Land Cloud

I set out to create a high-key image this week, a photography style where the majority of the frame is light and bright with minimal deep shadows. While these kind of images aren't typically part of my portfolio, I occasionally dabble in them - usually in studio or in the snow. I’m always up for a new challenge, so I decided to try this technique outside with natural light using the lightest dog I could possibly find. Enter Travis.

And omigosh, I think Travis is the floofiest floof that ever floofed!! 😍 He’s a one-and-a-half-year-old Samoyed, a breed affectionately known as "land clouds" due to their fluffy white coats. We headed to an office park just after sunrise on a quiet Saturday morning, ensuring we had the place to ourselves. The light-colored concrete and clean industrial lines provided excellent minimalistic posing opportunities, but with such bright surroundings, I had to be cautious not to overexpose the highlights in his coat. True to his breed, Travis was incredibly fuzzy and smiling, and occasionally barked at the “other dog” on premises (there was no other dog – it was his echo 🤣)

From Travis' mom: I fell in love with Samoyeds over 50 years ago when I saw a Samoyed puppy for the first time. He grabbed a hold of my heart and the breed has never left go. Samoyeds, as a whole, love to be with their families. When allowed to do this they are very loyal and fun loving. They are thinkers and have a robust sense of humor. Left to themselves they can become very mischievous. Sammies are working dogs and while they look like big fluff balls, they are very strong powerful dogs. Originally raised by Nomads the Samoyed was a partner, sharing the workload of herding reindeer, pulling sledges as the people moved, hunting the tundra and forest for game, and best of all, keeping its owners warm in the Siberian night, and being a gentle guard of the children. They are one of the few breeds that has changed very little over the years.

We began the session on a loading dock ramp, a feature I’ve used previously (check out Hawkeye’s session here). Travis' sweet little paw lift and direct gaze won me over, resulting in the image below.

“Land Cloud”:

What his mom had to say about the experience: Travis takes almost everything in stride. The photo session was just one more thing he took in stride. The thing I will remember the most is his reaction to his echo when he barked. He wanted to know where the other dog was. It makes me smile remembering it. The thing that makes me giggle is when you were trying to get a picture with him and all he wanted to do was kiss you. The biggest challenge in my opinion was his stay. He wanted to be close to either myself or Ginger. When she would call his name instead of looking, he would go to her. I was amazed at how good the photos are considering he was very active during the entire shoot. You truly are a talented photographer.

The behind the scenes (BTS) look of how I created it:

About Travis, according to his mom: Travis has two favorite toys. He has a small hedgehog that his breeder sent home with him. We affectionately refer to it as “Baby”. He carries it around a lot. He also loves to play with a tennis ball. Not necessary fetch. He chases it the first time then carries it as he chases our lab around the yard.

After a brief potty break, Travis bolted up a set of nearby stairs. Seizing the moment, I quickly positioned myself beneath him. As expected, he curiously poked his head through the stair handrails and looked down, allowing me to capture another perfect "Land Cloud" image.

Additional images from the session:

Fun fact: the “always smiling” feature of Samoyeds actually has a purpose… the upturned lips minimizes drool, which prevents droolsicles when these traditional sled dogs were work the frozen tundra.

Ginger Wick Photography is an award winning dog photographer specializing in creating beautiful custom artwork of dogs & their people. Based in Parker, CO serving the Denver area.