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Ten Things About The Pack
Daily Ink
Stored in: Ten Things About ...
Posted On: December 09 2006
By: Brittney Bush
Photo © The Pack
I always look forward to my Ten Things interviews, but browsing through the photostream of Karen - aka The Pack - was most definitely a highlight of my week. Her famous photos of her famous dogs made me laugh out loud and compulsively send links to all my IM friends. Her many interests, her excellent writing skills, and her obvious love and respect for her dogs make her an inspiration, and I'm delighted help the world find out ten more things about her. I give you - The Pack!
The Utata Five
What is the camera and setup you use most often?
I only have one camera, it’s a Canon Powershot S2IS and so I don’t really have a “set-up” per se. I’m going to treat myself to a Nikon D200 for Christmas, and I’m still deciding what lens(es) I’ll be getting.
Describe your photographic style in one word.
Haphazard
If you could only leave one photograph on Flickr, which would it be?
Name another Utatan whose work you really admire.
Just one?! That’s a cruel request. How can a person sum up all the admiration diversity I receive from Utata in just one photographer? Astrocruzan inspired me to investigate this Utata thing, so I’ll give him the props he richly deserves on both the inspiration and admiration counts.
Your house is burning down. In the kitchen are an otter, a goose, and a cake. You only have time to save one of them. Which do you choose?
It’s probably the holiday goose in the oven that’s caused the fire. Because the otter has been otterly trained to follow me whenever I call, I of course grab the cake and run.
The Pack Five
You're famous for your photos of your dogs, Mercury and Tag. They look similar, but are two different dogs and presumably have two different personalities. How can the average flickr user tell them apart? What differentiates them from each other personality-wise?
This is a dangerous set of questions. Because my life is one which incorporates dogs as a life-style, I could go on and on about this subject. I will, with respect to Utatan politeness, keep this as short and sweet as I can. Mercury is larger, lighter in color, has a pointy nose and wears a red collar. Tag is a shrimp, has a darker coat with shiny silver highlights on the edges of his ears, and wears a blue collar. If you’re looking at an action shot, Mercury is usually chasing or looming over Tag. If you’re looking at a teeth-shot, and you see gums, it’s probably Tag.
As for personalities, they are completely, diametrically opposed. Mercury is keenly intelligent, conscientious, sensitive, and social. He carries the weight of the world’s worries on his shoulders. Tag is shallow, easy-going, happy-go-lucky and not the brightest bulb on the tree. However, Tag is a wonderful snuggler, and he’ll purr in a poor imitation of a cat if you scratch him in his favorite spots.
In your Utata article, The Nature Of Dog, you mention the damage that romping dogs can unintentionally do to cameras. Can you share any funny anecdotes about this?
Taking action shots of a pack of dogs quite often involves mud, water, sand, dust, cookie crumbs, tail smacks, paw thwacks, nose bonks and tongue slops liberally applied to both hardware and wetware. I’ve been stepped-on, head-butted, knocked over and smashed into more times than I can count. I’m ashamed to admit how many times I’ve had the camera crack into my nose as I shoot a wrestling close-up. Missed shots? Can I explain that I didn’t get that last one because my camera was dashed out of my hands when 50 pounds of speeding poodle propelled itself through my legs and through the dangling camera strap? It’s amazing that I’ve only buried one camera in my 18 months of shooting. I guess what most folks will find funny in all that, is that I keep doing it, and I do it with a huge smile on my face.
But enough about the dogs -- there's obviously a human behind the camera, taking the pictures. How do you amuse yourself when the canines are asleep? (Hopefully you are able to let sleeping dogs lie!)
Yes, as much fun as I have with the dogs I must regularly put my toys away and let them recharge. If we’re not at work (I have a career at a company that provides continuing education and consultation resources to veterinarians), then you can usually find me at the computer doing post-process or clicking around the internet, in the kitchen whipping up some new concoction, sprawled on the couch reading a book or puttering in the yard. Oh wait, if I’m in the yard the dogs aren’t sleeping. Actually, they rarely sleep through my kitchen experiments either as they take their jobs as taste-testers quite seriously. They do sleep when I sleep and there is a lot to be said about the joys of sleeping.
I've been looking through your "Mediterranean" set in order to write a question about it, and it's taken me ages because I keep getting lost in the beauty of the pictures. I used to live in the Mediterranean, and I really learned to appreciate the slow pace of life. Did you enjoy it, or did you find the differences hard to deal with? And isn't it cool that in Rome people can take their dogs everywhere?
I enjoyed my whirlwind tour, and hope that some day I’ll have an opportunity to return and savor the experiences I found most pleasurable: the afternoon siestas, the brilliant colors against the azure seas, and the captivating flavors of the cuisine. I was frequently amazed by the juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern, and how easily the people incorporated both into their lifestyles.
Rome boggles. I’m not sure this Northern California girl will ever come to grips with a city as complex as this one spread across its seven hills. Amazing takes on new meaning when you attempt to navigate those maze-like alleys and the piazzas like beads on a string. And yes, it is cool that people can take their dogs everywhere, and it’s a given they will be well mannered in public.
Most definitely, it’s Rat Pack.
3 comments on this Ink
On December 10, 2006, Truus said ...
I have met Karen a.k.a. The Pack on Flickr, and consider her my friend. I was pleasantly surprised to find these '10 questions', and I am even further surprised to learn that her answers do not surprise me: this is Karen as I have gotten to know her! She is a warm and friendly person, and I am very lucky to have 'met' her.
On December 10, 2006, Linda Blakely said ...
What a delightful interview! I can only imagine what coming in contact with "50 pounds of speeding poodle" feels like.
On December 30, 2006, Katherine Cottingham said ...
What a treat to find this interview with Karen!
It was the infamous fun Tag & Merc action shots that first drew me to Karen's flickr photostream, but over time I've realized the depth & brilliance of this charismatic remarkable woman. She seems to be as serious as she is fun loving -- always pushing herself forward, grabbing the brass rings along the way; always kind & considerate; supportive & always willing to answer any call for help; cheerful & uplifting; she makes time to smell the roses. Karen is a wonderful human being. Tag & Merury are two very fortunate poodles!
Otherwise, in Ten Things About ...:
- Previously: Ten Things About Tamelyn
- Next: Ten Things About Deadeyebart
Utata Ink is a daily publication edited by Bryan Partington (striatic). Photos used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and obtained via the flickr API unless otherwise noted. To make a contribution to Ink, please visit Ink Me.
