Apdesigner's Weblog

Moe, the English Bulldog, finally gets adopted! (pet photography)

apdesigner — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:30:53 +0000

I thought you all might like to hear a happy story: Moe, the English Bulldog whom you have seen quite a few times this past year on my blog, website and FaceBook finally has a forever home! He had been up for adoption at The Pet Rescue Center in Mission Viejo, CA for a little over a year and now FINALLY has a permanent place to live! (cause to celebrate!!!) It was so easy to fall in love with this guy. Here is his happy story, shared by Casey, Director of Operations at The Pet Rescue Center.

“Moe’s new parents are wonderful. I met the mommy when I was house hunting. While she was showing me an apartment she was sharing the story of her dog who had recently passed away…When I was leaving, I mentioned to her that when she was ready to adopt, I had a fantastic dog in mind for her named Moe…She seemed unready and unwilling to even think about another dog, so I didn’t think much of it. Sure enough 3 weeks later she sent her husband down to check him out. It was love at first sight! Moe was so good with him it seemed meant to be. Normally Moe can be cautious around new people, but he went straight for kisses and tail wags as if he knew it would soon be his daddy. Later that week the couple came in a second time to discuss adoption and it all fell into place. They have a huge home with tons of land. They are active and I know Moe will be getting more walks then he can even ask for. They have no other dogs at home so Moe will be the center of attention. They seemed very confident with handling his allergies and could not figure out why he had not been adopted after this long. They just adore him. Moe was and is very special to me. He is one of those boys that just looks into your soul with his big baby eyes. He was 85lbs of love and wanted nothing more than to cuddle in your lap and give kisses. I am so happy to not have to stay up late at night wondering what’s to become of Moe…he finally gets to be himself freely and loved for it!”

AP design and photo recommendations for photographers and retouching (restoration) service:

apdesigner — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:01:14 +0000

Hey everyone! I thought I’d recommend some wedding and family portrait photographers to you since I am no longer offering family portraits (instead specializing in pet photography with the Greyboy Pet Print division of AP design and photo). Here are a few highly skilled professionals that I trust and feel comfortable sending you to:

RESTORING, RETOUCHING old photos (or current ones!):
Nancy Roux Photography – http://www.nancyrouxphoto.com/
Below is an example of what she did for my family. Talk about white glove service! She literally handled our photo with white gloves! This is an image of my grandma who passed away a year ago. My mother found it and wanted it fixed so we could print 8x10s to give at Christmas to our family members. I was a little leary to just ship the only print we had to some unknown retouch service (they are usually out of the country) so I personally handed it off to Nancy and felt 100% assured that it would be handled with care. Highly recommend her! She also is a fine artist and offers event photography and studio shots.

PORTRAIT AND WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY:
Blissful Photography – http://blissfulphotography.net/

Katie Keller Photography – http://katiekellerphotography.com/

NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY:
By His Grace Photography – http://byhisgracephotography.blogspot.com/

I have many more photographers that I could list – so just ask if you need more recommendations!

Living the Life of Riley in Coto de Caza (pet photography)

apdesigner — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:48:30 +0000

This was one of the most amusing photo sessions. Riley, the almost 12 year old pug, truely lives “The Life of Riley.” While learning about him before our session, I heard that he likes to do alot of sitting: “Riley’s favorite things consists of sitting outside in the sun in his lounge chair, sitting inside on his fur blanket (perches)…and sitting upstairs on his fur bed on top of the desk…When we do yard work, he sits in the car seat and ‘supervises’ us.”

So, I made sure to photograph Riley sitting in all his favorite spots. The one that cracked me up the most was him sitting in his car seat outside, supervising us. He is definitely the king in this household! (Oh, the tie was the best too!) Enjoy!

Why did AP design and photo transition to only pet photography (and graphic design)?

apdesigner — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:46:03 +0000

Back in September of 2011, AP design and photo announced that it was only going to offer graphic design and pet portraits (no longer including family and children portraits). Since then I have had a few clients ask me why so I thought I would get to the heart of the matter. Uniqueness – that is the answer in one word. I have never liked doing what everyone else is doing. I like to be different in my own way. Right now the photography industry is inundated with photographers and I’d like to step out of the most popular area (family and children) and specialize in just pets (pets and their people). Even further specializing, I’d like to photograph people and their pets, especially showing the deep bond they share. It is somewhat easy for a person to go and buy a digital camera and get lucky with a great shot of their pet, yet more difficult to show a series of images that really show the pet’s personality and the bond pet and owner share without a professional to capture that for them. Our pets aren’t with us very long in the big picture and we don’t want to ever forget them as we consider them part of our families. I still miss my favorite pet I ever had (said goodbye to him a year ago) but I have some great images of him being himself, him with my son, etc. I designed an image box with his portraits on the outside and a bunch of great prints that go inside. I also keep his little collar and name tag in here. This would be one of the things I would grab if my house ever caught fire and I only had a minute to take some things with me. So, I hope this helps everyone understand. Thanks for following AP design and photo as we change and grow. And THANK YOU to my former clients who have all been such a joy to work with! Please stay in touch!

Documenting the Love Between Pet and Owner, Sam and Jeni

apdesigner — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:09:25 +0000

For those of us who are pet owners and understand the deep love and soul sharing we do with our companions, you will understand why these images mean so much as Jeni has just learned her companion of 12 years, Sam the yellow lab, has only a short while left to live. Here are some of the images taken from their session: (more images from their session on AP Design and Photo’s FaceBook page)

Real Life

apdesigner — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:19:19 +0000

I love it when my clients appreciate showing real life in their portraits. Here is their nice family image to start with and the next two images showing the real deal! My client’s favorite image is the last one shown here

Family Portrait with the Dogs

apdesigner — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:53:21 +0000

We did it! We did it! Hank and Holly were squirmers who did not want to sit still for the camera but somehow we got an image of the whole family WITH THE DOGS (many treats involved)! And I loved the images of this mom and son so much that I am now going to schedule my own portrait session so I’ve got some like this of me and my son before he gets any older and won’t even sit next to me!

“Trick or Treat!” Pet Photography at The Pet Rescue Center

apdesigner — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:27:51 +0000

Check out these costumed critters! They are all up for adoption at The Pet Rescue Center in Mission Viejo, CA. Which is your favorite? Mine is either Moe, the male bulldog in the top left corner of the dog grouping or Hendrix, the puppy in the middle of the puppy grouping.

WHY the big changes to AP design and photo?

apdesigner — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:50:52 +0000

This week it was announced that AP design and photo is transitioning and offering only graphic design and pet portraits after Dec. 2011. (No longer offering family and child portraits after the fall is over.) AP has decided to get back to it’s roots with graphic design. Umpteen years ago, AP’s artist went to college for graphic design and has been in the field professionally since then working for various companies large and small: newspapers, billboard companies, etc. and then more recently freelancing from home. Photography came naturally with the graphic design (an eye for composition) and has blossomed into it’s own portion of the business. AP design and photo would like to get more focused and specific with pet portraiture only as this field of photography is not quite (yet) oversaturated and it is where AP’s passion is. Here we believe our pets are family too and want to document our relationships with them. This pet portrait half of the business will be developed as a separate division and focused not only on private commissions but also commercial and editorial work. We hope you will stay in touch to see how we grow (by subscribing to this blog and/or becoming a FB fan)!

Graphic Design – AP design and photo

apdesigner — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:43:26 +0000

AP design and photo consists of two services: graphic design and photography. Most of the time I am blogging about the photography half of the business, but I thought it might be helpful to share a little about the graphic design side of the business. I often hear that people don’t know how to find a designer and they just end up trying to design something on their own, spending countless hours of frustration. I’ve recently created a few different packages (an “identity” package, etc.) to make it easy for people to get what they need (shown on the website, www.apdesignandphoto.com). Some recent graphic design samples have been uploaded to the site too, such as an annual report for Long Beach Redevelopment Agency (designed and produced along with Eliot Lane’s copywriter, Donnelle Koselka). Take a quick peek! Thanks for reading the blog and have a wonderful day!