Photo Gallery Style: Animals

A collection of some of the most beautiful "Animals" professional photographs & prints I've taken over the years. Please note there may be multiple pages of photographs so keep scrolling or look for the "Older Posts" button!

Experiences: Hiking With Dog

Black Lab, Crawford Path, Lake In The Clouds, New Hampshire

Alright Dog, I understand it must be difficult at times that you can’t communicate with me.  I understand there are probably times when you want to say, “You know what Mike, I’m getting a little tired; perhaps this is enough hiking for one day?”  But please understand that being forced to watch you dramatically act out your own death every 60 seconds is bit overkill:

A Little Dramatic, No?

 

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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Never wake a sleeping puppy by jamming a camera in its face with demands of, “look cute.” For something smaller than a football, the absolute devastation he is capable of inflicting on a single room is a side of revenge no Man should have to come home to.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

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Revelations on Cats

Alright, Cat. That’s it. Why must you only demand attention when I want you to leave me alone? You sleep for 14 hours a day. I go to work…you are sleeping. I get home…you are sleeping. All I want is six hours of sleep. I mean, I’m really not asking for much here.

And yet, if I let you in the room with me, you spend the entire night licking my face or digging your claws into my thigh. When I finally lock you out of my room, you start meowing and scratching at my door as if your life depends on it. Eventually I can’t take your constant barrage of meowing for a second longer. I jump out of bed and throw open the door. What do I see? You sitting there casually licking your paw. You glance up at me, turn, and slowly walk away as if you never actually wanted to come in—as if I’m the one bothering you.

See, that’s the thing about cats–they love reminding you of their independence. They won’t do what you ask. You can’t train them. You won’t win them over with food or presents. They become needy when you want to be left alone and yet refuse to come when you call. They like to stay out all night and don’t want you to even think about touching them when they find their way to bed. To a cat, we don’t put up with them, they put up with us. And that’s when I realized it—cats are just like women.

Playful Black Cat

Sleeping Black Cat

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Man & His Dog at Sunset, Mt. Major; Alton, NH

Mt. Major is a popular hiking destination on the south end of Lake Winnipesaukee in Alton, New Hampshire, and offers a beautiful view of the lakes at sunset as seen below.

…but forget about all that. I cannot overstate the difficulty and frustration we had trying to get the damn dog in this picture to sit still. I will admit, this dog is apparently plagued with a horrendous disease–a form of ADHD that no vet even thought possible, much less know how to treat. Calling him neurotic would be viewed as a compliment and huge behavioral improvement.

Given this dog could find an empty 5×5′ room intoxicating, being on top of a mountain surrounding by everything he is terrified of (wind, trees, mosquitos, his own tail, darkness), trying to remain still is near impossible. After multiple tries, we were fortunate that an owl cooed, which caused him to lock-up in a state of terrified rigidity, and allowing just enough time to release the shutter.

Just before turning to head back down the trail, and while deeply at peace in the tranquility of night, he walked up to me, licked my hand, looked me straight in the eye, lifted his leg, and proceeded to pee.  Such a romantic.

Man & His Dog at Sunset, Mt. Major; Alton, NH

A Lab's First Winnipesaukee Sunset; Mt. Major, Alton, NH

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Dear Lab: Let’s Talk

Just because you spent the weekend with two Border Collies does not mean you’re now a herding dog. Stop staring at everything that moves as if you are about to flank it.  You have yet to master such simple tasks as how to eat out of a dog bowl, so why don’t we stop sitting in fields all the time trying to proclaim ourselves to be “working, blue collar dogs.” Your work day consists of eating grass, throwing it up, and then looking at me with proud eyes as if I should be impressed that you “made something.”  Stick to your competencies.

Fields of Gold, Black Lab

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