Welcome to Alfie and Alli! This corner of the internet where me and the real star of the show will be sharing our favorite locations (and how to make the most of them), shooting hacks, training tips, treat recommendations and more. We even have a few products we will be testing out and reviewing within the next few months.
The Nikon
After an experimental youth filled with film cameras & Polaroids, I’ve gotten with the times and upgraded to mirrorless. After looking for something full frame, affordable and focused on stills (versus video, which I still can’t quite wrap my head around!), I went with a Nikon Z5 for almost purely sentimental reasons. I’ve been using a N70 my uncle, a talented Nikon user, gave me since I was a kid. When he passed away in September 2020, I knew that the new Z system is where I wanted to go when I pulled the trigger.
I cherish my film cameras and medium format is my true love, but the rising cost of film and my waning patience for developing at home were big influences on my move to digital. In March 2021, I finally took the leap and brought the Z5 home. I picked it up from Wolfes, the same camera store I bought developing chemicals from when I was in high school. The same store my great grandmother got her photographs developed at. And not too long after my last visit, that same shop closed it’s doors forever. I’ve always been so glad I was able to make such an important purchase somewhere I had a bit of history with.
It was an easy camera to fall in love with after a decade of shooting with cameras that were older than I was. However, I’m definitely learning to work with the limitations of it’s AF system while I get more and more into dog photography! I honestly have a hard time finding anything else bad to say about it. Even the off brand Viltrox lenses have impressed me. While I’m fond of the 85mm, I catch myself using the 35mm more and more.
Absent From The Body
This will also be a place where I share and explore my project centering on death in Kansas, Absent from the Body. As well as a home for a collection of landscape photography that continues to grow as me and Alfie wander further and further from home. One of our favorite things to explore is cemeteries, and soon you’ll be able to find a wealth of photos and information here!
But more than anything, I think this will end up becoming a showcase of all the photographs I take of Alfie. His Instagram could only hold so much! He is my constant companion and almost always there when I stumble across a scene that demands my attention. I love shooting all breeds, but nothing beats making magic with my best friend.
Self Portraits
The first things I can remember shooting when I got my hands on my grandfather’s K1000 are self portraits. I had a pretty phenomenal run of being my own best muse for almost a decade. While I didn’t plan on “being perceived” when I picked a camera back up, it was only a matter of time before I started shooting myself again. I’ve shot a couple of new self portraits over the course of the pandemic that I really love. If I’m not careful, I might just start shooting people again.
With 15 years experience shooting (film, digital and lots of experimental shit in-between) and just as many working with dogs, we would love to know what we could share with the community! Say hello and we welcome any suggestions you might have on things you would like to see around here!
