Sit. Stay. Smile. Photography & Art

Abby and Bailey are two Boston Terriers with personality to spare…They both had their favorite toys they wanted to fetch and as long as I had those and plenty of treats I had two new best friends… Bostons and Pugs are two breeds I always enjoy photographing because they are so full of personality and so cute with their expressions. We had a great morning fetching and hanging out in their backyard…I have posted a few of my favorites for you to see below…

On a side note, I want to apologize for neglecting my blog this past month…We were in the process of selling our home, which I am happy to say sold in one month! Now we are in the middle of packing and trying to find somewhere to go since we have not yet found a new house for ourselves…It looks like we will be renting a townhouse nearby until we find what we are looking for…With that said, I may not be posting a whole lost for the rest of this month as well since we will be in the middle of relocating…I am still open for business…I will just have to cut back on my photoshoots around mid June for a week or two…Wish us luck in finding a new home! Two adults, one child and three dogs in a 1300 sq. ft. townhouse with no yard is going to be tough!

I would like to thank Loki’s parents for coming out and supporting the Virginia Beach SPCA…They were the winning bidders for a photo shoot with Sit. Stay. Smile. Photography at  a recent fundraiser for the shelter. They decided on a more Urban style photo session for their dog Loki, so we hit the strip down at the beach and took pictures in the alleyways and parking lots we stumbled upon. Loki was a real trooper….he was so easy going and happy to pose wherever we asked him to. It was a hot day and he performed like a rockstar!

Hey everyone! I have just returned from a trip out west to sunny, 99 degree Palm Springs, CA…I like hot weather, but that was a bit of a thermal shock even for me…I went to a photography workshop at the Palm Springs Photo Festival and I will try and post a few pix from my trip when I get a chance…

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing little Ziggy, a brindle, Bull Mastiff puppy. He was a great dog who is probably tripled in size since I last saw him! Here are a few of my favorite shots from our outing to the beach…

Olivia is the newest addition to the Beninato family…my sister Gina who lost her sweet great dane Miley a little while ago has found a harlequin great dane puppy and named her Olivia. She is totally full of herself and giving my sister more than a few sleepless nights…Olivia is really smart and likes to get into trouble like all 9 week old puppies do…She has two different colored eyes…one is blue and the other is either going to be green or brown? I had the chance to take some pictures of her this past weekend and I think she is a supermodel in the making…Her big sister Lily is slowly but surely warming up to her…older dogs don’t always enjoy all that puppy energy at first, but once she gets over being jealous of the newcomer I think they will be best friends.

Meet Jedi…he is such a sweet boy and I had the best time photographing him and his family…I fell in love with his beautiful blue eyes…they looked amazing with the blue pier and the water. We lucked out and had a rare mild day on the beach to do the photoshoot…this winter has been brutal and I cannot wait for Spring to arrive. Here are some of my favorite shots of Jedi…

We have not had a good month here…My sister had to put her two year old brindle Great Dane Miley to sleep yesterday because of some serious health issues. Miley was the sweetest dog and I feel so bad that she had to leave us so soon. She is no longer suffering and is probably having a great time with her sister Mia over the Rainbow Bridge. This was not an easy decision for my sister and I respect her strength in doing what was the best thing for her dog.

Miley will be missed by everyone, especially her partner in crime Lily. Here are a few of my favorite photos of Miley, including her collage that is always a favorite of my clients…The background reads, “I will not dig up the rose bushes”…Miley had a little devil dog in her, but that is one of the things that made her so funny to be around….never a dull moment. Goodbye Miley, you will be missed!