Oh goodness – is there anything better than getting to make cute pup portraits? Methinks probably not, especially when the doggos are as adorable and sweet as Mighty and Melvin are, who are darling little Cavachons. These two rocked their Hamilton Montana dog portraits and had their mom, Shelly, and I in stitches laughing at their hilarious antics.

Mighty (also known as Mr. Mighty or The Prince) and Melvin (also known as Pickles, Sweet Pickles or Pickle Lips) had a great time traipsing about in the tall, golden grasses, and racing through leaves. They also showed me just how very much they love chicken treats. (Their love for chicken is real, folks.) When chicken treats were in the picture it was “every man for himself” trying to reach that delectable deliciousness. (Mighty may have used Melvin as a furry step stool to boost his reach – haha! Scroll on down to see photographic evidence of this – Melvin’s face just makes me split a gut laughing every time I see that photo.)

The even more wonderful thing about this session was that it was a gift to Shelly and her husband, Bob! Talk about a nice present! I may be a little biased here, but getting to create lasting memories is a gift that truly keeps on giving.

And I just love that we got to capture Mighty and Melvin being their wonderful little selves. Getting to watch them run through the tall grass, fluffy ears a-flopping, and bearded little smiles wide and happy truly fills one’s heart to the brim!

Shelly, Mighty, and Melvin – thank you so much for an absolutely delightful session! I loved getting to meet all three of you and create these images for you and Bob! What an absolute blast! Thank you again!

On the Docket:

Editorial images! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

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

A few days after Christmas I had the pleasure of getting together with Megan and Jeremy and their family since they were all together in Missoula for the holidays. It was such a treat to see everyone again, and this time around I even got to meet Megan and Jeremy’s dog, Grafton (who is the cutest, fuzziest dude ever!).

The backstory about their “engagement” session is that I photographed Megan and Jeremy’s wedding in 2012 (so pretty!), but we had to delay their engagement session until a later date since they live more than a hop and a skip away from Missoula. So, a little over a year later we had a great time making photos of these two – and, as evidenced by their photos, these two are still very much in love and full of laughs and smiles. Who said you have to do things in order anyway? (I’ll be the first to admit I am certainly not frightened of the “dessert first” mentality.) ;) Enjoy!

On the docket: more portraits! Don’t miss them!

Cheers,

-Kristine