I was aimlessly scrolling through Facebook and stumbled upon a picture announcing auditions for the Magic Mutts calendar, and encouraging guys to come out and support the Norfolk SPCA. At that point, my thoughts didn’t go past “there are some really hard shadows in this picture, I would have moved him into the shade”, and moved on about my day. Fast forward a few days, and I had a friend contact me asking if I would take some pictures for him to submit to the judges with his application for the Magic Mutts calendar auditions… Hmm, I thought, there might be something to this!

I contacted Debra asking if they had already found a photographer for the project, and she said that they already had someone they were talking with, but would keep my information.

Bummer… oh well – I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

But then, a few weeks later, I got a call from Debrah saying that they were interviewing a few photographers and wanted to chat about what I could do for them (eeekkk!!!). After chatting with her and Jill from the SPCA, and going back and forth a few times, they decided that I was the best person for the job and brought me on as the official photographer for the 2017 Magic Mutts calendar!!! 🙂

Magic Mutts Calendar – Meet the Men of Magic Mutts

I have to say, that working with everyone on this project was absolutely AMAZING! It was wonderful getting to meet so many kind and compassionate guys, as well as all the amazing talent we had going on behind the scenes. Because let’s face it, the sexy guys who are holding the animals are what’s going to sell the calendar. But there would not have been a calendar without the awesome behind the scenes crew making it happen. Everyone from the animal handlers at the different shoots, hair and makeup (by the lovely Monalisa with Edward Johnson Salon), organizers like Debra, Jill and Ron who did everything from make sure everyone stayed hydrated to choosing photo shoot locations, Kris Crowley from News Channel 3 who promoted the crap out of it on social media, and even the photographer who captures everyone at their best!

Meet the Cover Model – Pete

Pete got this sweet gig by being awesome (duh!), but also because he sold the most calendars out of all the guys. Thus far he has sold 364 calendars and raised a total of $20,300 0 which all goes to the Norfolk SPCA and helping the animals…. not too shabby and he definitely deserves bragging rights! Way to go Pete!!!

Now get a chance to meet the rest of the men:

January – Chad

I love how they always seemed to give the biggest guys the tiniest little kittens, it was so adorable! Here we have Chad posing with Rick and Morty.

February – Dr Todd

Dr Todd (that’s right, not only is he a handsome dude, he is also a Dr who can save your life!) got to hang out with Bailey at the marina.

March – Oshea

You would never know it from these pictures, but Oshea is actually allergic to cats, but he’s so committed to helping save the animals, he’s seen posing here with Lexi!

April – John

By the time this photo shoot was finished, we ALL wanted to go home with Homer (aka CeeLo), this adorable puppy looking for his forever home… oh yeah, and John isn’t too hard on the eyes either 😉

May – J.T.

J.T. wasn’t able to make it to the group shoot, but that didn’t stop him from rocking out a great solo session, and even though the adorable kitten he was holding wanted NOTHING to do with the session, he worked through it like a champ!

June – Brian

Brian, also known as Superman, has been a tireless supporter of the SPCA, and here he’s hanging out with Zoe and encouraging people to adopt from their local shelters!

July – Brett

The day we did these pictures it was SOOOOO hot… and I’m not just talking about the men! I knew Brett was warm, but he was a trooper and loved on this cat named Frisbee during the shoot.

August – Carlo

Summertime here on the East Coast always means lots of beach time, so it was awesome that Carlo and Jingle got to hang out and play together on the sand!

September – Darius

If you ask Darius, it’s going to be September all year, and who can blame him, have you seen that adorable little puppy Sandee that he’s holding?!

October – Adam & Christian

This month we get a bo-go special, with Adam and Christian posing with Lula, an adorable dog looking for her forever home because all she wants to do is love you!

November – Korey

Korey thought outside of the box and brought his motorcycle for the session, so I knew right away that we had to get a picture of him and Homer in front of this old building!

December – Nick

As a professional dog handler and trainer for the Navy, Nick was a natural when it came to posing with Jones. And then of course we had to get a shot of him with a tiny little kitten – so cute (and manly) 😉

January 2018 – Shane

Shane was literally the first one in front of my camera for this calendar, and he totally knocked it out of the park with Rainey!

Matt and Quinn

We couldn’t finish out the year without our handsome Navy pilot posing with Quinn on the beach, I love how everything popped against the sand!

Pete, Chad, Todd, Oshea, John, J.T., Brian, Brett, Carlo, Darius, Adam, Christian, Korey, Nick, Shane and Matt thank you SO MUCH for being the amazing men that you are! It was wonderful to get to laugh with y’all during the sessions! I’d call it work, but with as much fun as we had, I don’t think it’s fair to call it “work”. I am so happy we were able to cross paths and share a little in each other’s journey’s while getting to work for such an amazing organization and raise money for puppies and kitties!

Debra, Jill and Rob, thank you for trusting me to photograph the calendar! It was such a great experience and I can’t wait to do it all over again next year for the 2018 Magic Mutts calendar!

Want your own Magic Mutts Calendar?!

Click on { This Link } which takes you to the Norfolk SPCA website and you’ll be able to purchase your own copy. Not only are you supporting a great cause so that the shelter can take care of animals with nowhere else to go, but there are many more awesome photos of the guys and animals!

You can see here that I got my copy at the debut party in Norfolk, and even got all the guys to sign it!