I’m always so tickled when I get to work with past couples of mine – and that was absolutely the case for Sarah and Matt’s Missoula autumn anniversary photos with their sweet pup, Oliver. (We called it an “anniversary session” even though it was technically a few months after their first anniversary, which was in August.)

I hadn’t met their dog, Oliver, before as he’s the newest addition to their family since they’ve moved to Montana, so it was such a treat to get to document these three together just enjoying the beauty of a chilly October day in Montana.

Oliver was pretty excited to survey his new playground, and did his best “dolphin” impersonation as he leapt through the swaying grasses, popping his head up every now and then to get a visual on us. We had such a great time chatting and cracking up at Oliver’s antics, and I’ve got to give a shout out to Sarah and Matt for braving the cold and wandering through the hills for their images.

We somehow also managed to avoid most of the raindrops the day was throwing at us, and even lucked out with some pretty spectacular big sky clouds to act as a wow factor in our backdrop, which always gets me pretty excited.

Sarah, Matt and Oliver! Thank you again for such a happy, fun session – I just love getting to work with you guys, and have absolutely enjoyed the opportunity to document so many wonderful moments in your lives! Here’s to loving where we live, and appreciating it and protecting it always!

On the Docket:

Weddings and portraits! Don’t miss ’em!

Cheers,

-Kristine

First, I just love, love, love when folks contact me wanting to do family photos with their four-legged friends, and secondly, I love it even more when it gets to take place in the winter! So it was no surprise that Margaret, Scott and their adorable dog, Danforth Quayle’s, Missoula pet and family photos would be so enjoyable.

Margaret and Scott have been wanting to make some portraits for a while now, and decided this was the year to do it – and also give it as a gift to their parents! (Always a great idea!) Luckily we were able to fit a session in for them while it was 1). actually snowy (sometimes Missoula doesn’t see that much snow in the city). 2). while it was actually not totally freezing and deep-freezing us with sub-zero temps (thank goodness!). AND 3). while Scott was still in town (he’s a professor of philosophy at a liberal arts university in India – yep, India!).

It was so fun to get to chat with these two as we ventured around making images in the snow. I asked to know a little bit more about how their sweet dog, Dan (Danforth Quayle), got his name. Margaret told me that all their dogs have been named presidents’ names, which I think is just about the most perfect thing ever. (They’ve also had chickens named after first ladies!)

Thank you again, Margaret, Scott and Dan for such a delightful afternoon! And thanks so much for braving the cold and tromping through feet of snow to get the photo – worth it, I’d say! It was such a treat to meet you all and I’m so excited that you’ve now got some fun photos of your lovely family!

On the docket: weddings and portraits! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

When people ask me to photograph them with their pets, I admittedly always get a little excited (ok, a LOT excited), because pets and their people are seriously the Best. Thing. Ever. And when I’m told that the session will include a puppy and an older dog too…well then. It’s no surprise that my heart completely melted during Kristy’s Victor Montana pet and family pictures.

I met up with Kristy, Dug, her 10-year-old golden retriever, and Sven, her 12-week-old golden retriever puppy at Kristy’s friend’s ranch in Victor. It seriously couldn’t have been a more idyllic setting – the ranch land is rugged and beautiful, and full of areas perfect for two curious dogs. Plus, that little dusting of snow on the mountaintops is always a nice bonus. We had a great time wandering the land and chatting, and as it turns out, Kristy also has Wisconsin connections, which is always fun to discover. (woot woot!)

A small creek runs through the ranch, and Dug took the initiative to jump in and go snorkeling for a variety of rocks that passed his strict rockhound test. Kristy and I couldn’t help but laugh ourselves silly at Sven’s antics, doing his best to imitate his big brother, Dug. As only a puppy can do, he barked and jumped alongside the creek, waggly puppy tail waving in the air, wanting to jump in, but being a little cautious as it was pretty deep for his currently short stature (which he had discovered earlier).

Kristy – what a pleasure it was to be able to make these images of you and your happy furry family! It was so fun to document this time in your life, and so cool to see how much your pups love you and how much you love them too. They’re lucky lads for sure!

On the docket: portraits and more portraits! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I’m a huge animal fan, so when Elizabeth contacted me about doing some Missoula pet portraits for her business, Equus and Paws, I was excited to work with her (and her pet friends!).

Elizabeth offers dog grooming as well as pet sitting and dog walking in Missoula. She also has specialties in both canine and equine massage. During our session we wanted to demonstrate these things in our images (as well as a few fun portraits of Elizabeth and her horse, Spice) – so take a peek below to see for yourself how Elizabeth works.

Thank you again, Elizabeth for such a great session! It was so fun to meet some of the dogs and horses you work with. Here’s to the awesome animals in our lives!

On the docket: wedding and portrait season is just around the corner, so stay tuned for wedding and portrait posts!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I have a huge soft spot for animals and love capturing them doing what they love, so when Pam contacted me to ask about making some portraits of her two dogs, Trapper and Lolo, I was more than a little excited.

And we had SO much fun! Trapper and Lolo were thrilled to be out running in Missoula’s snow and the sun, though I think they thought our walk was a little strange (why do you silly humans keep stopping to make clicking noises with that boxy contraption?), but they were so good and I think we all left with perma-grins plastered to our faces. We’ve also come to the conclusion that Trapper had better start working on L.L. Bean to get his modeling contract in motion – he struck some of the best poses I’ve ever seen a dog make! Gold star for Trapper!

With no further ado, I’ll let you take a glimpse at the blast we had during our shoot! Thanks again, Pam, for inviting me to document your two sweethearts! What a wonderful time with you all!

On the docket: behind the scenes updates for a business refresh!

Cheers,

-Kristine

It was so fun to meet up with the Sharkey family the other day to make some portraits of their family – and their newest member, 12-week old golden lab, Kuba!

I’m pretty sure we all got a workout from running around after Kuba and from laughing so much! He definitely stole the show, and even showed off his talents at learning how to be a bird dog (i.e. figuring out the pheasant scent).

Thank you again for taking time out of your evening to make some fun images! It was such a treat to meet you all and indulge in some puppy time, which I absolutely adore. :)

Ok folks…are you ready to melt? Fair warning…there’s a lot of adorable coming up! ;)

On the docket: lots more portraits and gearing up for wedding season! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I got a note all the way back in December from Emily who was so excited to surprise her twin sister Marty with a Christmas present of a portrait session for her and her four-legged friends, Patches and Cricket, her two horses, and Pele, her trusty dog. Patches and Pele are getting up there in years, so this was especially meaningful for Marty.

And it was such a pleasure to photograph this session for Marty and her very well-loved animals. As it turns out, Patches likes to “work it” for the camera (I swear, she struck a few poses for me), and Cricket…well, she’ll put up with the shoot, but she gave us some pretty hilarious expressions, which had us both cracking up. Pele is such a sweetie, though a little camera shy, but you can see how much she loves Marty.

Marty – this was such a treat to document how much love you have for your animals – I’m a big believer in the great joy they can bring to our lives, so to be able to capture this for you was super special. I hope you had a safe trip to Jackson! :)

On the docket: portraits and weddings – don’t miss out!

Cheers,

-Kristine