Category: photos

Goodbye Maggie

Our dog, Maggie Shinn, died this morning.

Lisa took her to our vet, Dr. Gray, about a week ago because she’d been acting increasingly lethargic, was in pain, and was having trouble walking, sitting and standing. She’d been slowing down for quite a while, but I just assumed that she was depressed because I didn’t spend as much time with her as I used to. Well, I was right on both counts: she was depressed, and I didn’t spend enough time with her. But I was wrong on the diagnosis. She had Addison’s Disease. Also known as chronic adrenal insufficiency, it’s a disease that is both expensive and difficult to treat, and the treatment (steroids, basically) can result in some nasty and unpleasant side-effects in a dog as large as Maggie. In dogs, it usually appears between 4 and 7 years old. Maggie was just over 4.

Our vet advised that we may think about alternatives to treating Maggie. He said that most people aren’t able to afford to treat a dog with Addison’s, and the medication and care quotes supported that. We sought another opinion, and found out that treatment is uncertain, in-depth, and lifelong. We decided not to seek a treatment we couldn’t afford for an outcome that would entail serious quality-of-life compromises for our dog.

So we had a great weekend with Maggie. Brando, Tim and Rachel’s dog and one of her two best dog-friends, came over to play and say goodbye. I cooked bacon for her (her favorite) and even gave her the grease when we were done. We made sure we spent the entire weekend at the house, and that we were around and available for her for as much of that time as possible. I sat on the couch last night and let her sit with me while I read. When we were finished, we took one last late night walk. She enjoyed walking on her leash with me, despite her inability to walk well or very far. She slept in the house all weekend, on her favorite quilt by the back door.

This morning after breakfast and a visit with Shadow (Brad and Mary’s dog and her lifelong dog-friend), we drove to the studio and took some last family pictures with Maggie. She was pretty sick, and didn’t look great. But taking pictures is one of the ways we make sense of life, so we did it anyway. Then we took her to the vet and said our last goodbyes. Maggie died this morning at about 10:30 am of a lethal dose of an anesthetic. It was very peaceful; she just laid down and went to sleep.

We’ve told Liam that Maggie went to be with Jesus. A lot of people believe that God takes care of animals, and that they have enduring souls like humans. I don’t have any way of knowing whether this is true, but I desperately want it to be. We picked Maggie up 4 years ago this week as a little puppy. Over the last four years, she’s become a very important part of our lives and our family. Liam doesn’t remember a time when we didn’t have her.

I have a lot of regrets, mostly surrounding the lack of time I’ve spent with her over the last year as our business has grown, and I’ve been working and trying to be a father to two (other) children. Maggie’s place in my life moved from somewhere near the center to a position closer to the periphery. I can’t go back and change that now, but I know that I did all I could to make her last weekend as enjoyable and comfortable as possible.

Thanks, Maggie, for a very special four years.

ed. note – pictures added to this post Tues., Nov. 24.

Clara at 11 Months

She’s growing so fast! Our little Clara is getting to a really fun age. She’s much more interactive – talking, laughing, and giggling a lot. She can say both ‘Mama’ and ‘Dada’ now, and she’s clear on which one of us she wants at any given time. She’s still a pretty easy-going little girl, and not much rattles her. It turns out this is a very good quality for a second child to have! Her brother Liam loves to play with her, talk to her, climb into her crib in the morning, and generally play round. He’s one of her favorite people, but he is a little bit rough with her at times. We’ve tried teaching her sign language, but she hasn’t used anything but ‘please’ yet. She’s modified this sign to fit her preferences, and she does this sign with a circular motion of her hand up on top of her head instead of on her chest. Her hair sticks up on top of her head, which is cute and a little funny-looking. She goes to bed pretty easily. All we have to do is lay her in her crib with a pacifier and a blanket, and she puts herself to sleep. Liam STILL hasn’t mastered this art, though he’s getting better. Clara has two cute little teeth on the bottom of her mouth, which she uses to chew cheerios and anything else we give her. She does’t like to be fed, but will eat without hesitation (or notice, apparently) if she has something in her hands to work on or play with. We’re enjoying every stage, and especially this one. Enjoy the picture below, taken by Lisa and Rachel in the studio last week.

New post on another blog!

I haven’t put much time into blogging lately (sorry!), so I thought I’d let you guys know that I put up a more in-depth post on the Shinn Photo blog. It’s a behind-the-scenes write-up on a photo shoot I did about a month ago. Let me know if you like it, and if you want to see me continue writing such things!
Enjoy,
Andrew

Here’s the link: shinnphoto.com/blog/?p=317

Reedley Fiesta

Captions available at www.flickr.com/photos/shinnphoto !

Break Time

Yesterday morning we went on a walk down the street–Liam on his scooter (with his helmet, of course), Clara in the front seat of the carriage and Maggie running alongside sniffing at smells that wafted her direction. It was quite a long even though we only went to the end of the street and back. By the time we got home, it was time to cool off and have a break. Liam wanted to take a break with his sippy cup of milk and his sandals close by. He also really wanted to be in the picture with Clara. He is a funny boy!

The picture of Clara by herself is the first time she held the sippy cup by herself. She was so proud of herself.

Her little personality is developing and it’s fun to watch the things she gets excited about, the places she randomly decides to stop and play, and her reactions to Liam. She’s learning to be patient with him when he takes the thing she’s playing with and Liam is learning how to have a toy ready to trade when he wants to take one away from her. Oh, the bumps and happy times of learning how to share!


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Our friend: Janel

Janel has been taking care of Liam and Clara this summer and they have really grown to love her. Liam gets excited when he wakes up when we tell him he gets to go to play with Janel and Clara gets a big smile on her face when she sees Janel. We did a session with Janel yesterday, and Liam joined in the fun! He enjoys being with Janel–playing dominoes, reading books, making crafts with pom-poms and pipe cleaners, and watching “Finding Nemo.” She will be at camp next week and the kids are going to miss her when they don’t get to see her on Monday. School is starting in a couple weeks, which means this summertime fun is coming to a close. We have been blessed to have her this summer and are thankful she was willing to jump into life at the studio with our kids.
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New pictures of the kids and me!

Here’s Clara asleep at Ellyce and Vidal’s wedding.



Here’s Liam enjoying what he calls “Daddy Milk”, which is really Keifer from Trader Joe’s. Keifer is a special treat for Daddy, and it resembles milk, so Liam made the logical jump to calling it Daddy Milk.



Here’s a rare picture of me. This is what it looks like when I’m teaching you photography. Lisa is using a wide-angle lens to test the light in the shade of a tree at Ellyce and Vidal’s wedding. When I’m teaching, I often offer myself as a subject without bothering to smile or pose. This leads to lots of bad pictures of me, which are the most common type I have. Oh, well. I guess this one’s not too bad.



Car accident in Reedley

Two cars collided at the corner of G and 11th Street this morning.  Both were going fast and one ran a red light, according to witnesses.  Everyone got out of the cars alive and without serious injury.  Here are some photos:

Pictures of the whole family!

We shot a minimum depthy of field family session at the end of the day on Friday. Enjoy!

Liam’s Photo shoot

Liam wanted me to take pictures of him today while we were waiting for a client (who never showed up). He directed the entire photo shoot, including the poses, props, location, my shooting position (knees, Daddy, knees!) and everything. It was so cute! I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of Clara today, but she’s not old enough to demand her own photo shoot. What fun, and what a funny kid!