SSP Holiday Cards 2008

Hallow's Eve is upon us! And we all know that every year, without fail, the rest of the holidays come barrelling forth once Halloween has passed. So it's time to start thinking Holiday Cards!

SSP is offering our very own line of customizable holiday cards, of course meant to feature your 4-legged loved ones! They are all printed on high quality, 100% recycled, 30% post-consumer waste cardstock and come in sets of 10 with matching envelopes. You can change the text, the typestyles, the colors - whatever you'd like! The photos can be printed directly onto the cards, or you can order photographic prints to attach (this provides the best photo quality). Take a peek and see what you like, and contact us for more information! Enjoy!

p.s. Please stay tuned in the next few days as we will be posting our long-awaited sneak peak of Bass Lofts Picture Day 2008!

L5P Halloween Parade

Last weekend was the annual Little 5 Points Halloween Parade! Although I have lived in Atlanta for over 5 years now, this is the first year I've attended this parade. Having the ability to walk out of our front door and have great seats waiting was quite a treat too! The parade was everything I expected - the epitome of L5P diversity and Atlanta spunk. Even though the light wasn't exactly perfect for shooting, we tried from our perch on the hill overlooking Euclid Ave. to capture some of the madness. Here are the highlights!

There were two sets of stars for the day at the parade: The kids and the puppies! Both were equally decked out, and there were wings galore! 

Once the crowd started pouring in, we were disappointed not to have snagged closer seats so we could catch more of the doggie costumes. We were lucky enough, however, to have these furry faces camp out right next to us - and they were very gracious in letting us snap away!

As expected, there were costumes of all sorts - for big kids and little kids. Some were sweet...

and some were kinda scary!

These were probably my favorite costumes from the day. So creatively put together! So Tim Burton!

Some kids had just one thing on their minds.... CANDY! Hey, can you blame them? 

Politics for dogs?

The best thing about this parade is that everybody gets to be exactly who they want to be.

These shots give a bit of an idea of the crazy crowds in the streets....

And the most important thing about a neighborhood parade is making sure everybody has had a GREAT time! I think this guy has that covered. Dance Away!

Happy Halloween!

Bass Lofts Picture Day 2008

The loft complex we live in is so super cool - anyone who spends time in Little 5 Points here in Atlanta probably knows where the Bass Lofts are. Our building was built in 1920 as one of Atlanta's first Junior High Schools, and was then converted in the late 1940's into a High School. Today they house loft units, but so many of the original details remain - the seating and stage in the auditorium, the locker-lined halls, original chalkboards in many units (including ours!) - I love living amongst all that history and knowledge!

Another thing that is so great about Bass Lofts - SO many pets! I think there might be more pets than there are people! So Stephen and I thought, maybe we should have a special day for Bass Lofts pets, when we can get to know each other, hang out, and take lots of fun photos of these super-sweet neighbors of ours! And then it hit us:

PICTURE DAY!

Every school has picture day, and we live in a school, so there you go. So this Saturday, October 25th, from noon to 4 p.m. all Bass Lofts residents are welcome to bring their pooches out to the doggie park in our Bass Lofts Backyard for some treats, photos and fun. How the day goes all depends on how many pooches we have, but the more the merrier! We'll play it by ear and make sure we get lots of great shots of everyone. And remember, these casual pics are on the house, and there is a good possibility that your pup's mug will end up on the SSP website! Once our website is up, everyone will be able to view a gallery of all the images from the day online and order prints if they want to.... (Holiday Cards, anyone - GREAT timing, eh?) But it's completely optional! Just come and have a ball - or two or three.....

Hope to see you there!

Brother Abraham

We at SSP are lucky to have not one, but TWO worthy mascots to be our representatives to the world! You've already met Cat, and now it's time to meet Abraham! Abraham is my brother. Well, he's my youngest brother. Growing up I had a little brother named Sammy, a Cairn Terrier who was my pal and confidant... being an only child you tend to form special bonds with your pets! When Sammy passed away I was 17 years old, and it was such an immense loss for my family. And so, not more than a year later when I finally went away to college, it was no surprise that my mom and dad adopted a new brother for me. And Abraham gladly stepped in to fill the empty space in their home! 

Abraham was adopted from a rescue group in Georgia, and it was obvious that he had seen some tough times even as such a little puppy. But with tons of love and attention from our mom and dad, he has turned into the sweetest, most loving boy! Here is a little sneak peak at some of our favorite images from our recent session with Abraham!

Just look at that big ol' smile....

Abraham is a black lab mix.... whatever he's mixed with gives him these great black spots on his tongue!

Abraham's eyes are some of the prettiest brown eyes I've ever seen....

He loves playing with his Daddy!

Some of my favorites from our shoot...cool high-key black and whites really show off Abraham's elegant black coat!

We love you Abraham!!!!!

SSP's Favorites

Today I posted some links to some of my favorite pet-oriented sites! I'm very sure this list will grow over time, but these are the ones that immediately came to mind. From great Atlanta stores and services, to fabulous websites that provide only the best for our well-deserving friends...These are the businesses that stand out for me. Please let me know if YOU have any favorites! I'd love to check them out!

A quick note about some of these wonderful folks:

Smiling Cats and Dogs Petsitting is a great service by Meghan Burroughs who has become a fast friend of Cat's. We recently had her take care of him for a weekend, and we have never, and I mean NEVER, seen him so well-adjusted and happy after we were away for a few days! Meghan did a great job of keeping us updated on how he was doing and making sure everything was taken care of with the utmost attention. Thanks Meghan!

Inman Park Pet Works is my favorite in-town spot for all kinds of pet supplies. Like the name implies, they carry The Works! From adorable Couture pet clothes to Gourmet food, treats and snacks, they always carry something new and fantastic!

Three Dog Bakery has been a long-time shopping stop for me in the Chicago neighborhoods where I used to live. Everything you'd expect in a people bakery....for dogs. And they're made with all natural ingredients.... I've tasted them. They're pretty good.

So go shop and surf! We'll be posting more soon...... Upcoming rants include Holiday Photo Cards, the Bass Lofts Picture Day, Little 5 Points Halloween Parade, and a special Sneak Peak!

Have a great day! :O)

The introductions....

Hello world! Today is an exciting day, because I am writing my first blog post ever! I guess that makes me seem like a hermit or an alien or something else that has no idea what goes on here on Earth, but there it is. Hopefully this will prove to be a great way to meet new fellow pet-lovers and expand our SSP Pets family network. It is my firm belief that those of us who are passionate about animals share a bond that is strong and unique. Perhaps it's because of the way that we connect with animals and are therefore better able to connect with one another, or perhaps it's just because we all happen to be fun-loving, easy-going, goofy at heart people! (And that is what I have found to be true in the vast majority of animal lovers that I've met!) But any-whoo, all of that to say to you, my first loyal readers, please bear with me as I figure this blog thing out! I feel that I should lay out some goals for my blog so here those are:

1. To share the latest fun and exciting news from SSP as soon as it is ready to share

2. To communicate with our clients about what goes on in the inner-workings of SSP - to give them a sense of who we are as people, not just a "company".

3. To excite our clients about their photo shoots by posting sneak peaks of their sessions

4. And finally, to create a community of pet-lovers and photo-lovers through sharing of ideas, images, and inspiration!

Stephen and I are both thrilled about our new website, which should be launching in early to mid November. Please check in with us here until then to find out about our progress! And since you have yet to see what we actually DO...that is... photography.... I've decided in my first post to introduce you to our OH-so-adorable mascot, Cat! Yes, he is a cat named Cat, and he is our cat. You can call him Kitty for short. Or for fun. Or whatever. No more talk, just photos! Here he is!

I hope you all enjoyed SSP's official first blog! I look forward to many more in the future! Have a great day....

Sarah