Merry Christmas.

Thank you for your friendship and support throughout this year and past.  And thank you for your shared love of animal companions.

Wishing you a very happy new year.
David, Carol, Taylor, Carolyn and of course Kelsey behind the scenes.

Triple Plays.

Two very exceptional families visited the studio today with nine dogs total.

Here's the first peak at what we accomplished together with special thanks to Carolyn for her great help.

More to post tomorrow from each family's sessions.  Such a great day.

Thank you everyone!!!

Last minute Christmas gifts - Ready to go!

When Age Has No Leash - Lessons learned from senior dogs. $45.
It's Important to Paws - Lessons learned from animal companions. $49.95


Available at the following locations:

David Jensen Photography studio (9130 Elim Street) 10-4 p.m.
Alaska Mill Feed and Garden Center (1501 E 1st Avenue) 9- 7 p.m.
Blue Hollomon Gallery (36th & Arctic) 11- 6 p.m.
Fireside Books (Downtown Palmer) 10 - 6 p.m.
The Book Shelf, Eagle River: 11401 Old Glenn Hwy; 10-7 p.m.

Call us at (907) 868-1680 for more information and after hours pickups.

www.itsimportanttopaws.com

Chief

Adventure along Turnagain Arm with Carolyn, Bob and Chief was excellent this past Thursday.
Here's a sneak peek at our work for a couple hours at 25 degrees near sunset.

Layla and Friends - Williwaw Lakes Trail.

At 9 a.m., the morning started in darkness - about 1.5 hours before sunrise..   More than 4-hours later, we were at the peak of lightness which wasn't for long because sunset is around 3:30 p.m.
It was an exceptional hike with good dogs and people.  Layla was, of course, my shining star throughout the adventure.

Layla and me ... signing books and meeting great people.

Layla is a miracle dog.  She heals and she creates smiles all along the way.

She and I began our Alaska book signing tour this weekend - starting in Palmer at Fireside Books and completing the weekend at Alaska Mill Feed and Garden.

This little girl sits on her own chair - alongside me - and holds her paws up to all who visit.  Sometimes she'll does this for 3-4 hours.

Just love my four-legged partner.

We also delight in hearing so many stories of dogs - senior and otherwise - who cross our paths.  There have been many and we're looking forward to many more.

Book signings this weekend!

Hope you'll visit with Layla and today or tomorrow (Friday and Saturday; December 12-13) as we will be signing books and talking dogs (our favorite topic!)

Either book - or both - are incredible gifts for anyone who loves dogs and animal companions.

A personal moment.

Adopted at 13 years old. For the next two and one half years she taught us new meaning of love. Forever in our hearts and inspiring others.

Thank you to all for being a part of her life and ours.

David

Ziggy's kids

Having Kelly and Kaitlyn's Newfoundlands in the studio again was fantastic this past Saturday.  These Landseers were wonderful to photograph.  They are exceptional.

I've been privileged to be asked to capture this family's puppies and adults for many years.  It just gets better and better.

Thank you for these amazing opportunities, Kelly and Kaitlyn.  Your family is a treasure to me.  You know there are many more to see!!!!

Cassie

Cassie has been a frequent visitor to my studio for the past 10 years.  She's 13 now.

This past Saturday, she dropped by again with her favorite person, Chance.

I decided to put together a short slide show of her (and some of her siblings) to show one of the reasons I love my work so much.   2004 - present.

Cassie is featured in my new book When Age Has No Leash - Lessons learned from senior dogs.  You can learn more about purchasing the book by clicking HERE.

Personal time

We had a complication with a planned session yesterday - our client wasn't feeling well so we rescheduled her and her family.

Feeling restless (as always) I decided to take Kobuk and Layla out on a short photography expedition.  Years ago, I made a pact with myself to create at least one image every day of every year.

Here's a peak at what we did along Turnagain Arm and up the Falls Creek trail for a couple hours of personal time with two of my pups:  Layla and Kobuk.

Mr. C and Methos in the studio.

Late night post but I couldn't resist sharing some from today's sitting with this handsome boy and his somewhat reluctant dog friend.  Methos is still getting used to having another human in the family but I know he will soon be 'a boy's best friend' before long.

Tip of the hat to Carolyn again for her help in making these photographs possible.

It makes me so happy to photograph families as they grow over the years.   :)

Book signing event at Blue Hollomon Gallery

Terrific day at Blue Hollomon Gallery with curators Georgia and Gina.  I think we were all overshadowed by each of the four-legged guests present including Maya, Lhasa, Layla, Jack, Kay, Flash and the always popular Grizzabella.

Friends of Pets - the beneficiary of the event - also brought along a couple dogs available for adoption.

Special thanks also go out to Dawn for dressing up the gallery with dozens of festive paw balloons and for providing exceptional treats to complement the fresh-off-the-grill hot dogs cooked up for the nice crowd of guests.

And the music provided by Bob Parsons set the ambience beautifully.

My next signing event is at Alaska Mill Feed and Garden Center Saturday, December 13, 2014.

Hope to see you there!

A warm breeze.

Having photographed this lovely family for more years than I can remember - including many years with the thermometer in subzero weather - today was the best.  That's saying a lot.  I have wonderful memories of photographing mom and the kids and the cows, horses, ponies, Alpacas, cats, dogs and more.  So many fun stories.

Just as special is seeing the walls of their log cabin home - sprinkled with family photographs we've created together for so many years.

A bonus today was Sugar Cookie - the miniature Scottish Highland Cow - as she greeted Layla.

Joy.

Black Friday

I ask most of families to visit the studio for a consultation before scheduling their session. It gives all a great chance to meet me and our staff while also looking at what we have to offer.  And, it allows me a chance to start planning my approach to sessions and new families.  In the end it helps everyone know if we're a good fit for each other and the possible fun to come!

Shown here:  Alex, an adopted Newfoundland - at about three years old.

Photographing black dogs can be a challenge for most.  Adding a solid black background to the pose is seemingly impossible.

So, I posed Mr. Alex to create a unique Black Friday pose in honor of the occasion (after-Thanksgiving shopping).

Not all consultations include a free mini session.  But sometimes, it pays to step 'outside of the box' store for some fun entertainment.

Thanksgiving hike along Wolverine Bowl Trail

Layla and I were joined by half a dozen other dogs and their people for a pre-sunrise hike up toward Wolverine Bowl in the Chugach Mountains this past Thanksgiving.

While the hike started with little light beyond the flasher on Layla's collar, we climbed above a heavy cloud layer to discover a beautiful sunrise and even a half inch of snow!

The images captured during adventures like this one are already being collected and edited for my third - and perhaps largest project - which will document hiking adventures in Alaska with dogs.  2015 will include adventures with Layla as far as our wheels can take us.  The book will include suggestions about some of the best places in the state to take dogs on hikes - from easy to complicated - with gear tips, safety advice and unique photography solutions.  Yep - I'll offer some of my trade secrets.

The new book will be released in 2016.