Once again we spent four days in May photographing the Zia Classic Arabian Horse Show at the NM Expo Horse Complex.  This is one of our favorite events and we look forward to it every year!

For inquiries regarding equine family portrait sessions, or to view the entire horse show, please contact DeAnna Dimmitt at 505.730.8576 or email info@dryheatphotography.com .

I would like to thank Dr. Walker from the Albuquerque Cat Clinic for once again rescuing Pumpkin Head from the brink of disaster.  As most of my friends and family are aware Pumpkin Head fell ill at the end of the last week and, of course, that means the whole rest of the world grinds to a halt.  Unfortunately, it all happened in the middle of the night, and on a weekend, so we spent most of the weekend at the Emergency  Clinic.  To their credit they were able to  prevent her from becoming massively dehydrated but the vomiting, that ultimately caused the problem in the first place, continued.  First thing Monday morning we were in Dr. Walker’s office and shortly there after the vomiting stopped and eating and digesting resumed. (Happy Dance )  Pumpkin Head is getting up there in years and seems to have a knack for developing abnormal problems that require the expertise of a specialist.    Take it from me, if your cat is in need of medical attention, you can save yourself a lot of money, wasted time, and heart ache by just making the Albuquerque Cat Clinic your first call.  505.323.1460

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

One of the passions that Rick and I share, besides the obvious; photography, is hiking.  We both love the outdoors and have a secret hankering for hiking accessories.  Yes, that’s right, we love to collect packs, boots, socks, hats, shirts with zipper vents, and anything that has to do hiking many miles through the desert or mountains.  As a result we are very well equipped for our outdoor excursions although this has not always been the case.  In our quest to hike to the Shrine Of The Stone Lions at Bandelier we have had two previous failed attemtps.  On the first attempt we ran out of water being approx 6 miles from the car.  It was sweltering hot and that death march through the high mountain desert was no fun! On the 2nd attempt our GPS crapped out and we got lost.  It had actually died right before we left so we bought a new one on the way out of town.  Unfortunately there was not enough time to load all the Bandelier maps into it so other than providing a way point, latitude and longitude, it was not really very helpful.  We took a wrong fork in the trail and by the time we figured it out we had gone 2 miles in the wrong direction.  All in all this little mistake set us back nearly an hour.  By the time we got to the approximate location of the lions we had 2 hours to hike 7 miles back to the car before the sun went down.  Although we knew we were super close to the lions we could not afford to lose any more daylight and had to turn back without actually finding them.  That hike ended up being 18.5 miles.  Well finally, on May 31, 2009, and with my cousin Matt in attendance, we made a third attempt at the lions and this time we found them!

Rick and I both have lots of photos from this adventure.  In the interest of saving time I am providing links to these albums on facebook

To view my photos click here

To view Rick’s photos click here

*important* once you click the link to view the photos click the title of the album not the thumbnail of the image to view the album.  If you click the thumbnail facebook will want you to sign in or join.

This blog entry is a little late but, you know, better late than never right?  These photos were taken during our drive back from Las Vegas in February.

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

scenic Lake Mead

suspension bridge over Hoover Dam

Looking down from Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam chipmunks.  I had no idea that hundreds of chipmunks inhabit Hoover Dam.  They hang out in this driveway where the staff parks and people feed them.  I wished I had brought my real camera out of the car because the mini-cam focuses so slow that it is practically impossible to get any sharp photos of a high octane chipmunk.  While most of my shots were of the sidewalk after the chipmunk was long gone, I did get a couple of lucky shots.

2 Guns, Arizona

Yep, there it is

Rick at the bunny rodeo

The smart parked side by side with a Prius for length comparison

“Root” 66

In Memory of Raven

April 5, 1995 to April 12, 2009

Rick and I only met Raven a couple of times and even in these brief encounters he touched our lives.  To know Raven is to know that he was an exceptional being who was able to bridge the chasm between man and wolf and rebuild the relationship between the two.  Raven lived most of his life as the chief Ambassador Wolf at the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary.  His best friend was Leyton Cougar and the two of them worked side by side for many years to improve public education about wolves.  Raven passed away this morning in Leyton’s arms. He was 14 years old. This is nearly double the average life span of a wild wolf and, while it is very sad for all of us who will miss him, we must take heart in the fact that Raven completed the work he came here to do and his spirit is now uninhibited as it was always meant to be.  Run free dear friend, we will miss you.

Most sincerely,

-DeAnna Dimmitt and Rick Meiers

Dry Heat Photography

Our last images of Leyton and Raven together.  March 5, 2009

A couple weeks ago, on March 5th, Rick and I made another trip out to Candy Kitchen to visit our friends at the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary.  As always, Executive Director Leyton Cougar, escorts us around on our photo tour.  There is something really magical about visiting this place.  The animals are exceptionally well cared for and it’s clear that they all LOVE Leyton. This is our third trip out to photograph the wolves and it gets better every time.  I really never expected to actually interact with a wolf, much less to be licked in the face.  Wolves are sensitive and intelligent and, though they do exhibit some dog-like behavior, it is very obvious when you make eye contact with a wolf that it is certainly not a dog! The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary is a non-profit organization that operates entirely on donations.  The sanctuary serves two purposes; to care for wolves and wolf-dogs that have been rescued from various situations and cannot live in the wild, and to educate the public that wolves must never be kept as pets. Let me put that a different way – wolves make very terrible pets.  A good deal of the animals at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary were rescued from people who tried, unsuccessfully, to keep them as pets.

To Leyton and everyone at the sanctuary, Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us and for helping us to get these awesome photographs!

-DeAnna Dimmitt and Rick Meiers

Dry Heat Photography

One of the newest residents at the sanctuary is Romeo the Red Fox.  Romeo came from a zoo that was down sizing and when Leyton saw him he just had to do something so he and the crew built Romeo his very own, extra special, fox enclosure.  Romeo is incredibly friendly.  He is very cat-like in the way that he moves and he loves to play.  I also did not realize that foxes have a scent gland similar to, though considerably less potent than, a skunk.  When they get excited the air gets fragrant!  Romeo is the most awesome little creature.  I love him!

This is Brutus

Brutus has a very noticeable and endearing snaggle-tooth

Rick and Lucian

Raven

Leyton and Raven have a very special wolf/human bond.  It’s touching to see them together.

Raven came to the sanctuary in 1997.  For nine years he was the public face of the sanctuary, making numerous public appearances with Leyton to educate the public about wolf conservation and, again, about not keeping wolves as pets.  Raven is now retired and continues to live peacefully with his mate, Cheyenne, at the sanctuary. To learn more about Raven click here.

This is Dakota.

This is Sugar

Sugar is a little cross-eyed

This is Teton

Yesterday Atsuko  (Introducing Atsuko and Conrad) came to pick up her Engagement Guest Book and very thoughtfully brought me flowers too.  Now in all fairness what she brought me were not flowers yet – they were stems with buds.  I put them out in a vase and figured it would be a couple days before anything happened.  When Rick and I got in this morning I was totally surprised that the stems with buds had burst into a full boquet of the prettiest yellow Daffodils.  What a great way to start the day!  Thank you!

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

We have a saying at Dry Heat Photography. It goes like this “Dreams are only as cool as they are real”. What we mean by that is that sitting around saying “yeah, that would be cool”, about any given idea, really doesn’t mean anything unless you actually do it. The Crow Session is something that has been talked about and envisioned and on Wednesday, March 4th, became a reality when Kristin Madden from Hawks Aloft was kind enough to bring their educational crow, Indigo, to our studio for our first ever crow session.  The idea doesn’t stop here! We have developed the crow session into a theme for an art show to benefit Hawks Aloft.  The opening reception is October 13 and will feature not only these images but also fine works of “crow” or “raven” art from many of our gallery artists. In addition, representatives from Hawks Aloft together with Indigo the Crow will be on hand to answer questions and speak to the public regarding conservation and avian research.

It is important to note that, although Indigo is quite friendly, crows are wild animals and are never intended to be kept as pets! Indigo was rescued by Hawks Aloft from some people who picked her up off the ground as a chick and then proceeded to raise her in a parakeet cage. Obviously these folks were well intentioned in their actions but crows have specific dietary needs that they were unaware of and the last place a crow should ever be is in a parakeet cage. Indigo was not happy or healthy when she was turned over to Hawks Aloft and because of her domestication she can never be released into the wild.

Should you find yourself rescuing a wild bird please contact Hawks Aloft immediately!

-DeAnna Dimmitt and Rick Meiers

Dry Heat Photography

These shots are also from Day 2 of the road trip to Vegas.  Second stop on the Route 66 tour: Seligman, Arizona.  To view the complete Mother Road collection click here.

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

Here are some of my shots of Day 2 of the road trip to Vegas.  First up on the Route 66 tour; Ashfork, Arizona… what’s left of it anyway.  To view the complete Dry Heat collection of images from The Mother Road click here.

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography