Welcome to my blog! I'm going to try this again and post monthly with what I've been doing, and what's ahead.

June 2016 - Welcome Summer!

July 22, 2016  •  Leave a Comment

Had a great time in June at 6 shows, 1 Coursing Ability Trial (although this time shot by my husband!), as well as some Dock Diving, and very special event at the Grayslake cluster, "The Best of the Bests"

Wave over the images to see captions if you like.

Started out the month at Fox River Valley Kennel Club held at Woodstock, IL. Nice local show, only about 45 minutes from my house. Made it possible for me to quickly zoom through the images for Saturday and head back in time to catch groups on Sunday as well!

Dogshow 2016-06-04 Woodstock--094350Dogshow 2016-06-04 Woodstock--094350Teal the Whippet shows off her lovely expression with dark eyes surrounded by her super dark pigment, I was enchanted! Dogshow 2016-06-04 Woodstock--101605Dogshow 2016-06-04 Woodstock--101605Rush the Mastiff pointed out by Judge Doug Holloway as Best of Breed. Dogshow 2016-06-05 Woodstock--135628Dogshow 2016-06-05 Woodstock--135628This charming Westie struck this pose for me (we must have ESP) while waiting for his Group Ribbon. Dogshow 2016-06-05 Woodstock--155136Dogshow 2016-06-05 Woodstock--155136Jo the Havanese struts her stuff in the group!

The following weekend was another trip to Oak Creek for the Coursing Ability Trial. Jonathan wanted to play with the camera and new lens today, and since Coursing is a bit rather like spray and pray anyway, I said he could do some ... however it was EXTREMELY hot and sunny and I sat in the sportbrella most of the day while Jonathan took many many photos (which I had to edit!). These are some of our favorites...

Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--100632-5Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--100632-5The eyes have it! Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--111453-3Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--111453-3Even thought he's a Toy Breed, the Cavalier is all spaniel! Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--115720-9Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--115720-9Penelope the shiba is taking names and setting records, I believe she is the fastest shiba currently in the US. Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--115434-2Dogshow 2016-06-11 Oak Creek CAT--115434-2Mayday the Shiba is after his quarry and never gives up!

Which brings us to the Grayslake Cluster -- I nicknamed it the Kewl Cluster -- a bit of a takeoff on the Coool Cluster in January, and a bit of an homage to all the kewl cali people that came to visit us! I belong to Little Fort KC of Waukegan, and we were on Thursday & Sunday, International KC of Chicago joined us this year on Friday, and there were a plethora of specialties on Saturday, along with the Great Lakes All Terrier Association and Chicagoland Hound Association Group Shows. That day was ended with the Best of the Bests, judged by a surprise judge (George Alston), it was the first time I've ever attended something quite like this and it was really fun and great to see all the specialty winners lined up in a super sized ring!

Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--093025Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--093025If I don't have some PDAs of dogs and handlers I just don't feel right, here's one of Tam the Beagle and Doug Belter. Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--141525Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--141525and a sweet one during the group with Ivy the Boston and her handler Andrea Carter! Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--162215Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--162215A little intermission for some dock diving with Jody Bogdan and her dock diving Berner (is this Beryl?), he was amazing! Dogshow 2016-06-17 Grayslake--111619Dogshow 2016-06-17 Grayslake--111619oh here we are again with the PDAs, this was Best of Breed Greyhound on Friday, GCH Chaparral N Sovereign Dragon Fire with her handler, but I'm not sure of names so not putting any in! Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--113028-2Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--113028-2Olivia the Bullmastiff with Holley Eldred. She must have good bait because she's always stealing it ;) Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--165146-3Dogshow 2016-06-16 Grayslake--165146-3I don't know the name of this dog, but he won this event starting out at 17 feet for his first jump (which he made!) Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--131754Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--131754Warning -- another sappy PDA between Bob Hutton and a Wire Fox Puppy Bitch. I think she loves him... Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--184135Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--184135George Alston presenting BIS accompanied by Virginia Murray and Scott Pfeil to .... Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--175035Dogshow 2016-06-18 Grayslake--175035Angus the Clumber Spaniel and his handler Erin Myers! Congratulations on an amazing win! Dogshow 2016-06-19 Grayslake--140644Dogshow 2016-06-19 Grayslake--140644Cole the Yorkie took BIS on Sunday Photo Shoot 2016-06-17 Gracie Airedale--200417Photo Shoot 2016-06-17 Gracie Airedale--200417Funny moment during a photo shoot at La Quinta in Gurnee as some non-dog people passed by while we were shooting (we told them to go ahead, but the smiles were so cute...), Gracie the Airedale had a nice end to the weekend getting a major by going BOB over specials on Sunday. Dogshow 2016-06-19 Grayslake--142934-2Dogshow 2016-06-19 Grayslake--142934-2GCH Legend's Cross My Heart of Lore strutted her stuff in the group on Sunday.

That's it for June of 2016. Next month I'll be bringing you some photos from the Greater DeKalb Kennel Club show and also from the Wonderful Wisconsin Weekend (Combined Specialties & Group Shows on Friday / Waukesha KC Sat & Sun / Burlington WI KC on Mon & Tues). Contact me if you are interested if doing a private photo shoot at the show or need ringside photos!

Going into August, I plan to be at Cudahy & Racine KCs. These are very nice outdoor shows, good food, lots of parking and some photo ops near Lake Michigan on Fri/Sat. I think that is likely to be my only shows in August unless someone makes me an offer I can't refuse :)

Please take a few minutes to check out our Frequently Asked Questions if you have any questions and can't reach me right away. 

Until next month, keep cool and be safe!


May 2016

June 02, 2016  •  Leave a Comment

I've decided maybe monthly is something I can keep up with as far as a blog post, so here goes for May!

May is a month where it started out almost like winter, and ended up in summer. Such is spring in Chicago ... not much of it!

I was out taking photos two weekends this month.

First was a CAT event on May 11 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin sponsored by the Cudahy Kennel Club. CAT stands for Coursing Ability Test and it's the first time I've attended anything like this since the 70s when I had basenjis. By the way, my basenjis could have cared less about a white plastic bag, but we gave my malamute, Bambi, a chance and she was quite willing to chase!

Fast & furious and COLD were the buzzwords for the day. I'm sorry to say I wussed out ... the morning session went nearly to 2:00 and since I knew I had commitments that required me to leave by 3 (which would normally be the time the whole event would have ended), I skipped the afternoon session. Just as well, it took me hours to warm up! The was the maiden voyage of my new camera which had arrived earlier in the week. Despite the long distances I was pretty amazed at the focus but it was tough for me to actually get a lock on the dogs when they were far away (and they were quite far sometimes) especially if they were all brown or all black. I needed a zoomier lens to ever do this again!

If you ever get the chance to watch a CAT, take it ... dogs love it! One overanxious Berner actually took one of the fences down to get IN! Another dog left the Fast CAT area and infiltrated the CAT area somehow and it was quite an interesting 15 minutes or so before they finally caught him! I was pretty impressed with the shibas who all were easily leashed after their runs, considering it might have been forever for me to catch mine! :)

Here are a few fun photos, I don't know if they're anything coursing people want, but I love the water shots! http://lyndabeam.zenfolio.com/f60915580 (still working on this event actually, since photos are from so far away they require a LOT of editing!)

Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--093334-4Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--093334-4Quin the Belgian Sheepdog at the CAT (note to self, still need to remove the cone from this one, Jonathan has promised to teach me!) Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--092350Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--092350Leah Crowley and her best friend Loki

Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--090151-3Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--090151-3Murray shows the big dogs how it's done! Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--121754-4Dogshow 2016-05-14 Oak Creek CAT--121754-4and it seems that CAT can also be a water sport!

The other weekend was a trip to Michigan for the Nippo Classic (a show for the native Japanese breeds judged by a Nippo judge in the Japanese style). As some of you know, I have shibas, and have also owned and shown akitas so this is an event I especially enjoy shooting. Many photo ops for the dogs as they stand around posing a lot :) It's also a show where I get to reconnect with good friends from far away. http://lyndabeam.zenfolio.com/f255968432

Photo Shoot 2016-05-20 Michigan--122044Photo Shoot 2016-05-20 Michigan--122044Asst Judge Bill Fletcher verifies with a thumbs up that T&T (teeth and testicles) are all there on this puppy! Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--085144Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--085144

Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--091115Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--091115 Photo Shoot 2016-05-20 Michigan--131953Photo Shoot 2016-05-20 Michigan--131953The Nippo Judge takes photos of all the winners to take home

I was finished with the Nippo show soon enough on Saturday to be able to shoot groups and BIS at the Genesee County Kennel Club held on the same site. http://lyndabeam.zenfolio.com/f269500872

Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--161522-4Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--161522-4 Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--140521-2Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--140521-2

Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--143247Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--143247 Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--154031Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--154031Ripcord was excited to win the Working Group! He also was BIS!

It was fun to see dogs and people I haven't seen in a while. I realized that I had not been to Michigan since 2001! Every town I passed brought forth memories of good times. 

In between the Nippo Classic and the groups, I also squeezed in a portrait session for Kiko the Shiba! Watch for these two ladies at upcoming shows! Thanks to Caitlin and Deanna for hiking all over the grounds to find the perfect spots!

Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--132021Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--132021 Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--131241Photo Shoot 2016-05-21 Michigan--131241

 

On deck for June ...

Fox River Valley KC (June 4 & 5) is likely if the weather is good -- no fun to sit in the mud and rain, and realistically not much to shoot!

If it rains at Fox River Valley, then the new lens (Sigma 150-600) may make its debut at the June 11 CAT in Oak Creek. I don't know that I'm ready to commit to the whole day yet and would need to get permission, so might just go and shoot my friends for fun and to get some practice using the Sigma lens.

I will also be at the Grayslake cluster every day (June 16-19), although I will be ring stewarding at least for the Little Fort shows on Thursday/Friday so will only do groups those days most likely. I have a request to take candids at the Staffy specialty on Saturday. 

Later on in the summer, look for us to be at DeKalb, Wisconsin Wonderful Weekend & Cudahy/Racine if weather permits. Please contact me privately if you'd like a private session at any of these shows and I'll do my best to accommodate you. I'm also able to do private sessions on off weekends as well. Best times are very early morning or just before dusk to get the best light.

See you at the shows!


Happy New Year 2013!

January 04, 2013  •  Leave a Comment

Happy New Year!

I'm in the process of selecting some of my favorite photos of 2013 and they will be featured for the year on the front page slideshow.

I look forward to my first shows of the year ...  will either be Winnegamie/Oshkosh KCs next weekend if I can make it or the 3 shows at Grayslake (Chain O Lakes/Park Shore KCs).

I look forward to sharing some new photos with you!

In the meantime, please enjoy this photo that I took at the Chicago Botanical Garden in early October. It's nice to imagine how warm it was then when it's below freezing outside! The rest of the photos can be found at http://lyndabeam.zenfolio.com/p231595734

Mondelez International Launch Party

 

 


Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2012  •  Leave a Comment

I have been very remiss in writing my blog lately, a lot going on in life and sometimes the fun parts have to take a back seat. Between a full time job, my part-time "job", the commute every day and my own little family (Jonathan, 8 shibas and a tibbie) it has been a very busy year. I haven't been to an all breed dog show since August, and I am nearly caught up on editing (very thankful for that!).

In any case, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity over the last two years to photograph some absolutely amazing dogs and I hope to continue to do so. 

Watch out for news of our sale soon!


A couple of weeks off to catch up

August 27, 2012  •  Leave a Comment

Still working on June photos, it's not quite as bad as it seems because I've had a couple of requests based on ad deadlines where I had to give priority, so some shows will go quicker because those groups are already done. If you want a sneak peak, take a look at Recently Added or go to http://lyndabeam.zenfolio.com/recent.html.

Saturday I was at Elgin Kennel Club and it was a fun day, ring stewarding mostly for toy breeds. They are all so CUTE! But it is difficult sometimes to keep the ring on time, through no fault of the judge! I really think the superintendents should probably calculate less dogs per hour for a few reasons. 

  1. They're small and they take longer to get around the ring
  2. They're small so sometime people bring more than 1, sometimes 6 and it takes time to get armbands changed and dogs into the ring
  3. Toy people are very sweet like their dogs and often have no sense of urgency LOL

I was a very forlorn ring steward as I stood holding Japanese Chin armband #18 and found that Miss Mimi Chin was in Houston (where she had a very successful weekend nonetheless) and she would not grace our ring that day. I think her owner thinks I'm kidding, but ask anyone ... I had a big sad face for about 5 minutes ;)

Some photos from Elgin:

 

 

 

 

 

Vicki DeGruy who spends most of her time behind a lens ventured out with her new puppy Neo and took Best of Breed and this was his first time in group, doesn't he look like he has the whole thing down already!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another young class dog that made it to group was this smooth fox terrier, 
he managed a Group II to a wonderful Russell Terrier. Really nice moving dog as well!

 

 

 

 

Team Tiger takes Best in Show #3 on Saturday and
repeated the group win on Sunday I believe.

 

 

 

 

Group First both days and Best in Show on the second (naturally when I wasn't there!) was the malamute bitch Ruby!

 

 

 

 

And last but not least, loved this mini poodle shown by Sara Brooks who won a Group IV from the classes.

I've seen Sara show some spectacular poodles!

 

So what's next? 

Was planning on taking a trip out to Ames, Iowa for Labor Day weekend but decided I just have too much to do at home, dog related and non dog related as well. So ... maybe next year. It sure sounds like a fun time and some of the members actually invited me and I HATE to turn down invitations.

Kenosha and Freeport are solid maybe, depending upon how much I get done over Labor Day.

I will be at Manitowoc for at least one day because of the Puli National. Nancy Powell asked me to come months and months ago. I've been practicing a lot on every pulik I see, especially the dark ones, so I hope I get some good shots for them.

In October I will be going to the Shiba National as the official win photographer and I really want to be completely caught up before I go because last year I took about 20,000 photos of shibas (more candids than win photos :)) and that took quite awhile to process!

That's enough for now, so be safe on the roads over the holidays if you are out and about.

Till next week...

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