Black and white in the water

On Saturday the Festival PhotoMenton opens its doors to 110 photographers. This year my theme is 'dogs' and here's one of the photos I'll be exhibiting.  If any of you are living near to Menton, do come along. You'll see so many varied and wonderful styles of photography from so many talented photographers. 

See www.photomenton.com for more info.

This is Joe, the cocker spaniel, along with his co-owner, Emmanuelle. We saw him in a beautiful old car, a 1968 Renault 4L in a recent post.   This was taken at the Coulée Verte in Nice.  Of course Emma is the perfect model and, indeed, she ruined a pair of tights to make these photos.  Thank you, dear Emma! xxx

Haston and Larry

Meet Haston and Larry, two English bulldogs who live in Menton. Bulldogs are such fun and have the most beautiful temperaments and of course are such clowns. Look at the expression on the faces of these two! 

Thanks so much to my friend Sylvie who arranged for me to meet these two and their lovely owner Celine in the Parc de Pian in Menton. 

Lena

This gorgeous dog is in fact a 7-month old  puppy.  She's called Lena and is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog.  She lives in Gorbio which is where I met her at the recent Fete de la Branda. Isn't she fabulous!

Emmanuelle and Joe

Turn right! Turn right! 'Joe, you are not looking in the right direction ...

Meet my beautiful friend, Emmanuelle and Joe, the cocker spaniel.  Joe is 4 years old and lives in Nice with Emma and Guillaume.

In the smaller photo you see Patrick, owner of this stunning 1968 Renault 4L.

My birthday was last Monday but yesterday these precious friends and Sylvie organised a surprise second birthday celebration! How lucky am I? Five of us plus Joe in this car, whizzing around Nice, an enormous bouquet of flowers and of course all our camera gear.  And a great lunch in the Old Town of Nice.  I thought we were all back in 1968!

Thanks so much everyone! I loved, loved, loved the day.

Kiwi

There's something about puppy Jack Russell terriers - that are just too cute.  On reflection, aren't all puppies cute!

Meet 10 month old Kiwi who lives in Menton. 

Ulysse

Meet Ulysse, a beautiful Shetland Sheepdog I met in Gorbio village last Sunday.  He's 11 years old and lives in Carnoles.

Agility Dogs

This beautiful border collie is waiting to compete in the agility competition in Menton.  Alongside, in the cage, is his companion - looks a bit squashed but probably OK when she lies down.

I wonder if either of them won.  Border collies are usually the best breed at agility.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Today is 'International Talk like a Pirate Day' - who knew!  So I give you this tiny 'Pirate' who I'm sure can 'woof' in an 'Ahoy matey' sort of way!

In fact, this little sweetheart is called Shelley and is only 9 months old. She lives in Menton but I met her at the Sospel Agricultural Show last Sunday.

Harry, the French Bulldog

French bulldogs have to be one of the most adorable breeds.  Meet Harry, who is 9 months old and lives in Monaco.

Sasha at the Blessing of the Animals

Sasha is a beautiful Irish Setter who I met in Gorbio village.  He had been brought to village by his owners for the Blessing of the Animals.

Sasha is four and a half years old and lives in Menton.

The pup with the cropped ears

This pup lives in the Old Town of Bari in Puglia, Italy.  He would appear to have cropped ears, which I thought was illegal in Europe?

The last photo you see the little boy who owns him.

The Grottaglie Dog

This dog was lolling around outside a bar in the Italian village of Grottaglie in Puglia.  It's a village famous for its ceramics and when I was lucky enough recently to participate in Carla Coulson's fabulous Caravan Travel Photography Workshop, this is one of the villages we visited. We photographed inside 4 different ceramics factories that day - of course they are all very small - a fascinating day - as were all the days on Carla's workshop.

This dog is probably old and perhaps not very well. Perhaps a stray who hangs around outside this bar.

Ipso, American Bulldog

This lovely dog is called Ipso.  He's an eleven month old American Bulldog who lives in Gorbio with his friend Gunja.  We met Gunja before so click on the link to see him. Gunja is taking a nap behind Ipso in the bar in the village.

Catalan Sheepdog

This is a Catalan Sheepdog I met in Cours Saleya in Nice.   The breed came originally from the north of Spain. Note the pigmentation on his tongue.

On patrol

This lovely dog patrols the land around the old mill in Gorbio. I don't know her name.  She looks to be a setter perhaps or mix between a Brittany Spaniel and a setter?

A Handful of Dog

Don't you love the gorilla t-shirt on this macho guy and then how delicately he holds his little dog in one hand?  We met in Ventimiglia.  I reckon the dog is the tough one tho!

Susan and Gus

My fabulous photographer friend, Susan Papazian from Sydney got a lot of love from Gus, the Newfie Landseer when she visited Gorbio village yesterday.

The Shy Rough Collie

This beautiful Rough Collie was sitting under her owner's chair in the bar/restaurant Cosmo (very good!) in Villefranche-Sur-Mer.  I took a couple of snaps but when we tried taking a 'proper' photo, she didn't want to know - really she was scared of the camera. 

Isn't she just lovely though? Seems to me you don't often see a Collie these days. She lives in Monte Carlo.

I did write her name down but can't find it. So sorry. And come to think of it perhaps she is a he?

Lilou

This is Lilou, the dog who lives at the Equestrian Centre, 'Les Marquises' which is just below the village of Gorbio. Isn't she a lovely old dog?

Bouchette and the Red Stilettos

Today's photo of Bouchette (from the Restaurant Beausejour in Gorbio) was taken by my friend, Lisa Luscombe.  Lisa loves to photograph her red stilettos wherever she goes.  I wonder if Bouchette is dreaming of them ...

A dog in Bari

Not a French Riviera dog but one in the south of Italy.   This is a German Shepherd I met in Bari, in Puglia whilst on Carla Coulson's amazing Caravan Travel Photo Workshop. Beautiful everything in Puglia - dogs, ambiance, scenery, architecture, beauty, food, people - loved it!

The beauty of an Irish Setter

What a beauty.  I don't know his or her name but we met at the Monaco Dog Show.

Xtase - Milou

The doggy love-of-my-life was an American cocker spaniel called Milou.  Of course, I loved all my wonderful Old English Sheepdogs, and all the rescue dogs since, but Milou shared my early years in France and we grew so close. I've never forgotten him. He lies under a rose bush in my garden with his ball near the roots.

This is Xtase, a girl, and bred by the same breeder as Milou - Laurent Pichard in Switzerland. She could be Milou - or at least his sister.The snood (I think it's called) is to protect her long ear before going into the showring at the Monaco Dog Show.

Malenka - the Russian Toy Terrier dog

This is a Russkiy toy terrier or Russian toy terrier at the Monaco Dog Show. She's nine and a half month and is called Malenka. 

Salukis - Peas in a Pod

Peas in a pod - two beautiful Salukis at the Monaco Dog Show.  Same expression, same stance, same piercing eyes.

Dachshunds

There were about five dachshunds in this pram at the Monaco dog show. Here are three!

Aston the Hanoverian Hound

This beautiful dog is a Hanoverian Hound (Hannoverscher Schweißhund) - a rare hound from Germany.

It is a hunting and tracking dog descended from bloodhounds of medieval times. It was first introduced into France in the 1980s and is still a very rare breed.

He's called Aston and he's only five months old. I met Aston and his father (see smaller photo) at the Monaco Dog Show.  As you can see in the other photo he's got fairly short legs. Too adorable but then I've a soft spot for hounds, especially a relation of the blood hound.