Atiliay noun, a play off the French word “atelier”; a workshop/studio, esp of an artist or designer; my creative space

Notes plural noun, a brief record of facts, topics, thoughts written down as an aid to memory; a short informal letter

 

Why does Valentine look like a baby llama there?! After literally years of wanting to do this, I finally got “engagement" photos taken with Valentine!

 

Ever since my friends started getting engaged and I saw the beautiful pics they took with their partners, I really wanted to do the same with my animals! It is one of my biggest regrets that I put it off and never had the chance to do this with Lucci, Bernard, Bubba, Makani, Samone, and Jefrey. Even though it was always on my mind, I just never made the appointment with a photographer until it was too late--and recently it felt like it was going to be too late with Valentine too.

 

At the start of July she started having issues with her eyes and it felt like it got really bad all of a sudden. There was a point where she couldn't see and was not acting like herself-- I thought maybe it was time to start thinking about her quality of life and making some tough decisions. Feeling like I only had a handful of days left with her, I decided to try to see if I could have a photographer come out. I was (and still am) in Canada so didn't know of anyone and went searching on Yelp. I wasn't having luck finding pet photographers so switched to wedding photographers. The first one that came up was Neil Ta Photography. I went on his website to see what services he offered and this was on his about page:

Even though pet portraits weren't listed on his site, his dog Bun Cha was! I knew I had to reach out! It was a bit of a hail Mary: I needed him to come to my AirBnB, I wasn't even sure if he did this type of shoot, and I'd need him to squeeze me in that upcoming week. I explained the situation and the next morning I got a reply from Neil saying yes! He was going to be in the area in a few days and as a dog dad, he understood my situation and wanted to help.

 

I actually had a vet appointment the day before the shoot and the eyedrops they prescribed seemed to work! Val had been keeping her eyes closed most of the time but she started opening them again! By the next day she actually seemed mostly back to her normal self and ready for her close up :)

 

Neil was kind and patient and did an amazing job capturing Valentine! The session felt very easy and casual, and we basically talked about Val and Bun Cha the entire time. Towards the end Neil said he was telling his wife he was worried he was going to cry on this shoot given the situation but so glad Valentine was OK. I told him I was afraid I'd open the door and start crying too! Luckily Valentine was feeling better and made us laugh and smile instead. 

 

When I got the photos back, Neil added so many more than what would typically be include in a mini session. He said it was a rewarding experience and was glad to have met Valentine. I feel like I lucked out finding him--I could not have hoped for a better photographer. Maybe it was meant to be that this shoot didn't happen earlier, that it had to have happened in Canada so I could find him. Because of Valentine's treatment, my stay in Toronto got extended so we actually made plans to meet up with Neil, Bun Cha, and Neil's wife Kelly! Bun Cha was as cute as I thought he would be and it was impossible to get a pic of the two of them looking at the camera lol It was great getting to spend time with Neil and Kelly and I feel like I made lifelong friends!

 

After some more ups and downs with Valentine's eyes, anxiously counting down the days to see the eye specialist, and adjusting to her loss of sight, I think we are finally on the road to recovery (she most likely has chronic superficial keratitis where her own immune system is attacking her eyes due to UV damage in them) and I am cautiously optimistic. As rough as this past month has been, I'm coming out of it with these lessons (and am good on the lessons for awhile, OK universe?!) :

We have another check up with the eye doctor in a month so Val and I will be staying in Toronto for the time being until she's stable. Fingers crossed she continues to improve! A very big thank you to my friends who have really been there for me during all of this and for all the well wishes and good energy being sent to Valentine--I know it makes a difference! 

 

Thank you for reading and giving me a space to share. I hope your August is off to a good start and that you, your furbabies, and loved ones are doing well! Take good care,

PS: On the creative side, the Summer Sketchbook Un-Slump is in full swing--Prompt 3 was sent out today! If you'd like to join, you can still sign up and receive all the past prompts and get the new ones as they are emailed out. With everything going on I've been more in brainstorm mode and am excited to get the ideas out on paper this weekend! Here are a few recent pages I've made though for Duality, Wanderlust, and the SSUS Warm Up Exercise - See What You Hear (which I encourage you to try too--listen to this song and paint/create what you hear.)

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