Cats, Cats, and more CATS!

There are over 150 cats at the CSRA Humane Society.  It is a sad fact that many of them may live their entire lives there as it is a no-kill shelter.  Yes, it may be better than being hungry and out on the streets, but the best place for them would be a nice, warm home.  I wish I could adopt them all, but helping them with photos is the next best thing.  These are a few of the adoptable cats there now:

Godrick

 The Trio

Patty

 Allegra

 Grady

 Tara

I have to say that these are okay considering the lighting situation in the shelter.  There is hardly any natural light at all, and only yellow, yucky overhead fluorescents.  I have to shoot wide open and with ISO1600 at least.  And when I get home, there are the countless hours on the computer editing each photo that is worthy. I am in the process of experimenting with a pop-up flash diffuser and bringing some portable lighting with me...if I can find a plug.  I'm learning so much with each photo session!  I'll post some adoptable dogs soon! 

Who is HeARTs Speak?

In my excitement about being a new HeARTs Speak member and starting a new blog, I forgot to include the link to their website and explain what exactly HeARTs Speak does.  Check out: http://heartsspeak.org/
This is an organization of photographers (professional and amateur) who believe in the mission of donating their talent to animal shelters to help increase adoptions with compelling photographs.  I am obviously just an amateur member, but I am so inspired by the professionals that get such beautiful shots.  It is awesome to have a group of artists doing what they love for the love of animals! 

This is Nya.  Currently at the shelter and looking for her next home. 

Joining together for the love of animals

As a new Affiliate Member of HeARTs Speak, I decided to start a new blog about my experience photographing shelter pets here in the CSRA region of Augusta, GA.  Welcome to my blog!  I don't know how much actual writing I will do, but I will definitely be posting photos of available pets at the CSRA Humane Society shelter, and also through Happy Tails Rescue. 

How did I get interested in photographing shelter animals?  While I enjoy photography, I have no desire at this time to pursue it professionally.  My career includes 11 years Active Duty Army as a flutist, and I am currently completing my BSN to become an Army Nurse in 2012.  I have enough going on in my life professionally, but I love animals, and I love taking great photos!  Earlier this past Fall, I saw a clip on CBS Sunday Morning about a professional photographer (Teresa Berg) who donates her talent for Dallas rescue groups and trains amateurs, like me, to take better photos for shelters.  Her photos increased adoption rates dramatically and it really inspired me to take action here in Augusta! 

And that's it!  I bought myself a DSLR Nikon D3100, a 50mm f1.4 portrait lens, some filters, and off I went.  My 3 cats and dog were my practice subjects -- every day.  I learned a lot pretty quickly, and am forcing myself to only use Manual mode as it defintely gets the best results. 

Then I just had to find a shelter willing to let me help...My first task was to look at all the local shelters on Petfinder, and just start calling.  My first stop was CSRA Humane Society, and they needed help, so I was in business.  Well, not literally in business, but I got my foot in the door to be a helpful volunteer doing what I love.  So, something I had to learn quickly is that dogs stuck inside a shelter all day have a LOT of energy when they are allowed outside for a little while!  They make impossibly quick subjects to capture, and the lighting in the play yard is all shade or spotty bright sunlight at all hours -- not great for photography.  These are things I'm still trying to figure out, and I REALLY need an assistant to help distract and play with the dogs so I can get on the ground and shoot at their level. 

I'm still learning, and I'll post pictures here, but I'm happy to say 6 dogs I've photographed since October have found homes!  And I've only photographed and posted about 10 dog pictures, so that's a good rate so far! 

Thanks for following my site and I hope one of these pictures inspires you to adopt a shelter pet today!  (That's Gaspade and he was adopted recently!)