modelling

So, the Bigbury walk was the ideal photo opportunity. Particularly for those of us who still had not managed to get a shot worthy of showing off in the first annual SFLS Yearbook. The Yearbook is a record of Finnish Lapphunds in the UK in 2008/09. It will have articles, information about the breed, its history in the UK and elsewhere, and lots and lots of gorgeous photos as I, and a hundred or so of my closest friends, advertise our dogs. At a time when there are still fewer than 500 Lapphunds in this country, the Yearbook will stand as a historical record documenting the progress of the breed. A brilliant idea!

If you have a good photo to publish, that is.

There was no question of getting a photo of Neka to publish. She still hasn't regained her pre-puppy coat, for one thing, so I knew I would have to make do with a picture I already had kicking around. I have only 2 really good show-pose pics of her. One of them was taken when she was only a year old, so too old. The other is not much more recent but, even worse, it has me in it. Er, no, I don't think so.

Luckily, Andrew who has the delectable Taito, took loads of great photos of Neka with her offspring at a show last summer so I'm going to use one of those. It's not a "show" shot as they're all just sitting in a row, but they are a pretty bunch. The only snag is that Neka was noticeably pregnant with Maija's litter at the time. And 1 or 2 of the others actually make her look slim!

I've added to that one of the cute puppies-on-fluffy-blanket shots that I took when they were babies. Very similar to this one.



L-R: Inko, Tarkka, Maija, Rauhan

Sadly the quality is pretty poor, but it was either that or a photo of Maija looking like the 5-month-old horror that she is - no coat, all ears & long, pointy nose.


As you can see, her show stand is coming along nicely, though. For about .257 of a second at a time, that is. Gotta be pretty quick with the shutter. I'm not sure I'll make a show dog out of her at all, in fact. I've been spoiled by Neka who bounds into every show ring demanding that everyone look at her, and by Keskiyo, whose stand was pretty much perfect at 12 weeks, as you can see.



Now, there is a boy who definitely had to have a new photo for the Yearbook. I haven't been able to get a good show pose of him since he has become an adult. And he's looking better at the moment than he ever has - fully grown, maturing, filling out and with a big luxurious coat. So we tried. I tried. Jay tried. Jo tried. This is one of the better ones, and with a great background, but the angle is wrong.



In the end Jo got a good one of him on the sand. His underside is a bit wet & sandy, and it's not a show-pose per se, but it is a great photo of him. If you want to see it, you'll just have to buy the book.