Category: Pets

Big Dog Little Bed Productions // A Promo Shoot

We did a shoot with Janice Smith of Big Dog Little Bed Productions way back in 2015 (see it here!) when I was just starting to become the creepily obsessed stalker of her dog named Toby. She wasn’t super concerned about my drooling over his fluffy adorable fluffness at the time but I think over time she’s come to realized just how serious I am about him. I call her from hotel rooms at 11pm to say things like, “Hey Janice! We just made it to Blacksburg! Are you still awake? Can I come see Toby? What’s your room number? Oh… you just got in bed? Okay…I guess I’ll see him tomorrow.” And then I call at 8am to say things like, “Hey Janice! We are awake! Are you awake? Can I come see Toby? You’re downstairs? Okay, we will be right down!” And I’m not totally sure what she thinks about my constant comments on her Instagram regarding him or my texting her to ask about him occasionally but you know what? I don’t really care. Toby is my dog soulmate. My love for him is broken down into several parts:

50% Unreal orange fluff
30% Playing like a total spaz with arms straight out in what I’ve come to call “invisible casts” and romping around like he’s done five lines of cocaine
20% Unrequited love (he does tolerate me and occasionally seek me out for head pats, but part of me enjoys the fact that every single photo I take with him involves him literally rolling his eyes or actively trying to escape)

Anyway, Janice told me that Toby doesn’t like it when girls come on too strong to him, so I’m trying to refrain from making this entire post about him. Janice is a dear friend of ours, an extremely talented female bossy lady videographer, a Durhamite, a lover of pups big and small (the small, also adorable, far more loving and friendly doggo in these pictures is Murphy), a trusted colleague, and a wearer of vests and fanny packs. We have a little too much fun photobombing her at weddings (there are probably many minutes of footage she’s accumulated and cut out) and we love her dearly. It was with great pleasure that we photographed her new promo photos for her wedding and commercial videography company Big Dog Little Bed. She is hilarious and charming and adorable and beautiful and intelligent and can rock 1977 dad glasses like there’s no tomorrow. This shoot makes me smile because Janice makes me smile. Also Toby.

Making Fools of Ourselves: 2017

Ahh, the annual culmination of embarrassing photos of ourselves all in one place. We look terrible or confused or hangry, and are occasionally seen straddling logs in the middle of streams or getting caught in gym equipment. We are always, always, always pointing out in vague directions, gesticulating wildly, or petting dogs. I also decided to add an always-smooth-looking fannypack to my arsenal of wearable camera gear this year, so now I look like I’m ready for a week long trek in the wilderness after I’m done rock climbing. Not pictured this year: multiple pictures of Geoff eating wedding cake. I don’t know why. Maybe because I was able to eat more cake this year than ever before due to my gluten-free wedding guest brethren, so I was also busy eating cake at the same time? Either way, a disturbing lack of pictures of Geoff eating. I’ll work on that for next year. To make up for it, there is a picture of the Virginia Tech mascot hugging him against his will. Enjoy the stupid expressions and awkwardness of it all. To all of you who worry about how you’ll look in your pictures, we promise it won’t be this bad.

The “Making Fools of Ourselves” posts started in 2011 at the end of our Class of 2011 post. Here’s a look at younger versions of us:

2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011

Class of 2017.

Phew. Many of you know that this was a crap year for us. We had a significant death in the family, a laundry closet that was flooded, two cats in the emergency hospital, a computer that died, and a small kitchen fire that Carolyn valiantly extinguished… saving the lives of everyone in attendance. We blame 100% of the bad things that happened to us on a small wooden tiki carving we discovered under the dryer in said pre-flooded laundry closet, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, it sucked. We were hit with one thing after the other. But you know what didn’t suck? Our 2017 professional year. It ruled. Every single one of our clients was sane, kind, welcoming, pleasant, and fabulous in every way. We got hugs and thank you letters and toys for our cats and invitations to drinks and gatherings and copies of Hocus Pocus on DVD. You all took immense care of us this year when we needed it most, and we can’t thank you enough. You all were a very special class indeed, and we’re glad to see you graduate ::sheds tear::. I’m not sure where you’re graduating to… but… come back and visit us, please. We love each and every one of you. Thanks for making a bad year have tremendously good moments.

The year end “Class Of” posts date back to 2011.

2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011