canoodling, and I’m telling you, they bring a smile to everyone’s face.

At the courthouse weddings I’ve shot, my brides & grooms are showered with shouts of congratulations from total strangers; people honk their horns and wave at them out of their cars. Seeing a couple who are doing something that is so full of promise and so full of youthful hope and newness–well, it affects you in the corniest way. And that’s what I love about them the most.

Becky & Steffen just got married at the Norwalk Courthouse (one I happen to know pretty well, and where I shot my very first wedding). A few things in the place have changed since then, but the “marriage license” sign at the beginning of the aisle roping is still there, and the clerks behind the bulletproof glass still smiled broadly as they slid their marriage certificate and ID underneath the glass window.

The room that the ceremony actually takes place in hasn’t changed a bit. It still has that awful blue wallpaper, and the official seal of the state of California straight in the middle of my shot, but as heavy as the traffic is in that room and as generic as it is decorated, it’s still special every time. It’s still always different.

And it’s utterly delightful.

(I’m really tired of that expression. Everyone says it, and usually in a mean-spirited, challenging kind of way. But I loved the movie–the one with Kirstin Dunst and Eliza Dushku. That movie is a guilty pleasure of mine, and from that movie, I’ll always have this expression.)

This is my game face. My “I’m ready to shoot, why don’t you come on over?” face. The studio was closed for several weeks because Lucy was here, and she had mange, and I couldn’t put any other animals at risk. But Lucy’s now with another family and there’s no contagion here (I like that expression: “There’s no contagion here”: that sounds like something from a zombie movie). So to make it official, I’m offering a $75 discount on studio portrait sessions.*

Now this is a pretty good deal, especially if you have a rescue or shelter animal, because they automatically get a $50 discount, so this could potentially mean an extra $125 in your wallet. But it’s not going to last forever, so get your beasties booked and get them on over here. Because I’m ready.

The slobberers, the jumpers, the whiners, the howlers, the nutjobs…whatever kind of mutt you’ve got living with you, I can handle him/her. Because I, as I said, am ready and I’m telling you, bring it on.

* Sorry, but this discount does not apply to sessions already booked, and this discount is good only on sessions that are booked (not necessarily shot) before the end of this month.

Oh, wow, that really is such an obvious title, isn’t it? Well, I’ve spent days medicating and soothing and walking and cheering and training this dog–as well as tending to the delicate egos of the Vatos–so I’m not feeling especially clever-like with the words. But you get the idea.

If Mr. Susan is anywhere nearby when someone asks about Lucy, they get to see him light up and tell the story of how she used to be a street dog, but was picked up by another couple who had her for a few weeks and is now living the high life at the Smalldogs household. He has really taken to her, which is rare. I mean, he loves the dogs, but with all the ones who have come in and out of our lives, he’s truly bonded with only a couple. Lucy is one of them.

We had another two-hundred dollar day at the vet’s over the weekend, so thank you again and again and again for contributing to the Chip-In. You’ve no idea what a huge relief it’s been to get help with her treatment. Dr. Kaye estimates she’ll be completely well in another 6 weeks or so, but she’s already running through the dog door and rummaging in the bushes with the guys; it’s kind of hard to tell that she was ever a wild beastie.

She knows her name. She eats all her food. She likes to lay in the crate sometimes; most times she likes to lay on the couch or wherever we are. She jumps so high when we come home and she gets so excited to run out the dog door with the guys. She squats when I say “outside” and she does her thing and then she runs as fast as she can to the dog door to get back inside to what appears to be the Comfiest Couch in the Entire Universe. She dreams and snores and makes a funny little squeaky sound in her sleep. Jack has a crush on her (and I believe it’s reciprocal), though T is still Very Suspicious of her. He’ll come around because he has a heart bigger than the whole world.

Bonus: She enjoys being photographed!

I have much prettier shots of her, but I wanted to give you a quick look at the mange. Dr. Kaye guesses that she’s had it for months, poor thing. But she puts up with the baths and the meds and the constant battle to get her to stop scratching herself. Most of her hair has grown back there on her rump and tail, but she’s still got some bald spots here and there. They’ll be gone soon.

She is a little love, really. Thank you so much for helping her get well.

Anyone who knows even the slightest bit of information about me knows that I’m a dog person. I don’t just love dogs; I also photograph them and rescue them (when I can). My heart is bigger than my house or my paycheck or even my patience, so I have to make it a practice to hide the really sad “dog needs a home” updates on Facebook.

Admittedly, I just started “hiding” these stories from my newsfeed. I used to be pretty good at seeing them and saying, “I can do only what I can do,” and move on. But in the past year, I’ve not been so good at that; leading to, among other things, a 200-mile roundtrip to try to rescue a dog who probably had Parvo (unsuccessful); bring a near-death lab mix into our home for the weekend so that he would die loved and clean and warm and not covered in urine (success!) and with the help of my friends rescue a tiny pure-bred Chihuahua who somehow slipped through the cracks at my local shelter and was in danger of being euthanized over a holiday weekend.

I didn’t “hide” Lucy’s story on my feed, and I can say now that I should have, but that would be a lie.

Lucy (who has gone through several name changes since landing here in my house, but is now definitely a “Lucy”) was found by a wonderful couple about 4 weeks ago, wandering the busy streets of Long Beach. They were trying to treat her mange and keep her comfortable, but couldn’t afford to any longer and were desperately looking for someone to take her in.

Ta-da! Along I come. I thought, “how hard can this be?” Ok, wait. That’s a lie. When I do these things–just jump in the car and drive over to see a dog–I’m not really thinking. I’m acting. I admit that I’m sometimes really frustrated by the “poor baby, I’m sharing this on my wall” comments (even though I know those are perfectly valid for some people) and I am driven to act. Like, now!

The number of abandoned and unloved cats and dogs is so overwhelming that you sometimes can’t think about it; you just have to do whatever you can to save that cat or dog that you’re looking at right then; at that moment. And that’s what I did with Lucy.

This is her 4th day here in our home and she’s settling in very nicely. She sleeps in a crate at night and when I’m away from the house, but today she learned how to get out of the crate, so I’ve a feeling that she’ll be sleeping in our bed tonight. She’s getting the hang of the dog door (having two crazy dogs to show her the ropes helps a lot, I’m sure). She’s eating. She’s wagging her tail. She’s chewing on chewies and squeaking the squeakies.

And…she’s being treated for a number of conditions; the most serious of which is mange. I took her to my vet (who’s become a friend) the other day and came home loaded with shampoos and medicine and sprays and all kinds of things to get her started on her long road to recovery.

It was a $500 visit. I’m noting the cost because it’s really important to this discussion.

I’m very blessed by the universe to not be one of those people right now who are trying to pay the rent AND feed their kids, and to some, spending $500 on a dog (and this is not her total, by the way) seems insane. But when I was at the vet’s, I was stuck having to make a choice: take her to the shelter, where she would definitely be euthanized; have her euthanized by my vet so she wouldn’t die alone and frightened and wondering what she did wrong to piss off her people so much; or charge it and take her home.

I know that I’m so very blessed that that decision was one I could make and not have to be devastated financially or emotionally. But honestly, $500 is a hit for me, it’s a big hit. One that a lot of people just can’t make right now (and let’s be honest, some people won’t make, ever).

I’ve started a “chip-in” to try and get some help with her costs and if you’re one of those people who have a little extra in your wallet, $5 or $10 would be greatly appreciated. I don’t ask anyone to “find it in your heart,” because I know what’s in your heart. I know that I’m surrounded by good people in my online life and in my “real life,” so I would never ask you to find it in your heart to do something that may truly be something you simply cannot do, no matter what your heart says. (I raised Jenna as a single parent, and believe me, I know that place. When the bill is $20 and you’ve got only $10 and I tried so many times to explain this to my mother who thought my lack of funds was bad spending habits on my part and it was truly just a fact that I wasn’t making enough money to pay my bills and raise my kid.)

This is getting a bit long so I’m going to try and wrap it up.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do with Lucy past getting her well again. Spending a lot of money on her isn’t what is prompting my thoughts of keeping her; but caring for her, holding her when she’s not feeling well and watching her get better is. When you nurse a sick animal back to life you can’t help but fall a little more in love every day.

Mr. Susan said it best last night when he said, “Well, either we have a healthy dog to find a home for, or we have a healthy dog, period.”

As I said, I’m blessed. (And that doesn’t even count the two rescues I already have who were so badly damaged when I adopted them, it was almost inconceivable that they could love again as if they’d had nothing but trust in joy in their little lives. My dogs, Jack and T, are completely accepting of Lucy. Is this because I give them so much love they never feel neglected or cheated? Is it because they know that whether we have 2 or 20 dogs they will always receive my unconditional love?

No. It’s because they’re rescue dogs. There is no love like the love of a rescued dog, and that’s one more reason that we’re leaning toward keeping Lucy.

Like I said: You got me. Fair and square.

Here’s a link to her chip-in, if you’re so moved (and are able) to help.

Love your beasties well and they will never, ever, let you down in returning it right back at you.

http://jackandrt.chipin.com/tish-the-dish

I encourage anyone who wants to share it far & wide.

I got a great deal at a garage sale today; a huge leather ottoman for ten bucks! With no sessions booked this weekend I photographed my knuckleheads on it, and it seems like they’re getting much better about sitting still for the camera. Yay! I hope this means they’re going to let me shoot them a lot more in the future.

But my favorite shot doesn’t even show the ottoman. Ha!

This is T, or RT, Pickle, Honey-Bunny, Smoosh-Face, Pickle-Dickle, Bunny, Monkey (and more), but when replying to Mr. Susan, he’s “just a little dog!”

Here’s the two of them, getting quite comfy on the new score. Jack, Billy Jack, Mr. Jack, Jack in the Box, Baby Boy is on the right.

Some of you may already know that I have an Etsy site, in which I sell prints. Most of the prints there are Shelter Dogs, and a portion of the profits from those sales go into non-profits that help animals in need.

In case you haven’t noticed, my entire shop has been temporarily deactivated. Yeah, I did this. On purpose. But for a good reason!

Starting at 8am this Sunday (Jan. 29), a select few of my prints will be offered at a larger size on my new favorite site, Fab.com! Yay! I’m so stoked; I did almost all my Christmas shopping at Fab, and I can’t wait to see what happens with my prints there.

(If you’re not familiar with Fab, you must get over there! It’s a flash sale site; each sale runs for 3 days, and every day they offer about a dozen different shops. The items range from tech stuff to furniture to handmade jewelry; it’s actually like a high-end Etsy, but at a very deep discount. If you’d like to join, you sometimes have to wait but I have tons of invites, so let me know and I’ll get you hooked up.)

Aside from the extreme buzz I’m getting from seeing how my work will go over with such a huge audience (one million+ subscribers), I’m in love with the nice things they say about me.

If you’re around and you have some dog-loving friends, check it out. My sale will run from Sunday-Tuesday, all the prints are either 12×18 or 12×12 (there’s a 10×20 in there as wel) and will be titled and signed. Oh, and these are *not* shelter dog prints; they’re happy dog prints.

And if you’re interested, my Etsy shop will be back up and running on Tuesday, after the Fab sales closes.

Go me. Yay!

Elsie & Loren’s wedding was my first of the year; the first “official” small wedding with four hours coverage, and I was really anxious to make it a beauty. Not only did I want to give them gorgeous photos (like I do for everyone I shoot), but I wanted to prove that a photographer didn’t need more than four hours to capture all the amazing moments of a small wedding.

It was going to be perfect; on the beach, in winter, a bride who’s five months pregnant, her young nieces & nephews playing Metallica’s “Fade to Black” on wind instruments…ack! The stars were lined up perfectly; but the clouds had their own agenda.

It was definitely scheduled to rain that day. In fact, it had rained that day; just a couple of hours before the ceremony it poured and when I arrived less than an hour from the countdown, the skies were dark and the clouds were rolling in. I was so bummed! Plan B was to have them married in a small banquet room at the hotel, but anyone who’s ever been to a wedding in California knows that no matter how pretty, a banquet room just can’t compared with the Pacific coast in the winter time. We’re talking white puffy clouds, blue sky…all the things we Los Angelinos have to wait till winter to get (and enjoy).

I won’t say it was a miracle that it didn’t rain during their ceremony, but I will say it was a miracle that the sand had completely dried by the time it came! I shot with my best digital (using a wide angle lens) and my best film camera (my Canon EOS 1v with my 35mm lens) and man, it was like it was meant to be.

I’m still culling their digital shots, but I got my processed film back today and I wanted to show off what all my brides get included in their coverage: a couple of rolls of really nice film. I won’t go on anymore about the virtues of film (but ohhh, I am tempted when I look at these images); I’ll let these photos (not photoshopped or adjusted) speak for them.

Elsie, I honestly don’t know if I’ve shot a more beautiful, glowy kind of bride. Maybe it’s because you’re pregnant, maybe because your adorable empire waist material dress and jacket were just too darned cute. Maybe it’s because you were marrying a man who is so obviously, blatantly head over heels in love with you.

The whole thing made me want to grab Mr. Susan and squish him tight. And I did! (He was there assisting me.)

So. I was in a panic about my hair. Yes, I was going to grow it long before I had a cut or any color, but about 3 weeks into that plan I bailed on myself. I needed my stylist. I needed Eva.

The texting starts. I resort to stalking her on Facebook. But she’s a doll so the stalking didn’t have to go on very long before she called me and we agreed to meet at her house. This is where I totally forgot that her adorable child, Em, would be there, and I totally didn’t even know that she had an even more adorable (sorry, Em) dog. Rascal. Very appropriately named, I might add.

This could really be a long story, but I’ll cut it: Eva had to leave me at her house with only Rascal for about 15 minutes, but luckily, I’d brought my camera. I don’t usually carry it anymore, but I guess that little dog voice I hear in the back of my head was woofing that day and told me, “yeah, you’re going to need that.” And I did!

Rascal pretty much kept to “his” spot; the two cushions right by the front window where he can spy the mailman coming at least a few houses away, and where he can wait so impatiently when Eva leaves the house.

I took advantage of him.

Most of what I got are hip shots and “from above” shots; he has a thing for jumping, like, right into your face, so it was less painful (literally) to let him do his thing and wait and wring his little feets and wait for his people to come back.

Still, I love what I got. Rascal in his natural habitat: anxious, impatient, squirrelly, and very, very, Rascally.

I do need to listen to that little dog voice more often (if that’s at all possible, I mean, come on: you guys know me).