It Takes a Village Part 3

It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, 

it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.”

Paul Caponigro

 Maizey
September, 2017

One picture is never enough has been a constant theme in my family since my father went through his photography phase. Long before selfies became the norm, my father used his daughters as models. At some point on every birthday and Christmas we were posed on the burgundy vinyl ottoman for a series of photographs, usually in a slide format. Like the marks on the wall that told how tall each of us was growing, Dad’s photos were the measuring stick of our lives. A couple times a year he’d pull out boxes of slides and hang the glass encrusted screen in the living room while mom popped corn. Then we’d all gather around and watch picture after picture after picture of the people and places that defined our family. Mom with a red hibiscus behind her ear. Jo marching in the poise parade. Me dressed as a reindeer for a nursery school production. Five girls in red velvet beside a Christmas tree. The slides also showed a progression of the family pets. Rusty, the brown-eyed Cocker Spaniel, Lady the German Shepherd and Cherokee the Beagle. We remembered where we lived by the dog in the photo. 

Dad passed his love of photography down through three generations. “Say whiskey” is as much a part of our family vocabulary as grace before dinner.  My favorite bit of home decor is the painted family tree on the wall in the dinning room, adorned with photographs. 

Therefore it’s no surprise that when it comes to photographs of Maizey there are hundreds. Maizey at the beach, in the truck, in the pool. Sleeping Maizey. Playing Maizey.  Maizey with John, with Ella, with Ashley, with Buddy.  John’s computer is full of pictures of his soul mutt. Yet he decided he wants something more like a portrait, something that captures the very essence of Maizey. Before Maizey got sick I wouldn’t have thought this was necessary. A nice Shutterfly book would suffice.  Who, besides the Queen of England, needs a portrait hanging over the fireplace while she’s still alive?

I also thought she’d be around for a much longer time. I decided a framed picture of Maizey might be nice. So I went on a search for a pet photographer and decided on Chelsea Whiteman. I liked Chelsea’s work, but mostly I went with my gut. Something told me she was the right one.  We set up an appointment to meet at Hannah Park, Maizey’s favorite beach. The only problem proved to be the dark and gloomy nor’ eastern blowing in ahead of Hurricane Irma. We re-scheduled three times. Finally John and Chelsea decided they’d “make it work," and off we went.  Queen Maizey sat in the front seat of the truck wearing a red bandana. This would either be a lot of fun or a big fiasco. 

When we got to the beach, gray clouds hovered overhead. A light mist fell. Maizey didn’t care. While John and I and Chelsea and her assistant/fiancee Dylan introduced ourselves and talked about where to start, Maizey followed her standard beach procedure, three poops one right after the other as soon as her paws hit the sand. Then, as if hearing the siren song of the sea, she raced towards the ocean. John, did his very best to keep a hold on the leash as she pulled him behind her. I should have whipped out my phone and taken a video. I’m just not fast enough. Good thing Chelsea is.  With Dylan holding an umbrella in an attempt to keep the camera lens dry, Chelsea got right to work. Maizey is no Sports Illustrated model. She presented a few challenges. One, she doesn’t like cameras. Two, she’d really rather go where she wants to go, not where she’s told to go. And three, Maizey is easily distracted.  

Two weeks later, we got a peek at the photos. Yes, there are some shots of a bullheaded Bulldog being uncooperative. But there are also some fantastic pictures of Maizey being Maizey and the relationship she has with John.

If you are in Jacksonville, and looking for a photographer, I highly recommend Chelsea. Her specialty is capturing those moments you want to always remember. More than that she’s dog lover. She understood from the get go what Maizey means to John. She knew we wanted to get pictures of Maizey while she was still active, not sick. Dark clouds be damned. She came to the shoot with a vision. 

A graduate of the University of North Florida, Chelsea started taking pictures with a point and shoot camera as a kid. She enjoyed capturing the beauty of the surroundings while on family vacations. As her skills improved she began “dabbling in self-portraiture” where she learned a lot about lighting and editing. It wasn’t long before enlisted her fiancee, brother, father and his dog, Moose, as “subjects.”  Chelsea never turned down an opportunity to take pictures. She tried it all, engagements, weddings, pets, head shots, real estate photos. “With the exception of sports photography I enjoyed all of it,” she said. 

Chelsea realized that pet photography was something she wanted to pursue after spending time with a couple and their three dogs - a chihuahua and two golden labs. One of the labs, four month old Sophia, had been diagnosed with kidney disease and not expected to live very long. Wanting to capture Sophia’s sweet spirit running and playing at the beach, became as important to Chelsea as Sophia’s owners.

"Posed sessions with props have their place,” says Chelsea. "But there’s something so genuine about lifestyle sessions that let people and animals just “be” themselves."

Chelsea admits the hardest part of photographing pets is ending the session. “I have so much fun during pet photography sessions that I have a hard time stopping, putting down the camera, and saying goodbye to the wonderful pets I get to work with.”  

Sometimes people come into your life at just the right moment and offer you the gift of their presence. Sure we’ve got more pictures of Maizey that we know what to do with. But the time spent with this young, energetic, lover of dogs and babies, was more than just a photo shoot. For me it was a chance to see Maizey playing in the surf like she's healthy and full of life, not cancer. The pictures also tell the love story of a man and his dog. Thanks Chelsea, you gave us a gift that can never be replaced.