I hope by now that you've all had the chance to explore my latest whimsical series, Dogs at the Parker. After my other Parker series became such fan favorites, I was beyond thrilled to bring to life this beloved series, but this time with adorable furry hotel guests enjoying the stunning vacation amenities Parker Palm Springs offers! It was so fun watching it all come to life - and I can't help but smile each time I look at these images! If you are dreaming of a Parker escape, enter for a chance to win a weekend getaway at the Parker, brunch at Norma's for two, a medium framed print from this new series, and a personalized signed book from me here!
I shot this series with my team last March, when the weather in the desert is truly at its prime temperature, not too hot and not too cold - I highly recommend visiting Palm Springs in March or April if you can! Palm Springs is truly such a perfect getaway - if you want to visit my favorite places to sip, stay and play, be sure to check out my Palm Springs City Guide here.
Piggybacking off my original Paker shoots, I wanted to bring to life a playful experience at this iconic hotel, but this time instead of elephants and camels, I captured some furry hotel guests! The Parker entrance is so stunning, and truly evokes the start of a mid century modern dreamy escape. We sourced three adorable vintage cars and pulled them up in front of the hotel as if the dogs were about to check in for their getaway andup the sun.
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We didn't need to source as many vintage props as we typically do for shoots as the Parker and the dogs were really the main story tellers for this series around the grounds. But we did bring scarfs, several sunglasses for the dogs, vintage tennis rackets, pool floaties, and more. We had over 20 dogs, so you can only imagine what a sight it was to see: from marching around the grounds with our hands full, to actually getting in the pool floating with the dogs on floaties, there were lots of laughs and wagging tails throughout the day!
This adorable scene was shot at the Parkers iconic restaurant Normas - for anyone who has ever visited Palm Springs before, you probably know that bruncing at Norma's is a must on the patio - just like these sweet pups. For the shoot, the chefs at Norma's were so awesome, and created a delicious spread of popular items on the menu for these well trained pups to pose with; the team devoured everything once the scene was wrapped.
This adorable Afgan was so fun to shoot – it was so sweet because this breed is actually known for being aloof, and actually fell into the pool during a pool scene shot, and with all that hair, you can only imagine how long it took to blowdry!
There were two funny moments that took place while capturing this playful shot, Afternoon Croquet, Parker Palm Springs. The adorable dachshund that is up on the bar cart being pushed by the poodle, was posing on the cart with the croquet mallet leaning against it, and right on cue he actually balanced his paw by placing it up on the mallet as if he were playing the game! Additionally, the Golden Retriever was the only dog who could fit the croquet ball in his mouth - so he proudly walked around holding on to it.
The dogs were so well behaved and an absolute joy to work with. If you enjoyed this series, be sure to check out my other Dog series: Dogs of Aspen, Dogs of New York City and Dogs at The Beverly Hills Hotel as well. All the dogs were so sweet and friendly - I was thrilled with the variety of poses and looks they were able to offer, and I'm so happy with how whimsical this series turned out.
I love getting to share these behind-the-scenes moments with you all after each of my series releases. Since I can't bring all of you on set with me, this is the next best thing! It also gives me the chance to look back on my process and reflect on the memories. Do you have a favorite image from the series? You can explore all of the Dogs of the Parker here.
Cheers!
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