There was a moment about halfway through my shoot with the Red Dirt Rangers' Brad Piccolo, his family and their rescued dog Lola that I realized the spectacle I had become.
As photographers we have to lose some level of self-awareness to do our jobs. While we must be sensitive to how our presence affects others, if we are too aware we will not be confident enough to put ourselves in the right place to make the right picture. We stick out like a sore thumb, but just have to pretend we don't.
Self-awareness crept in on this shoot -- and with good reason.
The moment came as I was laying on my stomach on the dirt making kissing noises and using a high-pitched voice that I didn't know I was capable of mustering. Facing futility, I chirped, "Lola, Lola … Over here …" "Cloudy …Cloudy … kiss, kiss …" I think I even said Brad Piccolo's daughters' names in the same silly voice. "Ruby, Isabel …"
Then it hit me.
I became keenly aware of how I must look on the other end of this camera. I was photographing a man and family that exuded cool, and here I was exuding anything but. The wind was blowing my light around. It fell to the ground once. I think I tripped a circuit at his house with my extension cord. The family, gracious and kind, endured. They accommodated my every whim and so did their pets. And as a result, I love the photos.
Every photo in this series offered its own set of challenges and even greater rewards.
Jo Foster has three cats. Each with its own personality, purpose and dare I say agenda (catnip). We got one frame of all three together. It was like waiting for three leaves from separate trees to blow across my frame. Once, you might get lucky. Twice and you're defying the laws of physics and nature. From there we took what we could get. Again, Jo was more than patient. We tried treats. We tried catnip. Again, I tried kissing noises and a falsetto of a falsetto voice. Again, I'm on my stomach trying to make a photo of animals that had no interest in being photographed. We settled on one cat with a nod to the others in a caption. Again, I love the results.
These subjects were overwhelmingly welcoming and open. Dustin Pittsley and his wife Amber were the first family I photographed for this project, so I had yet to work out the kinks of my lighting plan. They were unfazed. They let me in to their lovely Riverview home and were willing to accommodate any need; a huge light, multiple requests for poses. "Do you think you could lift Grover on your lap? ... Mmmmm, maybe put him down. ... Do you mind lifting Grover on to your lap again?" And so on and so on.
Christopher Davis and his family have three basset hounds. One is a rescue. Oddly, once the three were together, they sat still for a photo -- peer pressure is profound.
Oddly, too, Joshua and Mequette Yarbrough's menagerie that included three dogs and a duck were the easiest. I made one setup got my photo and called it. I knew by that point not to press my luck. We had it. Moving on.
These were happy homes to rescued dogs and their rescuers were happy to share their love for their pet. So happy, in fact, that they pretended not to notice my toppling light, my desperate pleas for perky ears, my squeaky dog voice and my awkward rolling around on the ground.
Here are the results.
And here is a link to Jennifer Chancellor's story about the musicians and their pets 
The Piccolo family, Ruby, 5, Lisa, Isabel, 7, and Brad, stand with their minature horse Cloudy their rescue dog Lola. Cloudy is not a rescue but Ruby felt really preferred that she be in the photograph. Brad is a member of the band the Red Dirt Rangers. They were photographed on their Pawnee farm Tuesday September 12, 2012. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Brad Piccolo stands on his porch as his cat which was a rescue on his Pawnee farm. Brad is a member of the band the Red Dirt Rangers. They were photographed on their Pawnee farm Tuesday September 12, 2012. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
The Piccolo family, Isabel, 7, Lisa, Brad, and Ruby, 5 stand with their rescue dog Lola. Brad is a member of the band the Red Dirt Rangers. They were photographed on their Pawnee farm Tuesday September 12, 2012. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Brad Piccolo on his Pawnee farm. Brad is a member of the band the Red Dirt Rangers. They were photographed on their Pawnee farm Tuesday September 12, 2012. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
The Piccolo family, Ruby, 5, Brad, Lisa, and Isabel, 7, stand with their rescue dog Lola on their farm. On the other side of the fence is their minature horse, donkeys, goats and an alpaca. Brad is a member of the band the Red Dirt Rangers. They were photographed on their Pawnee farm Tuesday September 12, 2012. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Brad Piccolo holds his cat which was a rescue on his Pawnee farm. Brad is a member of the band the Red Dirt Rangers. They were photographed on their Pawnee farm Tuesday September 12, 2012. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Brad Piccolo on his Pawnee farm. Brad is a member of the band the Red Dirt Rangers. They were photographed on their Pawnee farm Tuesday September 12, 2012. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Dustin and Amber Pittsley sit with their dogs Grover, a Bouvier des Flandres, and Emmy, a Dalmation. Grover is a rescue. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Dustin and Amber Pittsley's dog Grover, a Bouvier des Flandres whom they rescued. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Dustin and Amber Pittsley sit with their dogs Grover, a Bouvier des Flandres, and Emmy, a Dalmation. Grover is a rescue. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Jo Foster sits with her three rescue cats, The Fatness of New Calcutta, Turbo Thunderdome and Two-Bit O'Honey. Foster has played in multiple Tulsa bands and is now a fill-in drummer for the Flash Bangs. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Jo Foster sits with her three rescue cats, The Fatness of New Calcutta, Turbo Thunderdome and Two-Bit O'Honey. Foster has played in multiple Tulsa bands and is now a fill-in drummer for the Flash Bangs. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Jo Foster holds her rescued cat, The Fatness of New Calcutta in her midtown apartment. Foster has three rescued cats in all but the other two chose not to be photographed at the time. There is an old addage about herding cats. Turns out, it's true. Foster has played in multiple Tulsa bands and is now a fill-in drummer for the Flash Bangs. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
The Davis family, Christopher, Isaac and Rachael sit with their Bassett Hounds, Thelonious, Penelope and Django in the front yard of their home. Penelope is the only rescue of the three but she preferred to photographed with the entire family. The group was a little unpredictable when separated but fell into place when side by side. Christopher Davis is a Tulsa musician. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
Mequette and Joshua Yarbrough sit with their rescued pets, Sweet Pea, a duck named Jude, Roscoe and Shorty in their backyard. Joshua Yarbrough is a Tulsa blues and rock musician. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
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