Mutley's Snaps Pet Photography

21/01/2025

Really must get up to Glencoe with Ruckus this winter!

18/01/2025

I think I'm in love with Willow

15/01/2025

Blue 14 years young

11/01/2025

45 weeks.

Can't believe Ruckus is almost a year! He was a leap year puppy so I've told him he only gets a birthday every 4 years. He seems to be under the impression that he entitled to two birthdays a year - 28th & 1st.

Nothing much bothers Ruckus. He is happy go lucky, a little overly enthusiastic about meeting people. Especially people wearing work wear and high vis. The bin men gave him biscuits as a puppy(they still stop the bin lorry in the middle of the road to come speak to him) and now he just associates everyone in workwear with them, he dances when he spots one.

He is super quick to learn stuff and can learn new tricks easily Although he hasn't learned the trick of not getting carried away when meeting people.

He is such a good dog and a real credit to good breeding. He was set up well to be a good family member.

09/01/2025

New year, new you?

This is your opportunity to come to Scotland and further your dog photography journey!

Woofventures 2025!

May 4th to May 11th - Cairngorms National Park.

Your instructors - Me and Kristen Murray with our very special guest this year Elke Vogelsang!

Elke Vogelsang

As one of the best known names in dog photography, Elke's images are instantly recognisable as the images jump of the screen with personality. And that's just what Elke will be helping you with during the retreat - how to really dial in on personality filled images. If you have been at this any length of time you will know it's personality that sells, whether it's a portrait client or a commercial client - personality will win every time. We are so excited to have Elke on board this year and it's 100% not just a ploy to get her to photography Ruckus ;)

Kristen Murray

Bane of my life... Just teasing, I really wouldn't want to be partnered with anyone else with this. Kristen brings a straightforward no BS approach to her dog photography. What spoke to me most after spending a week with her(well other than she is such a pain in the arse) was just how good she was at managing the shoots - how she was able to get what she needed from both the owner and the dogs. Kristen will be helping you with how to have a successful shoot, to come away with the images that you want and get the best from your client. She will be bringing back her posing dogs and people class which was great fun last year and often hilarious (dumpster dog...).

Me... Ewan Cheyne

I'll mainly be s**t talking about Kristen. In between I'll be going over studio... lighting and working with the dogs. Excited to have Elke on hand this year to give her take on things! I'll also be working with you on Off Camera Flash on location. My approach has always been easy going and often just leaning into the chaos. So hopefully that will rub off on you as well, it's not always going to be perfect or go the way you planed but that's ok - look at me I'm doing all right.

Most of all we all come with a dog first approach. It's all about the dog and their happiness. Happy relaxed dogs will always give you the best images.

The retreat includes 7 nights accommodation at the luxury Muckrach County House in the heart of the Cairngorms.

🛑 Meals included (except the first night)
🛑 All transport during the retreat
🛑 Studio, Location and Marketing Education
🛑 4 location shoots in the Cairngorms National Park - Lochs, ancient forests, mountains, castles...
🛑 We will have a studio set up on site with opportunities for you to get hands on
🛑 I will bring my OCF flash gear for those that want to try that
🛑 Mid week rest day for either a lazy day or a fun hike through the Cairngorms
🛑 The best dog models
🛑 Ruckus on hand as our in house model
🛑 Website audit and follow up zoom with Claire
🛑 Kristen will be offering a zoom meeting after the retreat for those that want to delve a little deeper on the business side

I'm sure I'm missing stuff but you get the gist... Scottish Highlands, dogs, photography, adventure, new life long friends... what are you waiting for?

09/01/2025

Hope everyone is staying nice and cosy during the cold weather. We haven't had any snow here.

Ruckus loves the cold, currently laying on a cooling mat as he hates the heating being on in the house. Claire and the cats on the other hand love the heating being blasted.

I think two of the three here are not taking this photoshoot business very seriously!

07/01/2025

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year!

That's me back to work. I've still some space this month.

Looking forward to meeting all the new dogs this year and hopefully seeing some old faces :)

23/12/2024

I've had some messages from people asking how Claire got on with her new chair, I was going to wait until we got some nice pictures outside but you know...Scottish weather.

Claire got her new chair on Wednesday and so far everything has been great.

The most impactful thing have been the specialist controller. IT takes very little force to move it and it only moves a tiny distance. Meaning she can move it with just her finger tips. Her biggest issue with the old chair was she couldn't move the controller properly and this got worse as soon as she became more restricted by wearing a jumper or jacket, and when her hands got cold.

She doesn't have that issue with the new chair, she is finding it really easy to control. We even tried with a pair of gloves on and she could still work it(she hasn't been able to do that for at least a decade).

There are two buttons just before the screen, between those and the joystick she can work all the functions of the chair, she never needs to touch the screen. She can also work her phone from the joystick, or have it act as a mouse for her computer.

Really wish we knew about these controllers years ago, it would have made such a difference.

The chair it's self....

It's a million miles ahead of what she had. It has the all important low seat height, it goes super low. So she won't have any issues getting fully under tables when we go out. It also raises up I think she is around 5'4" or 5'6" at it's full height. Means she can always set the height to what ever she requires.

It also tilts back and forwards, the backrest can be set to any angle, the footplates can be adjusted for height and angle, she can lay completely flat in it... All of which can be done from her joystick and the two buttons. It means she can relive pressure and get comfy. It also memory for 4 or 5 positions, so she can set for example her preferred position for sitting at her desk, relaxing in front of the TV at night.

It's a front wheel drive rather than rear wheel drive this time. So it moves differently, you she needs to angle it different when approach doorways etc. but she seems to have gotten the hang of it already. It's much more manoeuvrable and will be much more better outside. It also has a gyro that detects if she veers of line and will self correct.

She is much more supported in this chair she doesn't feel like she is going to fall over. The back wrest is so much better. They customised it for, there are bits that wrap around her body a little for more support but during the assessment her driving arm was catch on the right side, so for her chair they reduced it on the right side and then it was professionally upholstered. With pretty much every other chair on the market they are mass produced and modular(bits added and taking away), where as this was custom built and you can see the quality and care put into it.

It's still early days but she is really pleased so far, and is looking forward to some nice weather so she can get out and about.

Thank you again to everyone that donated, it means the world to us and made the chair much more affordable for us(it came to just under £27k).

I will share her adventures with Ruckus in the future :)

Now I'm off to nurse my man-flu of death.

20/12/2024

Ruckus the red nose reindeer!

That's a wrap for 2024 (well I still have one session to finish before Christmas), I'm switching off until the New Year.

Have a nice Christmas.

17/12/2024

I'm super excited to be hosting a Belinda Richards of Frog Dog Studios for two day studio workshop!

Belinda has claimed Australian Pet and Animal Photographer of the Year 3 years in a row! As well as a bazillion other awards.

There are only 8 places available, be quick to guarantee your space!

15/12/2024

Mr Ruckus is 41 weeks.

Deep in the teenage phase but he is still really good.

Seems to think he is super handsome and that everyone wants to speak to him...

13/12/2024

Claire's new chair arrives on Wednesday!

We are both excited for her to get it and for the improvement in quality of life it will give her.

We have an insane £10,052 in GoFundMe.

People have been so generous, we really thought that if we got to £2000 we'd be doing good. We really are blown away by everyone's kindness. It really makes it that bit less painful for us to buy.

In totally it comes to around £26.5K and another £500 on the cushion we bought a few months back. We also got a grant for £2.5k. We paid £12k and a bit for the deposit, the company received the grant money direct, which leaves us with £11k and a bit to pay this weekend.

I'll drop the link in the comments if anyone would still like to...

We will share some pictures and how Claire gets on with it.

Thank you all so much!

10/12/2024

Just because you can never have too many puppy pictures in your life.

08/12/2024

Some Woofventures Q&A:

🟢 Can I bring my partner?

Yes, you can bring your partner! Coming with your partner is the perfect excuse to extend your trip in Scotland and go exploring.

🟢 Will meals be provided and allergies catered for?

All meals are included, except for the Sunday night when you arrive but you can grab a meal in Aviemore before arriving at the house. Our chef was great last year making sure everyone's allergy and dietary needs were catered for, and the food was delicious.

🟢Do I need to be physically fit?

All our location shoots will be a short walk from the car, nothing strenuous but it's dog photography so there will be some behind over to get eye level. Just let us know on your application if you have any health issues and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

We will be offer a longer hike on our mid week rest day for those that want to stretch their legs a little more. However if you would rather spend the day relaxing at the house or head into town.

🟢 What experience do I need?

You should be confident in the use of your camera, we will be on hand to help you get better at things like focusing on running dogs but you should have the basics down.

You don't need any studio experience.

You should be happy and confident working with dogs, we will be helping to make you even more confident here.

We will be looking at the mixture of applications to make sure we have the right balance of students.

🟢 How do I get to the house?

The house is a short drive from Aviemore where you can catch a taxis. Aviemore is accessible by train from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness where the airports are. You can also hire a car if you prefer. It's easy! We have a guide explaining it all for our attendees.

During the retreat transport will be provided.

🟢 What is the room situation?

We have a mixture of private rooms and shared rooms. Each room has it's own private en-suite. Shared rooms are all twins and would be sharing with a person of the same s*x. Muckrach House is absolutely gorgeous, you will just love it!

🟢 How many shoots will there be?

There will be 4 locations - we haven't set the locations yet but there will be lochs, forests, castles... Last year we had paddle boarding dogs which everyone loved! During these shoots everyone will be split up into small groups to work with different dogs, rotating instructors each shoot.

There will also be the chance for some hands on studio shooting in the house with Ruckus.

🟢 Will there be dog models?

Absolutely, we will have a variety of dogs at each shoot. Big dogs, small dogs, families with multiple dogs. You will definitely get your dog fix!

🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢

Any other questions feel free to ask.

07/12/2024

Ok lets try and do this without embarrassing myself or Elke, by fan girling too much!

Elke aka Wieselblitz is joining us as our very special guest instructor for Woofventures in May 2025.

(And as Kristen's replacement going forward 😉 If I push this joke much further I may find that Woofventures 2026 is in Germany and Kristen and Elke have failed to invite me 👀)

I really felt that when we met in Vegas that Elke was a kindred spirit with her dog first approach to photography. She wasn't about to make a dog unhappy for the sake of an photo. Dog photography 101... being able to make a dog relax is when you get their personality.

I'm really honoured that she jumped at the chance to be a part of her first retreat with us.

And of course Elke's main goal while teaching next year will be to help the students bring the personality of the dogs to the forefront of their images. After all that goes to the very heart of what she does.

You might not realise it, as Elke is most well know for her studio work, but she loves nothing better than photograph dogs on location, and she is so excited to spend a week in the Scottish Highlands photographing dogs.

Oh and her English is better than mines, will be slightly embarrassing when she is better understood than me. But hey... Scottish, it's endearing.

Yeah so... Woofventures 2025 - 4th to 11th May - Scottish Cairngorms National Park.

✅ 3 instructors - Me, Kristen Murray and Elke Vogelsang
✅ 1 teenage hormonal golden retriever named Ruckus
✅ The best dog models in the world, it's a fact Joan said so this year
✅ A luxury Scottish Country House with 7 nights accommodation
✅ A private chef to make sure we are all well fed
✅ Studio and location education - hands on with both
✅ 4 location shoots in the Scottish Cairngorms... lochs, castles, mountains and ancient forests
✅Hands on studio time at the house
✅A week of making friendships that will last a life time
✅And lots more...
✅Oh and our hairy neighbours Hamish and Dougal the highland coos

It's going to be special!

Hit me up with any questions.

06/12/2024

Ruckus is now 40 weeks!

He will be joining us at Woofventures next year(heaven help us all), along with our special guest instructor... can you guess who yet?

04/12/2024

We have some pretty big Woofventures news dropping this weekend! I think we are going to have to find us some rescue Spanish Galgo...

Fury was one of our models this year, we always have the best models!

(Image from a private shoot, not the retreat - there was no snow in May).

30/11/2024

Lets hope this also puts an end to us seeing dogs with cropped ears!

Bill aims to strengthen animal welfare by closing legal loopholes around imports of dogs, cats and ferrets