Christmas Ornaments

Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. Aside from family gatherings, Christmas songs, and food, one of the things I look forward to during the holidays are the festive decors. It's always exciting to look at houses and buildings decked with colorful and bright ornaments. They make the season more joyful and magical. Here are some ornaments which we usually see during Christmas time.

Mr. Gingerbreadman

A Golden Tree

Snowflake

This one was not from our tree, but from a relative's place.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Yesterday morning, we woke up to snow falling on Hampton Roads. Just the sight of it was lovely! You see, I came from a tropical place and grew up seeing snow only in movies, books or postcards, that is why I always get excited when it snows. It's a different experience seeing it in person. I think my friend said it perfectly when she wrote on her Facebook status that "something about snow seems magical." And that's true.  It's like God and His angels are dropping a bunch of cold white cotton balls or maybe a "heavenly dust" from heaven. So during the snow yesterday morning, I decided to join my husband in walking our puppy to take photos as snow blankets our area.

 

Santa Paws Photos

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of photographing pets with Santa Paws. It was a great experience for me as I have never took so many photos of dogs in one day. There were about 50 dogs and one cat who met Santa Paws, had pictures with him, and whispered their Christmas wishes. It was exhausting, but totally fun and worth it. The Santa Paws photo event is a yearly fundraiser activity for the Chesapeake Humane Society to benefit its Care Clinic and the homeless animals. Kudos to all the volunteers who helped out that day and most of all, to Santa Paws who was very good at making the pets sit, stay and smile for the camera!

Girlie, the 2011 Bark in the Park Spokesdog

It’s not every day that I get to meet a spokesdog. So when I was asked by the Chesapeake Humane Society to take photos of their 2011 Bark in the Park Spokesdog, I immediately said yes to this opportunity. For readers who may not know, the Chesapeake Humane Society awards the Bark in the Park Spokesdog title to the pet that had the highest amount of funds raised for their dog walk. The funds raised will benefit a lot of homeless pets and the Chesapeake Humane Care Clinic. For 2011, the Spokesdog title went to Carolina Girl, a.k.a. Girlie, an 8-year-old Yorkshire terrier. Girlie and her human mom, June, collected a total of $1,300 for the Chesapeake Humane Society.

I met Girlie and June at the Chesapeake City Dog Park on a beautiful Monday afternoon. The weather was perfect that day. Girlie, with her cute red bow, gave me a good tail wag. I knew then that this photo shoot will not be difficult at all. And as it turned out, the photo shoot did not even take that long. Girlie was a pro! She was very good on camera. Here are some photos of her:

Get to know more about Girlie by visiting my other blog, Out of the Shelter, where I posted my brief "tete-a-tete" with her.

Petsmart Adopt-a-thon Event

Offsite pet adoption events are a great way to increase the chance of an orphaned pet to be adopted. That is why my husband and I are always happy to help out with the Chesapeake Humane Society whenever they hold an offsite adoption event at Petsmart. It was during one of these events where we met our beagle Comet and decided to adopt him.

In the last Petsmart adoption event, I had the privilege of taking photos of adoptable pets and the tireless volunteers who worked hard to find homes for these furry creatures. Here are some of the photos. Check out also my blog Out of the Shelter for other Petsmart adoption event photos.

Adoption event sign

Bo, a hound and golden retriever mix. He was one of the lucky ones who found a forever home that day.

Rocky, the chiwienie (chihuahua and dachshund mix)

A former shelter dog stops by to say hi

Kittens nap as they wait for a family to bring them home.

Oak Grove Park in Chesapeake, VA

Since the environmental color green is my theme for the week, I have decided to feature instead, a park near our area that we visited recently:

Behind the corporate offices along the busy Volvo Parkway in Chesapeake, VA, lies a 65 acre of hardwood forest and wetlands called Oak Grove Park. A lush of green scenery envelopes the place with a 1.5 mile circular fitness trail that is a favorite among health enthusiasts such as walkers, runners and even bikers. There is also a 65-acre lake which has become a preferred hangout for the fishing aficionados. The park has shelters, picnic tables and benches throughout the walking trail to provide either a quick pit stop or a place to enjoy a good panoramic view of the lake and the forest. Let me take you to Oak Grove Park through these photos:

A scenic view of the park

The trail

An exercise station

An angel stopped by and left its mark

Line of trees

A weedflower by the lake

Where's the ball, Jack?

Meet Jack - a Rat Terrier often mistaken as a Chihuahua because of his size. The first time I saw him at the dog park, I thought he was our Beagle's younger brother. They both have the black and white marking, like that of a cow. And Jack, like a true Rat Terrier, is one active, intelligent and cheerful puppy. He has a distinct sharp bark that screams, "Throw the ball!" For him, the ball is all that matters in this world, apart from his owner of course. He'll drop a ball in front of you and waits for you to throw it. Or, he'll give you his signature sharp bark signifying that he's ready to catch the ball.

Yellow! Yellow!

It's the third week of my "Rainbow Project" and my color spotlight for the week is the cheerful YELLOW! To me, yellow is such an iconic color because of its connection to a lot of "icons" in many ways. Music icon The Beatles popularized the "Yellow Submarine" in 1966. Yellow taxi cabs dominate the streets of New York City. In my beloved Philippines, the color yellow is a symbol of modern democracy. And, who could forget the "yellow brick road" which led Dorothy to meet The Wizard of Oz?

I really had fun this week looking for yellow subjects to photograph. The photos below were taken during one of our morning walks with our Beagle: the iconic school bus, caution road signs - pedestrian crossing and stoplight, and the fire lane.

A Bark in the Park

Last Sunday, my husband and I with our little adorable beagle attended the 14th Annual Bark in the Park at the Chesapeake City Park.  I felt like I was in dog heaven seeing so many dogs in all sizes, breeds and even color. It was a day of exciting events that literally went to the dogs.There was the tail wagging contest, costume contest, agility area and other fun activities for humans and their pets. Comet, our beagle, joined the ice cream contest for dogs. He didn't win, but he sure had a treat! The main event was the dog walk where animal lovers and their canine friends walked to raise funds for the homeless animals. It was inspiring to see so many people donate their time and money to help animals in need of homes. Hats off to the Chesapeake Humane Society for staging a great event for a really worthy cause!

Costumed corgis

Big dogs in costume

Our beagle as Na-PAW-leon

A pretty whippet

For more photos of Bark in the Park, check out the Facebook page of Chesapeake Humane Society.

Orange Crush

Orange is a color you either love or hate. I was never a fan of the color orange until I've experienced fall season for the first time. Seeing leaves turn to yellow then to orange just brings an incredible experience for my eyes to behold. Fall totally shows the glory of the color orange.

I thought it would be easier for me this week to capture orange since autumn leaves and pumpkin patches are almost everywhere. But I was wrong. I had a bit of a challenge trying to find the perfect "orange subject" to capture. There aren't many pumpkin patches in our area and most of the trees here are pine trees with leaves remaining green all season. So, I decided to just look around our house and finaly found three things that I think give justice to the color: an orange bobblehead "digi" mascot from my previous employer, a basketball stressball, and an orange pencil.

The Rainbow Project

I have decided to do a "Rainbow Project." Every week, my photographs will center on one color from the rainbow starting with the color RED. I got this idea from the photography books that I've been reading and they all have one common advice - start shooting! And I agree. I think the best way to really learn photography is to get your camera and just start shooting. Sometimes I complain that I don't really have anything to shoot unless I'm in the dog park. But as I've read from the book Better Photo Basics by Jim Miotke, you can find inspiration even in most uninspiring places. I found this to be true. Yesterday when I've started my rainbow project, I had a hard time looking for red things. Then my husband started pointing out the obvious - red cars parked outside our apartment, red lights, red stickers. So I started shooting anything that has a color red on it and started paying more attention to the color. Red is such a strong color. No wonder it is associated with power, love, war and courage. It is so intense. Here are my favorites so far - my red purse, the red doors in our complex, my husband's red bible, and our dog's red bed.

Bring in the Bullies!

The English bulldogs are one of the most popular canine breeds. They have also been widely featured in movies, TV commercials and novels. The most famous English bulldog that I could think of is Gladstone, the pet of the dynamic duo Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

English Bulldogs have always fascinated me. Behind the wrinkled, "I'm the boss" expression and a tough appearance, English bulldogs are actually sweethearts. They can be funny, clumsy and playful. Meet Sampson and Eve for instance - two adorable English bull dogs who are a father and daughter tandem. Whenever they arrive at the Chesapeake City Dog Park, they surely light up the place. Eve will come running happily towards you with her purple ball in tow and will insist that you grab her ball and play. Sampson will just calmly sit by your side, but is always on the lookout for any four-legged friend who would want to get the ball away from his daughter. It's always fun to watch them. In their recent visit to the dog park, I was fortunate to take photos of them as Eve continuously presses her purple ball on me and urging me to play "tug-of-war" with her.

A Place Called "Omak"

Omak is a quiet city in Washington state located at the heart of the Okanogan County. If you plan to travel northwest in the U.S., or just want to escape from busy Seattle, Omak's a city you might want to check out. It is also a two hour drive away from Spokane. 

In August, Omak becomes busy as tourists flock to witness the traditional "Suicide Race," a form of horse race that dates back during the Wild West. It is literally like committing suicide as racers riding their horses plunge down an almost vertical drop. Personally, I am against this type of activity because lots of horses have died or have been injured because of this race. I am glad the race season was over when I visited the place.  

Beyond the Suicide Race, there are great areas to check out in Omak. They have well-kept parks and camping sites to explore and I am thankful that I had the privilege of visiting one of them.

Taking photos of Spudz

I love visiting animal shelters to check out adoptable pets. One of my favorites is the Animal Assistance League, a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter in Chesapeake, VA. The place always impresses me whenever I go there to visit their dogs and cats that are up for adoption. And I can say, they are one of the cleanest animal shelters in Hampton Roads. But the best thing about the place is that when you visit, you can play with their cats or walk the dogs to the play area and interact with them.

Before we had our adorable beagle Comet, my husband and I would often visit the place and take the dogs out for a walk. It was like a "therapy" to me and it would always be a joy to see the dogs get out of their cage and just enjoy the area outside. During one of our visits, we've bonded with one of the adoptable dogs named Spudz, who reminded me of Bolt, from the movie "Bolt." He was a handsome, playful and energetic puppy. I wasn't surprised to know that he got adopted easily. Here are some photos of Spudz:

For more photos of animals in the shelter, please visit my other blog Out of the Shelter.