how sweet is this?

cameragirl21 wrote: so yesterday, i took two little models to pose with a tiger cub, or so we had planned. not to make a long story long, but to give you some background, it was a boy and a girl. the girl, Daniela, has been modeling for me since she was 2...she just turned 5 and the boy is new, i wanted to test him because i plan on posing him with a bull with horns and everything and some of you farm/ranch people know that a bull is an animal to be reckoned with and i had to be sure the boy was up to it so i figured a tiger was a good test.
Daniela had already posed with a tiger before, she's one of my best models--always cooperative, never afraid, never talks back, no problems, ever. in fact, if you look thru my slideshow, she's the one kissing a bunny for last Easter. anyway, Daniela has posed with tigers, bunnies, lizards (big, scaly lizards with blue tongues), deer, horses, etc and has never been afraid...i wasn't sure how the boy would do, his name is Jordan btw.
anyway, because it's been chilly here, the animal owner said that it would be dangerous to use the tiger because the cold would make him kind of rambunctious (don't ask why, i have no idea and didn't think to ask) but she had a baby bobcat and suggested we use that instead. fine, a bobcat is smaller and safer than a tiger, not to mention i've never worked with one before so i was cool with it.
anyway, when we planned this, last week, it was warm out so i asked Daniela's mom to dress her in a sundress, so in spite of the chill, she showed up in a sundress and she was cold. Jordan was wearing jeans and a sweater.
Daniela went first, because she's always been reliable but she whined the whole time that it wasn't a tiger, that she wanted the tiger nothing anyone could do about that.
so i got some cute shots of Daniela and then it was Jordan's turn. he loved it, was all over that bobcat, chasing it around, picking it up, sticking his face in its face, etc, i think he's ok for the bull, lol.
anyway, when i wanted Daniela to get back into the picture, she didn't want to do it, which is really unlike her, she usually does whatever she's told, no questions asked. i knew she wasn't scared, otherwise i'd not want her in the pic, she'd held and played with the bobcat earlier and to be fair, it was totally harmless, it's a baby and declawed. so her mom always bribes her with food, i've noticed that over the years. Daniela is of normal weight but i don't like bribing the kids with food because i worry that it can cause eating disorders, especially in the modeling world.
anyway, like i said, i knew she wasn't scared, she said she wasn't scared, she was just pouting and being a brat so i promised her chocolate if she'd do it. she went right for it, suddenly she really wanted that bobcat.
the problem was, i had no chocolate, i told her i'd come to her house and bring her chocolate.
anyway, as we were leaving, Jordan and his older brother who was there but didn't get photographed got into their car and Daniela and her family were getting into theirs. meanwhile, i was talking to Jordan's mother, trying to make arrangements for his next pics and all of a sudden, he gets out of the car and yells, "Daniela!"
he'd found a miniature Three Musketeers in the car and gave it to her. And lol, his brother said, "Jordan, you should have given it to me."
i thought it was so sweet, i couldn't believe he just gave it to her...when i offered her chocolate he wanted some too and instead he gave her his chocolate.
i turned to his mom and said, "oh, how sweet, just wait till he gets a gf, he'll be the best bf... " and she was like, "please, Jennifer, no need to rush things..."
just wanted to add--this boy is so unbelievably beautiful that i told him that when he's of age his mom will need to keep a baseball bat by the door...i know that usually goes for the girls but this boy is just amazing. lol, his mom told me that there's a girl in his class that wants to marry him and 2 sets of twins that are fighting over him, lol, they start young, he just turned six and is in kindergarten....

C&K*s Mommie replied: that was so sweet of him to do that.

TANNER'S MOM replied: Why would you put a little boy with a bull to be reckoned with? I mean I have been around farm animals all my life and right now I have a bull in my pasture I won't even let my kids go into. I have seen TAMED, DOMESTICATED bulls, longhorns etc.. but not your everyday bulls. And the bull probably weighs a lot more than a bobcat..

My kids ride the things and are used to it.. but a green horn in that way would get hurt easy.

Just wondering why?

grapfruit replied: How cute!

And Jennifer, I have to say, I just sat there and watched your entire slideshow and I have to say, you're pictures are absolutly breathtaking. You capture something in your subjects that just shines through...Beautiful...

cameragirl21 replied:
thanks, Grapfruit (sorry, don't know your name) that's very sweet of you and i'm glad you like them.
and Mel--it's for a commercial project i'm doing. the bull is tamed and used to being around children. if it were even a little dangerous, i wouldn't do it but i won't do it with a child who's even a little scared, the animal can sense if a child is scared.
i don't think this boy is afraid of much of anything....

moped replied: Very cute story.......

Does it ever scare you to put children in with wild animals? I mean if you asked me to put Jack in with a bobcat or a bull or whatever - I would think you had orcks in your head.

Are you insured incase something should happen to these children?

cameragirl21 replied: Jen, these animals aren't wild, they're tame and i have a whole team of experts and animal handlers on hand when i do it. there's no danger, outside the normal realm of the fact that anything in life is dangerous...i've never had a kid get so much as a scratch. if you look thru my slideshow, you'll see a pic of twins with a tiger and a little blonde with a puma, you'll notice the kids don't look scared and the animals are calm and easily controlled, there is always an expert or two just one inch outside the picture.
i would never do anything to endanger any of my models, be they children or adults and yes, i am insured but that is beside the point, i'd still not do anything dangerous, no amount of money can make up for a person.
to answer your question about me being scared--the only time i can honestly say i was scared was when i posed a little girl with a scorpion...she loved it and it was crawling all over her and i needed her to look at me and she kept looking at the scorpion which made the shoot take longer than i would have liked. also, she was in a fountain and i was worried that the scorpion would fall in and we'd have to fish it out, which would make for an angry scorpion that would be very hard to work with. the girl loved it but i honestly don't think i breathed throughout the entire shoot.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Jennifer, if ever I go to Miami, will you take pictures of my family? With a tiger cub or two?

cameragirl21 replied:
i would be glad to take pics of your adorable children, Rocky.
idk about the cubs though, the kids are generally trained to do that.
lol, from what you're telling me though, it seems that your kids are so well behaved that there probably wouldn't be anything to worry about....

punkeemunkee'smom replied: I love bobcats! They look so wise-even the kittens I don't know if it is the way their fur is colored or the shape of their faces. They are so interesting looking! Can you share the pics? I would love to show Tay what one looks like up close and she would love to see one playing with a child....we had an imaginary one around here for the longest time!

cameragirl21 replied: sure, Abbie, i'll be glad to post pics.
here's Daniela with the bobcat....

cameragirl21 replied: and here's Jordan with the bobcat....

cameragirl21 replied: and here's Jordan carrying the bobcat around like it's a toy ....

cameragirl21 replied: and here's a shot of the two of them with the cat, lol, check out the way Jordan is looking at her....

Calimama replied: Wow how sweet! Those children are GORGEOUS.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Oh those children are beautiful! That is not a bobcat kitten!(I was picturing a baby) he looks well fed though!

sparkys2boys replied: that is very sweet!!!! What nice kids!

cameragirl21 replied:
actually, Abbie, that is a baby...i think it's about 5 months or so...the owner said it will get to be anywhere from 40-50 pounds....

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Oh no I knew he was a young one but I was thinking a baby as in weeks old-I know a girl who raised one for awhile until he got too big to handle...Taylor liked the pictures-she said WOW where did they find a nice one?

cameragirl21 replied:
yeah, it's not like a nursing kitten, if that's what you meant.
LOL, glad Taylor likes the pics, it was a very nice bobcat, especially considering it tolerated Jordan grabbing it and chasing it and dragging it around.
it was so sweet that i'm tempted to get one, lol, tempted is the key word, though, i doubt it will ever happen....
i'm afraid to ask but what did your friend do with that bobcat when it got too big to handle?

CantWait replied: That bobcat's got some personality LOL,

The first one looks as if he's smiling, then there's one where he's like, wtf are you doing to me.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:

Why afraid to ask? Because I am a meat eater so therefore something horrible happened to him? She took him to the wildlife rescue center...As a matter of fact the only reason she had him was because their den had been disturbed by a gas station going up and she knew the guy running the dozer that rescued him and his 2 sisters...I guess he was lucky I have never heard that bobcats make good eating....

cameragirl21 replied:
Abbie, i never implied that you or anyone ate him.
it's just that i often hear horror stories about people just releasing them into the wild when they've been hand raised and they don't know how to hunt so they either starve to death or they become a trophy for a hunter because they have no fear of people after being hand raised.
it had nothing to do with you, i would have been afraid to ask of anyone because it's a common misconception among people that these animals naturally know how to hunt...it takes the mother at least a year or more to teach her cubs how to do that.
it was not meant to be anything against you at all.

PrairieMom replied:

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Just jesting Jennifer!




Actually his natural ability and instinct to hunt was exactly what drove her to have to take him in...He killed a few chickens that belonged to neighbors,that led to her small dog and he had even begun almost stalking her and his pounces had become more aggressive and less playful The one in your picture is adorable though

C&K*s Mommie replied: Those two children are adorable, Jennifer.



The bobcat is a cute one too.

MotherForever2043 replied: How Cute.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Thanks Jen, I'll be there next week.

(jk!)

holley79 replied: Aw that's sweet.

ETA: Those are great pictures. The one with both kids together Jordan is looking at Daniela, that's really sweet. It's like he's in love.

quinnandjacob'smom replied: Wow, your pictures are stunning! The animals are gorgeous and so are the kids