It seems only fair that you get some background on Sophie, my bichon-poodle, who, as I mentioned in previous entries, is 17.5 years old. So, if my information is correct, you multiply a dog's age by 7 to calculate how old they would be in human years. Since Sophie's only a very smmmall animal (like Pooh's friend PPPPiglet), I'll figure in a few extra years and multiply her age by 6. That makes her 105 years old. I think you'll agree that she looks pretty good for her age as evidenced in a recent studio portrait taken of her below.
Once upon a time, she was quite a spry little doggie. She seemed to enjoy posing in the studio because there were always scrumptious treats like those biscuits that look like cocktail weenies to tempt her onto the platform.
Below is one of my favorites- Sophie as the glamorous couple. You may notice there's a grey divider line between the characters. That's due to the double exposure on film done by covering up half the lens for the 1st shot, the 2nd half for the last shot. Nowadays, with digital, it would be much easier to make a clean looking composition. (I'll have to try it with Brady, who would also make a fine looking couple...)
This snapshots below were taken of Sophie with Shana, our golden-retriever. Shana was 7 years old when we got Sophie and she served as a mother-figure for our new pom-pom ball. Soph loved to sleep on Shana's back, or clamp down on her tail and get a wild ride as Shana wagged away.
Sadly, Shana died when she was 12 years old due to a debilitative digestive disorder.
I still miss the way she would walk the periphery of our backyard fence every morning and then, stand at the sliding glass door, ready for all the action that school-age children bring into the house each day.
This picture was taken with a 4x5 view camera in my first studio. It was a test shot as I was learning to use the heavy box camera fixed onto the tripod. View cameras are large, unwieldy things and they take forever to set-up. Then, there's the exposure time which is long.
My husband and children refused to be corralled into the studio, as they knew what it meant to sit for those agonizing minutes while I fiddled with the focus dials, moving the bellows hither and yon, ad nauseum.
Sophie, however, was more than happy to strut into the studio. For the price of a cookie, she sat stock-still on a stool, patiently waiting for me to take this photo.
In retrospect, it's amazing she could do it- The detail that results from this type of photography is uncanny. Look at the crystal clear reflection in her eye and the stray strands of hair askew on her ear.
The bichon-poo, immortalized.
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