GrooveStar Studio

This message is for everyone who is attending the Sleeping Giant Fast CAT at Central K9 this weekend! First of all… I can’t wait to see you all! This will be my first ever Fast CAT at this location and I can’t wait. I have seen the track in person and it’s beautiful. This is my first free weekend to make it to an event there.

So… PLEASE read some important info. It’s long but worth reading till the end.

It’s going to be HOT. And guess what… it’s even hotter closer to the ground where I lay to take photos of your dogs running straight at me! (It’s a VERY exciting perspective by the way!) So, what does this mean for YOU? Well, if you have been following me for a while you know that I always recommend you do not stand immediately after the finish line to stop your dog. If you step back…. preferably closer to me… not only will your dog get a better time but you will get a better set of photos! While I do photograph your dog running down the track, I find that the best photos are often the ones MUCH closer to me. That’s where the extra dramatic photos often happen.

But with the heat this weekend there is another reason to let your dog run back to where I am…. Heat waves!!! Without getting too technical, in extreme heat the heat can cause a “mirage” type of effect close to the ground. In some cases this will show up in photos especially when I zoom in to photograph a far away dog. This results in a wavy image and a not so crisp looking dog. As your dog gets closet to me I have less of these heat waves to shoot through. To quote google- when shooting low to the ground "you are shooting right inside the worst layer of hot air, and zooming in magnifies the distortion. When the dog is closer, there is simply not enough trapped heat between your lens and the dog to ruin the photo.” So there you have it!

Another perk of not blocking your dog close to the finish line is I won’t get your backside in the photo. I mean… I don’t mind… but you would be surprised how many photos I have of people showing me that side of them. I do try my best to work around legs and butts…. Lol…. And I didn’t want to share an example and embarrass anyone. My point is backing up from the finish line has lots of benefits especially on an extra hot day.

If you didn’t pre-order yet I can not recommend it enough. I generally complete pre-orders within about a week. All other requests get worked on as time allows. (I am talking about the un-paid requests.) I squeeze these in in every waking moment I can between work I have.

Pre-order link is here-
https://www.groovestarstudio.com/events/sg08082026/event.html

Photo is of Toe! This is a nice example of how up close and personal I can get with photos if you let your dog run through closer to me.

As always these are tips for the best photos…. BUT I encourage you to do what ever is best for you and your dog.

Thanks everyone and see you this weekend!

Photo pre-order is NOW OPEN for Aug 8-9 Sleeping Giant Agility Club Fast CAT at Central K9!

Link here-
https://www.groovestarstudio.com/events/sg08082026/event.html

Why pre-order? Oh so many reasons!!! Here's a few...

*Save money! Get more images for less $$$! The more you buy the more you save!
*Get photos faster! I always work on pre-order images before all other general photo requests. (I do photograph all dogs but depending on order volume pre-order galleries are generally up within about a week. General requests take much longer depending on my volume of work.)
*Have more than one dog? You get more discounts! (multiple dogs / same owner)
*YOU select your favorite images from a large gallery of fully edited images.
*Risk free ordering! If you can't attend the event, or your dog won't run... no worries... just request a refund!

Update from your photographer:

Please read through to the end as you will likely get a lot of your questions answered.

First off… thank you all for being such wonderful clients… many of you who are now friends! I appreciate each and every one of you!
I had posted a while back that at the end of July I would be taking a break for time with family and to recharge my battery so to speak.

Likely very few of you realize just how much time I spend working on all things photo related. When you see me at events that is actually just a drop in the bucket. After that I am glued to my computer editing pre-orders, filling orders, and working on photo requests. Just last night I was up till 4AM working on requests (which I do for free in hopes of a sale), but working till 1 or 2AM is very common for me. I tell you this because I know people get anxious to see requests. I work HARD to get these done but the amount of requests per event can vary wildly so my time to get these done can vary wildly too. (Also sprinkle in life’s unexpected twists and turns like me being sick for about a week and well… sometimes life can put a wrench in getting work done too.) So, at this point, while there is a chance I may get a few more requests done before my break it will be just a few… Then I will be back to working on finishing the remaining requests after my break when I am back to my computer Aug 3. Please know my goal was to finish requests before my break but I ran out of time… so hang in there and I hope you find it worth the wait! (As I always shout from the roof tops… if you need photos fast consider pre-ordering… save money and get them MUCH faster.)

Also if you make pre-order selections while I am away I will fill those orders the week of Aug 3.

I might check email here and there but it will be very limited as my focus will be on family during this time.

Here’s the dog events I will be photographing soon…
August 8-9 Sleeping Giant Agility Club Fast CAT- Central K9 Colchester CT
August 28-30 Northeast Regional NorthEast Mobile Dock North Franklin CT
October 3-4- South Windsor Kennel Club/Springfield Kennel Club Fast CAT Central K9- Colchester CT
October 17-18 Yankee Golden Fast CAT at American K9 Country Amherst NH
November 14 OR 21 (TBD)- Christmas Sessions at Central K9 Colchester CT

If you are looking for photos here is the link to all galleries-
https://groovestarstudio.shootproof.com

And photo of me… from last time I really unplugged (2 years ago)… While this is not where I will be this time around… it is one of my favorite places on earth… Monument Valley. Photo courtesy of my son Pearce.

Hi everyone! Pup-date time! This time I thought I would give you a little behind the scenes insight into why gallery requests can be a bit of a wait. But first...

If your dog did try-its at the Strawberry those images are now in the gallery. I know a few people were anxiously waiting for those! They are in the gallery by day.

Also, just a reminder when you sign up at an event to request a gallery... please print clearly... and by clearly I mean so there is no mistake what your email is. You would be surprised how many email addresses I can not read and I try multiple versions of what I think it is... only to have emails returned to me. I even consult family members to see if anyone else can read the address. I spend a TON of time working on requests and when I simply can not reach you to notify you your photos are ready... well... it's a bit sad for me... and likely for you who thinks I forgot about you.

OK... so WHY do requests take a long time, especially at an event like the Strawberry... Well let's compare it to NADD Regionals. At Regionals each dog can go on dock 2 times. The first time they are allowed a practice jump and the second time they are not. That means when I work on your photos for that event I have either 4 of 5 jumps to edit. Now lets look at the Strawberry.... a 3 day event and you can compete every day. Lets say someone's dog competes in 4 splashes a day, and they do a practice jump each time... that is 12 jumps each day times 3 days for a total of 36 jumps for that one dog! Not to mention AR and HD. Needless to say the time I am working on photos at my computer is pretty darn big! I am pretty confident a lot of people never thought of it that way. And I will say I am grateful to all of you for being wonderful, patient customers! I just want to share a bit of the "why" as to why you are waiting for photo! And this is not to mention everything else happening in life.... because we all have life happening and have to manage a million things all the time.

So.... please check the gallery from time to time because you might just be one of the people I tried hopelessly to reach only to have emails returned. And if your photos aren't up yet they will be coming and I will try my very best to email you as soon as they are ready.

Also a reminder that I have some pre-scheduled family time coming up pretty quick so there will be a little more than a week where I will be stepping away from my computer so anything I do not get done before will get wrapped up after.

Thank you all for your patience! Juggling it all over here and I am LOVING working on all the requests and coming across super cool pups like Zayda here! Her bright colors and adorable face made me smile today!

Link to all galleries here-
https://groovestarstudio.shootproof.com/

Pup-date time! How's everyone doing?

I wanted to take a minute to post here to be sure everyone who pre-ordered for a past event has seen their photos. I have emailed everyone with info on how to make your selections. You have up to one full year to select... but I recommend sooner so you don't forget. Also, I have some scheduled family time coming up later this month so there will be a week or more where I will not be able to fill orders and respond to emails... but no worries... you can still reach out to me but please keep in mind if you want your pre-order filled before August I recommend getting your selections made by 1 week from today- 7/16.

If you emailed to tell me you made your selections from any past event, I have emailed you. I am up to date on filling all those orders. If you ordered prints from the gallery, all those orders have been sent to the lab. Basically I am up to date... which would normally be good news... meaning I should be working on gallery requests right about now. In fact I am... but quite delayed. My household got hit with a bug (sickness not computer bug) and I have been mostly out of commission the past few days. But I will be working on requests as I am able.

I am sharing this pic of Brewster from the Strawberry because I am so glad Brewster's mom selected this image... when I took a second look... oh my!!! Just LOVE the expression on his face! (You MUST zoom in on his face!) Kind of reminds me of me at the moment... slightly frazzled but diving in fearlessly anyhow!

Stay healthy everyone!!! I'll be over here chipping away at requests if you need me!

Hello everyone! I have been nose to the grindstone over here so I have been quieter than normal on facebook. I thought it was a good time for a quick "pup-date"!

June events were great and one in particular was much bigger that ever before with more jumps and more orders... that is the NADD Strawberry.... so that is the main reason I am running a tad behind. Well... maybe not behind... but I had hoped to have all June pre-orders from all events wrapped up by the 4th of July... so based on that self imposed deadline I am a little behind. But the good news is I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I anticipate having the remaining few pre-order galleries up this week. (Almost all are up though.... so take a look if you haven't lately.)

Link to all galleries here-
https://groovestarstudio.shootproof.com/

When you are ready to select your pre-order images here is what you do- Click the heart on an image to mark it as a favorite. Once you have made your final selections email me to let me know and I will email you the download info (allow 24-48 hrs). If you want to upgrade your pre-order package let me know and I will send you a quote. You will still get the pre-order discount so if you want extra images this is the time to do it and save $$$.

Once all pre-orders are complete I will be circling back to general gallery requests.

Then looking forward I will be taking July to work on other projects so you will not see me at any events this month.... but things ramp up again in August!

Here's my upcoming schedule for the remainder of 2026 in case you would like to plan ahead-
*August 8-9 Sleeping Giant Agility Club Fast CAT- Central K9 Colchester CT
*August 28-30 Northeast Regional NorthEast Mobile Dock North Franklin CT
*October 3-4- South Windsor Kennel Club/Springfield Kennel Club Fast CAT Central K9- Colchester CT
*October 17-18 Yankee Golden Fast CAT at American K9 Country Amherst NH
*November 14 OR 21 (TBD)- Christmas Sessions at Central K9 Colchester CT

Photo of Mango at the Strawberry... because I just love those grabby / bitey photos!

Hi Everyone! I thought it would be good to come up for air for a quick pup-date! Boy oh boy it's been a busy week. Lots going on over here.... and a few unexpected fires to put out so to speak.... I am currently running on about 1 1/2 hours of sleep since my own dog wasn't feeling well all night so I was up with her all night. But I am back at my desk now catching up on some pre-orders. I generally email everyone once all pre-orders are up for each event.... so if you have not looked lately I will say all of Friday and most of Saturday's pre-orders are up from the Strawberry. No Sunday yet. I am working to get all those completed and then the Yankee Golden Fast CAT will be on deck. Also juggling emails, print orders etc. If you don't see your gallery yet hang in there.... it's coming.

Link to all galleries here- https://groovestarstudio.shootproof.com/

Here's Arwynn.... such an adorable pup!!! Gotta get that bumper!!!

Thank you all for a great weekend of Fast CAT at AK9C! Lots of great dogs and I had fun chatting with lots of great people too! Boy did we get lucky with the weather! As I type this the sky is just opening up and it's pouring rain! Not sure if that is the case currently at AK9C as I am about 1 hr south... but I am glad we didn't get hit with this downpour earlier... not to mention the booming thunder and lightening that is happening at the moment!

I am going to mention pre-order just once more for this event. I know some people hesitate and just say they will get pics later... and that is ok! But here's the thing.... I am a very busy girl.... I prioritize the paid pre-orders and get those done first. I am also catching up from a huge event last weekend. So while I am estimating pre-orders being complete in 1-2 weeks... requests will be longer. (I do not have an estimate for that just yet.)

So if you do want to pre-order you have till midnight tonight and here is that link-
https://www.groovestarstudio.com/events/06202026/event.html

There is no risk... only reward... you save $$$ and get photos faster. I promise you will be happy! I guarantee it!

I especially want to thank Karen Fink with the Yankee Golden Retriever Club for inviting me once again to be your photographer.

Picture of Odin flying down the track this afternoon.... because... holy moly those gorgeous eyes!!!

Hello from day two in the catch pen at the Yankee golden retriever, Fast CAT. While I’m here to do action shots, I do enjoy grabbing a portrait here and there as well. Gotta keep an eye out for those cute moments! . If you have questions about photos, you can stop by and chat with my husband Roy. He has a table set up near the catch pen. Look for the red sign that says photos. Have a great day everyone! Also, as always with these back of the camera shots, please pardon the glare and the reflection of my cell phone.

Great seeing everyone today at day 1 of the Yankee Golden Retriever Club Fast CAT! I had a chance to work on a few pre-order galleries from today on my ride home so you will find a few already in the gallery!

Be sure to get your pre-order in by Sunday at midnight if you want photos for less $$$ and much faster than general requests.

Pre-order link here-
https://www.groovestarstudio.com/events/06202026/event.html

Here's one of my favorite shots from today... Bowzer never disappoints when it comes to dramatic photos!

See you all tomorrow!