Tucker the Boston Terrier!!

Okay.  How ridiculously adorable is this pup?  He can stop being so darn cute already!!  Tucker the Boston Terrier was about 10 weeks old when he came into the studio for his modeling debut!!  Tucker is lucky enough to be a part of a wonderful family we have known at Miroslavich Photography for many years!! He is an awesome addition to their home and we can't wait to see him again when he is all grown up!

Three's Company....

You know we have a soft spot for puppies- and when it comes to Frenchie puppies, we can't get much more excited for a puppy session!!  These three cuties are the puppies of a lineage of French Bulldog award winning champions (remember Zed?  click here to view our past blog post on Zed:  http://miroslavichphotography.blogspot.com/2009/12/introducing-one-onlyzed.html )  The two brindle (dark puppies) and the one fawn (blondie puppy) came to us at 11 weeks old just prior to being sent to their new owners across the United States. As you can see, they wore themselves out playing in the studio.   Our wooden bowl was very intriguing and provided constant entertainment for the first 3/4 of the session.  And then, just like puppies, they crashed hard and were fast asleep in and out of the bowl!!  We hope they are all settling well into their new homes!

A new puppy to love!!!

Meet Lena!! Lena is so lucky to have been adopted into such a loving family with four kiddos to cuddle and care for her! Lena arrived in the late fall and came into the studio soon after to have puppy photos taken-she loved the attention and indulged us by making her up as a girly-girl. I think she rather enjoyed the pink princess chair, don't you? We can't wait to see Lena again when she is all grown!! Congratulations!!

"Princess" Leia

Leia, a 5 month old Rottweiler puppy, was definitely a princess when she came to the studio to be photographed. A sweet and playful pup, Leia dazzled us with her personality! The session tuckered her out so much that as she and her owner, Maria, left the studio, Leia walked right into the door! This modelling tires a girl out!!

CONGRATULATIONS, Melissa!!!

"10 Fingers 40 Toes"
"I'm All Ears"

"Couch Potatoes"

(Melissa is far too modest to announce this herself but that doesn't mean that I can't do some bragging!!) I am thrilled to share that the results of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) 2011 International Photographic Competition were just announced and Melissa merited with three of her images (General Collection, Showcase Book and Loan Collection -the Loan Collection is the highest possible honor to receive!) For those of you not in the know with these categories, this is a prestigous achievement-in other words: THIS IS HUGE!! I have included the three images that merited so you can see how truly remarkable and stunning the images created by Melissa truly are!

PPA's International Photographic Competition (IPC) is the gold standard for photography competitions and features the best of the best photographs from around the world in an exhibition every year. Having an image "go Loan"--chosen for inclusion in the world's most prestigious photo exhibit--is an achievement professional photographers cherish. Loan Collection images are on display throughout the year at PPA headquarters in Atlanta, and at various events worldwide, and will also be published in the much-anticipated “Loan Collection”


Melissa's images will be on display in the gallery at PPA’s annual convention, Imaging USA, in January 2012 in New Orleans, Louisana (and you can bet that we will be there, to!!)

Featured in Animal Tracks Magazine

We are thrilled to share with you the current edition of Animal Tracks Magazine. Animal Tracks is the magazine of the Animal Humane Society. It is published three times a year in April, August and December. It is mailed to donors and individuals enrolled in our Training School and educational programs. Last fall, Melissa was asked to photograph for the Spring/Summer 2011 publications for two articles. The first article featured the AHS's Animal Ambassadors program. Volunteers are trained with their pets to provide animal-assisted therapy and activities to people
throughout the Twin Cities metro area. They visit schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and other facilities to provide comfort, enrichment and learning opportunities to the people who need it most. We spent a morning at the Southside Family Nurturing Center photographing therapy dog, Duke, his owner Mindy and the preschoolers there. It was such an enriching experience to see how Duke would light up the faces of so many preschoolers.

The second article featured AHS staff and their pets: specifically pets they have adopted from the AHS. We met some of the very dedicated AHS staff and their lovable pets including a pit bull terrier, a Doberman Pinscher, several cats and even a guinea pig. It was a great assignment and one that we loved to do. Thanks to the AHS for such a fun few days!

You can read more of these articles online at: http://events.animalhumanesociety.org/site/DocServer/SpringSummer_AT_2011.pdf?docID=681
Check it out!!

Dog Days of March!

It is March and still not Spring (another couple of inches of snow is falling today!) To create some excitement in the studio in anticipation of spring, we have created something special! Have you always wanted to capture the personality and love of your pooch? Now is your chance. During the month of March, we have an exciting offer! Dog Days! For the entire month, our Dog Session creation fee will be $59 (valued at $185). Melissa is uniquely qualified to photograph your pet and she has recently had her images featured in The Animal Humane Society's publication, "Animal Tracks". This is a wonderful opportunity to have fabulous, unique portraits created of your furry friend. Call us today at 651.343.4823) to schedule your session.

Introducing...Posh Pooch Boutique's new website!

http://www.poshpoochpetboutique.com/


We are so lucky to work with such great local businesses!! And Posh Pooch Pet Boutique is one of them! They recently asked us to photograph some of their beautiful models showcasing current fashion trends in dog couture. Here is a sample of some of our favorites from that day. To see more, click on Posh Pooch's website and see the video that we created for them. You will want to run out and buy all the latest trends for pooches-even if you don't have one!! Enjoy!!

Puppies for sale!!!

Well, not really for sale! At least not these puppies!! When they came to us they were all about 9 weeks of age and MORE THAN ADORABLE!! They were all spoken for and heading off to their new families shortly after our photo session. Their "mother"/breeder, Colleen, wanted an image for her website to capture their sweetness and togetherness before they were separated to live with their new owners! (www.hugabeargoldendoodles.com) Many of them were heading out of state to their new homes!
It was a great photo session (a little messy...need I say more?!?) with lots of energy and running around (and not just by the puppies...Melissa and I were sweating by the end) And at the end, 10 adorable puppies left the studio (despite the fact I tried to smuggle one home with me!!) exhausted and happy!! And so were we!!!

(A lot of...) Puppy Love!

It was an exciting day when we had the opportunity to photograph the young lives of 10 (yes, 10!!!!) English Teddy Bear Goldendoodle puppies at the age of 10 weeks! Colleen Fogle, owner of Hug a Bear Goldendoodles, wanted to capture this puppy stage before these 10 pups left her home to live with their new owners. We had a lot of fun (and a lot of clean-ups....10 puppies in one studio-you do the math!)chasing them, cuddling them, and playing with them. Let's just say that Colleen was lucky to leave with all 10 since I was very tempted to sneak one home with me!

Twin Cities Live today at 3pm

It's a big day in Minnesota today! Not only did we wake up to 2 inches + of snow (I am dead serious!), it is also the day that Melissa returns to Twin Cities Live for a segment about taking beautiful photographs of pets! TCL producer Melissa Specken and cameraman, Seth, came out to the studio on Friday to film us during a session with Parker, a gorgeous Springer Spaniel! Tune in today to see the results!

New puppy joins our crazy household

The Miroslavich family is excited to introduce the newest addition to our family ... Toula, a french bulldog puppy! Isn't she the cutest thing you ever did see? She came to our house early this fall, and stole our hearts immediately. Here are some of our favorite moments during the past several weeks. Note: she is into EVERYTHING, afraid of nothing, plays with our springer spaniel like crazy, and loves to steal shoes. The cats don't seem to like her, the kids can't stop hugging her, and potty training is yucky now that it is getting colder.

A Litter of Puppies!

I have the best job EVER! I cannot imagine doing anything else. Last week I had the pleasure to make portraits of the cutest litter of Irish Setter puppies - all 9 of them. They were adorable, and it was a HUGE challenge not to just fall in love and bring one (or three) home. Our kids would have been excited, but the cats would have been offended, our dog would probably not be overjoyed, and the husband ... well. So I thought the least I could do is share the good fortune of the happiness of the experience with you. Enjoy!