Recently in Photography Category

Oh, my word. Every single one of the mixes featured in Top 25 Corgi Hybrids is criminally adorable.That's a Corgusky up top (Corgi/Husky -- I have no idea what they are really called... Corgusky just sounds good to me. Or Come-Here-Right-Now-and-Let-Me-Smother-You-With-Kisses-You-Angel. That also works for me.) Check out the Corgi/Shiba Inu all the way at the bottom of the list. *melt* You can find a few more Corgi mix images on DogBreedInfo.com's List of Hybrid Dogs; just search "Corgi" on that page.

By the way, for those of you who have Corgis (or Corgi mixes) or are thinking of it, MyCorgi.com is a friendly, lively site for Corgi owners, and members even have meetups all over the country. Here's the Facebook page for the Tampa Bay Corgi meetup group.

Yes, it's one of those Some-Arbitrary-Number-of-Things posts! We love those, right? Or maybe we just have short-attention-span syndrome? Either way, here are some things I saw, and their number is 7:
Have you ever felt guilty about putting a silly hat on your pet? Observe New, Improved Guilt-Free Kitty:



Posted the Friday before the Super Bowl: 6 Animals Pick Predict Super Bowl Winner. Turns out they were nearly unanimous. Did they pick correctly? Hint: Yes!

And speaking of Bowls ... the most hilarious water bowl EVAR:

Sadly, it's sold out at the moment. I'm not a bit surprised. But it's billed as a Refilling Water Bowl, so perhaps they'll refill this product, and bring more joy to thirsty dogs and goofy owners everywhere.

Forbes on What Your Dog's Name Says About You (If you chose one of these 11 names, anyway; otherwise just assume your dog's name says you're super cool.) Also, Time looks at Westminster's silliest dog names, and their number is 6.

Winnipeg Humane Society's wonderfully zany Kitty Midnight Madness ad takes a tried-and-true approach to reducing inventory.

In an online conversation about the recent Westminster Dog Show (NYT photos here), someone linked to this rather amazing collection of images: Dog Breed Historical Pictures, with nearly 2,000 photos and illustrations, and pointed out how different the 1895 Poodle was from today's breed standard.

And finally, perhaps my favorite cat video of all time, the fearsome Stalking Cat:

SUBTITLED: Yes, This is Really How I Spend My Time


So, I came across this British site selling gift cards called "Famous Faces," with pets standing in for a variety of pop cult figures, but without saying which pop figures they are ... which, of course -- irresistible, right? (no? just me?) Most of them were pretty easy to decipher, but I was completely stuck on this guy, titled "Magic," and not 100% sure of the last one, titled "Wag." So I started searching around. I figured that if I was intrigued, other people would be, too ... which led me to this Live Journal site in Russian that shows many of these "famous" pets alongside their real life counterparts, which is where I found the Amy Winehouse combo above. However, since my Russian is a little rusty, I didn't gather much more information except that I was seeing a lot of images that weren't included on the original gift cards page. So, I searched some more, and came across a site in Portuguese featuring some of the pics I saw on the Russian site. Sadly, my Portuguese is also a little rusty, but I did recognize the word "calendar." A breakthrough!

Armed with the name of the site selling the gift cards, plus the word "pets" and the word "calendar," I discovered that the shop had created a great "Pets Rock" 2010 calendar featuring pets as famous rock stars, and I found all 12 photos in this Telegraph gallery. Way cute, no? And I love that all the photos were shot in a relaxed atmosphere right in the homes of the featured furkind. To solve the mystery of the fez fellow (and any other of the "famous faces" you might not have recognized), plus hear about an odd coincidence, read on...

If you're having post- (or 'tween-?) holiday doldrums at all, I have something right here that's sure to pick you up ... or possibly give you some rather strange dreams. I first came across mention of the amazing animal novelty photographer Harry Whittier Frees (1879-1953) on the great site Shorpy, in this post. Frees photographed all sorts of animals, but especially kittens and puppies for postcards, calendars, books, and ads for several decades in the early 1900s. The elaborate costumed vignettes he fashioned and photographed with live pets fairly boggles the mind, especially when one remembers that he had no recourse to modern tricks, effects, and techniques. According to this article, the animal costumes were sewn by his mother, and many of his photos featured his own cats, Rags and Fluff, as well as the various pets of neighbors. This old Life Magazine feature on Frees mentions that "Mr. Frees takes very few pig pictures because, when he poses a pig, all the pig does is to shut his eyes and squeal."

Said Frees about his own work, "These unusual photographs of real animals were made possible only by patient, unfailing kindness on the part of the photographer at all times," and the introduction to his book "The Animal Mother Goose," notifies us that, "Every subject in them was a living, healthy, active animal brought into position by patient kindness. No drugged animals much less any that was artificial or stuffed, could give the results shown in this book." You can find more of Frees' photographs at Wikimedia Commons, on Flickr, and in various places on the web via Google's image search. There's also a book, Cats, Dogs & Other Rabbits: The Extraordinary World of Harry Whittier Frees that was published in 2006.

For your groovy seasonal satisfaction, a selection of snowdogs from around the web:

I love this this little widdler ... unfortunately, I can't find any info about the artist/photographer. I found it on a photo aggregation site that collects photos and doesn't give credits -- which I'm not going to link to, because it includes images that are not safe for work. If anyone knows who did this, please let me know!

I love the tongue; looks just like my dog! Found here, along with a doggy Christmas carol. :)

I was amused to find a photo set on Flickr taken by Cooper, an American Shorthair cat in Seattle, with a lightweight "kittycam" attached to his collar. Cute! There are four pages of great shots, and some are really quite lovely and artistic. This one's certainly better than most of my Christmas shots! Cooper's catcam camera came from Mr. Lee, and it seems that this furry fotographer has become quite the celebrity, with his own blog, his own serious gallery show (see video below), and his own book that just came out in October (a portion of the proceeds benefit PAWS, Progressive Welfare Animal Society).

After so much success, it seems Cooper might want to take a catnap, relax, and luxuriate in his fame and fortune a bit -- but apparently not. No, it seems that Cooper has said, "Next, I want to Direct!" You can view Cooper's video catcam masterpieces here, here and here. Hey, Hollywood, get his Oscar ready!  >^.^<

I adore this photograph! I don't know who the photographer is, but you can find it in a collection of great "caught in the moment" photo illusions at Mighty Optical Illusions. I've seen it before, and not only is it an arresting photograph, but I also wonder every time, where was this photo taken?, because not many places in the U.S. allow larger dogs on public transit, unless they are service dogs. If it is in the U.S., this dog might be on the Boston T (subway) where larger dogs are allowed during off-peak hours as long as they are "leashed and controlled at all times." It probably wasn't taken in San Francisco, because, while larger dogs are allowed by the SF MUNI during specific hours, they must be "muzzled and on a short leash," and this dog isn't muzzled.

So, how do I know all this? I've been educated thanks to the handy information provided by Dog Friendly. The site lists dog-friendly public transportation in the United States and Canada (light rail, trains, buses, ferries) here, as well as providing all sorts of other handy listings and guides useful for people who want to travel with their pets. For example, take a look at the page for Tampa Bay that features pet-friendly accommodations, sights, beaches, parks, and shopping. Nice! Another good site to bookmark for information about traveling with your pets is PetTravel.com.

About the photo, I have to admit that I did eventually solve the mystery. Can you find the clue that reveals the probable location of the shot? If not, all will be revealed inside...

I was touched by these BBC photos commemorating Britain's WWII search and rescue dogs responsible for saving hundreds of lives during the London Blitz. (Smaller photos but more info at the Daily Mail). The images include a photo of Jet of Lada, the German Shepherd that became the world's first wartime search and rescue dog. And speaking of wartime dogs, this photo of Special Forces dogs in an anti-terror training exercise blew me away:


(Photo by Bay Ismoyo, AFP, Getty Images; click for larger view.) See more great images of rescue and service dogs here (click the full-screen view option for much bigger pics). In the U.S., FEMA's urban search and rescue division responds to disasters such as the 9/11 attack and Hurricane Katrina, and you can read about their search dogs here. It's gratifying to note that how many of these hero dogs, going right back to WWII, were what we now call "rescue dogs" themselves, from Rip, who was found homeless and starving during a bombing raid in London, to Jake, one of the amazing dogs that responded to both the World Trade Center and Katrina tragedies and who was found abandoned as a puppy with a broken leg and a dislocated hip. Here is a great article with lots of photos (that made me cry... you want to cry, don't you?)  about the amazing 9/11 rescue dogs. And hey, while we're on the subject, say hello to Pearl, the ASPCA's Dog of the Year for 2010 -- also a former shelter dog and another life-saving hero who is being honored for rescuing earthquake victims in Haiti.

These incredible animals break my heart in an odd way, while filling it with joy at the same time. *sniff*  What wonderful role models they are for us humans!

Okay now, just the weak-minded and sentimental among you: go ahead and bookmark this post for whenever you're feeling a little gloomy or blue, because some people (certainly not me) think this is positively adorable, and possibly the most awww inducing cute animal video this year:

 

But you're probably the sort of stout-minded individual who doesn't find this sort of saccharine foolishness enjoyable or therapeutic, right? So you'll definitely appreciate being warned away from the 10 videos of  the cross-mothering awww variety in When Animals Care For Other Species at Woman's Day, and certainly Urlesque's Ultimate Collection of Interspecies Animal Friendship videos. And you'll want to beware the schmaltzy photos that will assail you at 33 Cute Animal Friendships and The World's Most Unusual Animal Friendships, as well as the Interspecies Snorgling posts at Cute Overload. And just to be safe, you better also steer clear of Flickr's Zoophilia group, too.

Please, please! No need to thank us for saving you from all this mawkish, mushy menace; we view these things so you don't have to. Out of love. So, please, take our word for it, and don't watch this: