Nutty Nunzi Tall Tail Tales
The nutty adventures and thoughts of an very odd and overly friendly dog named Nutty Nunzi and the human who hears him
Nutty Nunzi: It’s A Wonderful Life
Big Ocean Of Furry Fun | Our First Day Together | Nutty Nunzi: It’s A Wonderful Life | Nutty Nunzi: A Silent–Yet Annoying Alarm | Fitting Into Fitness Class | Dumb Diggin Contest | Nutty Nunzi Diggin Drive | Me & My Furry Shadow
A Big Ocean Of Furry Fun
Here’s my furry friend Nutty Nunzi doing one of his most favorite things to do–romping and swimming in the awesome ocean. And watching him splash and dash is one of my most favorite things to watch. Such pure joy in his great big ocean of furry fun. Arf. Nuf said.
Our First Day Together
(click link to view Instagram reel)
Here’s Nutty Nunzi on his first day at our beach. “OMG! OMG! OMG!” That’s what my brand new puppy was thinking as I hoisted up his trembling body. He was just 8 weeks old and this was his first time gazing upon the big deep blue sea. OMG!–what the hell is that giant wet crashing bashing monster thing?!” The pup was super duper scared and…
Nutty Nunzi: It’s A Wonderful Life
So Nutty Nunzi has no time to spare this morning. He’s already heard a bout of complaining from his human. Whining about foolishness like needing coffee and breakfast, and it’s time to go and so on.
Now although Nunz already managed to get in about ten minutes of quality time to feed his digging addiction. Sculpting a pretty impressive and deep doggy den—he desires more as we’re heading home. What could that be?
One could guess. Yep, me. I could guess, as he wheels around. And his nose starts doing a bunch of sniffing and snarfling noises. Yep my furry super snuggler desires some snuggling. Now he smiles. Gives me an excited arf!
Ah, hah! He’s picked up the distinct scent of children and hurries off in that direction. He soon reaches his destination. There’s four cute kids and two moms and he gets the usual greeting chorus of.. “oh how cute – awww – c’mere doggy – wanna pet him mom.”
Nunz gently lays down amongst his new adoring friends and enjoys a bunch of little hands happily caressing his soft fur. As I watch, I’m thinking–he has such a life!
And since this overly friendly goodwill ambassadog brightens and lifts spirits most every day—he deserves this life. This wonderful life.
And I feel lucky to be sharing and observing my dear friend, and being part of it all. For as long as it lasts. Hopefully, for a bunch more years. Because it’s been so damn wonderful.
Nutty Nunzi: A Silent–Yet Annoying Alarm
Times up! That’s what my Nutty Nunzi alarm is silently yelling at me. When I’ve been working at my computer too long, this beast slithers under the desk, and proceeds to wedge his head between my legs. Or atop an area of my lap and applies annoying downward pressure. And just stares daggers at me.
In this shot, I was straining to keep my knees locked together while he tried to pry them open with his snout. When I won that skirmish, Nunz’s next tactic was to put his head atop my kneecaps and legs, applying significant downward pressure while also trying to walk forward.
I held onto the desktop. He keeps pushing forward. I hold. He pushes.
But his damn strong leg muscles soon prevail and he was able to bulldoze my roller chair backwards. And as you can see, his head popped out from under the desk to facilitate full stink eye psychological pressure.
I know Nunz is thinking… “And I will remain in this position until you play with me. Or give me another treat. Or more belly rubs. Or take me out.”
Or anything else other than what you’re wasting your time doing right now!!!!
I wasn’t about to give in to this blackmail, this pressure. I got my pride. I am, after all, the superior human. Him, the lowly cur.
I successfully held my ground. He shall not win this time. Nope. I resisted that freckle face. I’m resolute! I’m strong!
For about 43 seconds. Then I grabbed his Wubba toy, tossed it and we proceeded to have the mother of all tugging battles. The silent annoying alarm quietly triumphs once again! Damn that lowly cur. I’ll win next time! Or the time after that. Or…
Fitting Into Fitness Class
We were romping along the shore and playing fetch when all of a sudden Nutty Nunzi stopped dead in his tracks. He spied a vision of delight ahead. OMG! A fitness class!!
And I know exactly what my furry friend is thinking… “A bunch of humans all in one small area! A bunch to exclaim how cute I am. And pet me and snuggle me, and maybe toss my ball, and etc.”
He quickly ran to the unsuspecting class. And, of course, like 96.3% of the time, his new “classmates” couldn’t resist the irresistible canine. As I caught up to him, I heard a chorus of stuff like… “such an adorable dog” – “c’mere, c’mere, I’ll pet you” – “wanna fetch”, and etc, etc. Such a dog’s life.
The funny thing is, as Nunz joined the fitness circle, he seemed to be obeying the instructor’s instructions to the tee! As you can see in this short clip, when the guy gave the order to “hold that plank” and everyone froze in position–the furry fitness student obeyed. Still as a statue.
Then when they were told to “pedal”–Nunzi starts doing a pedal digging thing too. Too funny. Yeah there were giggles and guffaws all around the circle as his antics transpired.
And indeed my nutty guy was fitting into fitness class just fine and doggy dandy. Like he belonged. Which I guess he kinda did.
Dumb Diggin Contest
So me and Nutty Nunzi were just strolling along the shore yesterday, minding our own business, when we spied this boy merrily playing and digging in the sand. Since Nunzi loves kids, he couldn’t resist making a new friend, and he pranced over, laid down beside the boy and dropped his ball in front of him.
Hoping to engage him to do a toss or two. As is pretty much always the case, Nunzi succeeded in charming the child. And the guy smiled at my eager, adorable dog and gladly tossed the ball. Nunz ran and returned the ball, and they had a few fun fetches together.
Then I told this fine youngster that I had noticed he was quite a skilled sand sculptor and digger. He proudly exclaimed he comes to the beach a lot was and expert at making sand castles and such. I mentioned that although Nunzi couldn’t sculpt anything, people often gather and marvel at his this dog’s digging abilities. They watch and laugh as Nunzi’s paws become a blur while he quickly excavates impressive large deep holes in the blink of an eye and a wag of the tail.
I claimed that this fine canine was probably the best digging dog in the whole wide world. The human looked the beast over. Assessing his supposed abilities. Then the kid scoffed and let out a sarcastic “hah”! Said he could dig way better than any dog. Especially this small dumb dog! OMG. The gauntlet was thrown. I looked at Nunz. He looked at me. I swear I could hear my mutt mutter a snicker. And I do believe I even spied a smirk.
What could I do? I couldn’t let “dumb dog” stand. Such an insult. And quite inaccurate to boot. I told the braggart that we should have a little contest to see who is indeed the bestest digger of sand. Lets just see who can dig the biggest hole after all. I said l would set my timer and then these two opponents would start churning away, and whoever had the biggest hole after one minute would be declared the true digging champion.
Ok, admittedly, I can get quite silly when I’m around little kids. Or dogs. But if you put them together–well I can reach new heights of silly–as you can see and hear in this clip. So both parties agreed and the contest commenced. After about 18 seconds of dig dig digging, the young lad glanced over at his opponent and his jaw dropped. Nunzi’s mighty paws were a blur. Clouds of sand were fiercely flying behind the pooch.
It was obvious what the outcome would be. But the lad bravely gave it his best throughout the tournament. When the minute was up, looking at the hole size comparison–it was obvious which hole was biggest.
But I didn’t have the heart to officially declare Nunzi the winner. Saying they both achieved great excavations and it was really too close to call. Though I did sneak a wink at my fine canine. And he nodded—knowing he emphatically won. And he winked back. Dogs rule!!!!!
Nutty Nunzi Diggin Drive
My dog Nunzi always digs a drive but this little jaunt was especially special because he got to act like a human and sit up front with me. Normally he’s in back, nestled in one of those hammock-like dog seat things which is a safer spot for him. But we had to put the back seat down and stuff it with stuff so he had the treat of riding shotgun for the five minute ride back home.
I especially like his classic Nunzi gleeful smile in this clip. The one that always can’t help but make me smile too. Roll on down the road little doggie, roll on!
Me And My Furry Shadow
“He’s your constant shadow.” – “Never see you around without him.” – “You guys glued together?” Those are the type of things that people sometimes say when I walk by with my Nutty Nunzi. My thinking is, that when you get blessed with having the friendliest and most outgoing dog in the world–it feels like a super sin to ever leave him behind.
Nunzi basically wants everyone he sees, when he’s out and about, to be his instant friend. And usually leaves a trail of smiles, and ooing and awwing in his wake. Every day he routinely goes up to complete strangers, and sits or lies down next to them and smiles and wags his stubby tail. As if to say, “hey wanna snuggle? – wanna pet me? – wanna be best friends?”
And the love fest invariably commences. And he’s so wonderfully well behaved and fun, how could I not want him as my shadow pal whenever and wherever possible? Now when I noticed the cool shadow images dancing on the ground as we strolled along the pier, I immediately got out my cam and started shooting.
Nunzi didn’t really know what the heck I was trying to do with this shadow play concept thing. But he did his best to interpret my hand gestures and odd movements. And since we were together, outside and having fun—he was happy to try to do his best to oblige his odd human, and attempt to figure out yet another one of my crazy creative notions I was trying to conjure up for us to do together.
This dog’s always game. And will always be my favorite furry shadow.
What I Do & Who I Am
I’m an award-winning portrait and event photographer and videographer with over 20 years experience. And I’ve been hired by the finest global brands and publications in the world, as well as many wonderful families and individuals.
For corporate and small business clients, I create captivating portraits and shoot events such as conferences, product & service launches, company parties, branding & pop-up events, and trade shows. I also shoot company facilities and on-site working images.
For my personal clientele, I shoot portraits and all kinds of events like adult and kids birthday parties, bridal & baby showers, anniversaries & reunions, baptism & bar/bat mitzvah, proms, quinceañeras, and school events.
Additional Information
Dependable High Quality
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have over 100 Five Star reviews! You can view and download them at my site here: https://GregoryMancuso.com/Reviews-Clients/ These reviews confirm I’m a highly reliable and consummate professional which is what’s needed, especially when shooting events, since they only happen once and can’t be re-shot.
Experience
I’ve been hired many times to shoot a wide range of events so I possess a wealth of experience and knowledge to anticipate and handle whatever challenges may arise. With my early background as a newspaper staff photographer, and later as an assignment magazine shooter for publications such as Time magazine, I have the ability to shoot with a candid photojournalistic style which is ideal for capturing an event’s singular spontaneous instants.
Social Media Influencer
I’m a paid influencer with an over 5.3 million viewing reach. Last year I was recruited by Meta (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp) and they were kind enough to start paying me for my photos, videos, and story posts. As we all know, online social media is critical to getting your messaging, services and products out to the public. So it only makes sense to hire someone who has an already proven talent for creating high quality photos, videos and posts that garner attention online. Zuckerberg doesn’t send me bits of his billions every month for no reason.
Super Easy To Work With
Besides my artistic ability, perhaps just as important is my innate ability for basically getting along very well with a wide variety of people in a variety of situations. People can sometimes feel apprehensive during a shoot, and I’ve been told that I have a calm easygoing manner, and I combine that with patience and flexibility that puts folks at ease and often even makes the whole shooting process fun.
By utilizing sensitivity, respect and heaping helpings of humor, I’m able to relax and gain the trust of people, capturing their inner personality and essence within exceptional photos and videos. And it seems I have a knack for making people involved in my shoots to become willing co-conspirators of the creative process. This all results in everyone contributing to the pleasant task of making striking imagery.
What You Get
Besides my very reasonable price, remember you’re getting a professional photographer and videographer with many years experience who can anticipate and handle any situations and challenges that may arise. In addition to my creative shooting expertise, I want to let you know I don’t charge extra for any travel time, and give you full rights to the images and footage for later usage in advertising, marketing, social media, etc.
I also do extensive post-shoot work and I’m an expert at bringing out the most in an images and video. I go through everything we shoot, retouch and enhance them by correcting the color, expanding the full tonal range, fine tuning the brightness and contrast, and various other aspects to make the images and videos shine.
I also create a private gallery of all your images and video online. You can easily review everything as thumbnails or enlarged and full-screen, in slide show mode and individually. There is also the feature for rotating images, downloading single images and video, or the entire collection with one click. Everything is in professional high-resolution quality. And unlike some other shooters, I give everything we shoot–I don’t just give clients a sampling and charge extra for additional shots.
My Clients
Now they say you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. So below is a list of some of my clients who have chosen me to keep them company.
COMPANIES
Coke, Pepsi, Anheuser Busch, Miller, FedEx, G E, Motorola, Dove, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Levi Strauss, Vans, Axe, ESPN, Paramount+, Blizzard Entertainment, Zefr, RAND, Sprinklr, Hewlett Packard, SoCal Edison, Verizon, Pac Bell, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Bank of America, Lincoln International, Capital Group, Smith Gambrell Russell
PUBLICATIONS
Time, Business Week, People, Forbes, TV Guide, Discover, Parenting, AARP, Woman’s World, ESPN Magazine, Architectural Digest, Sunset, Popular Photography, LA Times, NY Times, Gannett Newspapers
AGENCIES, SCHOOLS, MISC
Hill and Knowlton, Porter Novelli, Edelman, Weber Shandwick, Ketchum, Rogers Group, Fleishman-Hillard, USC, Harvard, California Endowment, UCLA, LMU, Brandeis, Syracuse University
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Many 5 Star Reviews
I have over 100 five star reviews you can read on my “Reviews & Clients” page. You can download a pdf of the reviews there too. Below are some of them.
I have worked with Greg for more than five years now. He is extremely dependable, quick and a true master at his craft (photography). I have hired him to do a wide range of events ranging for industry events featuring various Senators and Hollywood celebrities to my son’s third birthday. In all cases, Greg has been the consummate professional. I highly recommend his work and would be more than happy to give anyone who is interested more information.
K. Forrest Beanum, Los Angeles World Affairs Council
Greg is such a fantastic photographer–I hired him 3 times already and he’s going to shoot my big anniversary party next month too! He’s so creative, thoughtful and dependable. Greg first shot my young daughter’s birthday party. His presence was so warm and inviting, the kids loved him and our photos were fun, unique, and captured our spirit perfectly. I also got Greg to shoot my company’s holiday party, and my manager and co-workers loved his images. You can’t go wrong with this fun and funny guy! Highly highly recommend!!
Craig Roberts
I had an outstanding experience with Gregory Mancuso as my birthday event photographer. His pre-event communication was excellent, and he captured not only the shots we discussed but went above and beyond. Despite challenging outdoor conditions (evening event with very limited lighting, plus heaters and fire pit), the photo quality exceeded expectations. He was punctual, professional, and delivered top-notch results — I highly recommend Gregory for any event photography needs. Five stars!
Mary-Joy C.
Greg was spot-on with high profile talent, right out of the box. John Daly was our talent for a Spot TV shoot and internet video, a ton of material to cover and only a day to do it in. Greg had to shoot around the film crew (PGA Tour Productions) and deliver material for the web and for print. He did it in a totally unobtrusive way and still managed to deliver great material that most shooters would have needed several days to capture and even then wouldn’t have picked up the subtleties Greg lensed. I definitely will use Greg again, particularly when there is talent like John Daly involved.
Fred Page, Costco Wholesale
Greg is an amazing photographer. I reached out to him on short notice, and he exceeded my expectations. He arrived on time and captured stunning pictures. The photographs he took were lively and captivating. Not only were the pictures of great quality, but Greg also delivered them promptly. I highly recommend Greg for any photography needs. Thank you, Greg, for your exceptional work!”
Victoria M.
Gregory was great to work with on our PR event and we really appreciated his work and collaboration. Thanks!
Randolph P. Ryerson, Penske
Gregory was exactly what i needed. Responsive, easy to work with, made the process seamless and affordable. Now the good part…the photos! Gregory did a fantastic job capturing my son’s Bar Mitzvah. From family portraits to service photos and finally party pics Gregory didn’t miss a beat and the photos turned out great with so many beautiful ones to choose from.
Karen R.
I recommend Greg for anyone considering a photographer, no matter the assignment. I’ve used Greg’s services for more than 15 years, and for the majority of that time he was the only photographer I used. He is always on time, personable, readily understands the work to be done and completes it in a timely manner.
Ken Preston, Bank of America
Gregory made my daughter’s Quinceañera super special. He was a joy to work with. I recommend him. Gregory is professional, friendly, and reliable.
A Cora B.
Greg is a talented, creative, and experienced photographer. We have hired him on many occasions to do photo sessions with various artists and musicians, as well as special events. He is relaxed and easy to work with, and open to suggestions and collaboration.
Scott Price
I’ve been using Gregory Mancuso as a photographer for The California Endowment for the past 9 years and couldn’t be happier with his work. I recommend him to any company seeking a highly competent, reliable, flexible and professional photographer.
Jeff Okey, The California Endowment
Gregory was fantastic. So easy to communicate with and very responsive. He accommodated late request so kindly and his presence was so warm and inviting at the party. The kids loved him and our photos were fun, unique, and captured our spirit perfectly. His turn around time was quick and his energy just wonderful. Highly recommend for kids party!
Maryam J.
We hired Gregory to do a variety of photos from exterior building shots to headshots of our top executives. I was impressed with his range, professionalism and ability to work so well with our busy executives. I would definitely hire him again and highly recommend him.
Winnie Jong, U.S. Bank
The photos were simply fantastic. Both creatively as high quality art, and Greg also captured all the special moments of our shower. Nothing was over looked. Greg also has such an easy-going personality that quickly relaxes people and dissolves the stress of an event.
George R
The non-profit I work for has hired Gregory Mancuso to photograph several events which required extraordinary flexibility due to demanding schedules and high profile attendees. Every step of the way Greg’s professional attitude, demeanor, and photographic skill enabled him to deliver exactly what the organization was looking for. The photographs have been used to promote the organization in online and printed materials. All feedback we have received about Greg following events has been positive.
Diane Baldwin, RAND Corporation
Gregory shot my twins’ first birthday and did a fantastic job! He got the best candid shots of the party and really captured the day perfectly to help cement such a special memory. He was extremely professional, very punctual and detail oriented. My babies felt so comfortable and looked so natural in all the photos, which is nearly impossible with twin 1 year olds! Can’t wait to hire again for our next event or family portraits.
Collyn K.
I booked Gregory same day for my friends 40th Birthday. Hiring a photographer is usually something I would only do for a wedding or family Christmas card photos, but with all the work that went into planning, decorating, and dressing up for her Studio 54 themed party, a group of us decided to split it as a birthday present so we could just enjoy the night while he captured it with his camera. He got all the right shots, adjusted for lighting, detailed the decor etc. He was a great communicator and reasonably priced (many others could charge more especially with his experience). You won’t regret hiring him.
Kristin A.
He did a great job for my moms 70th birthday!!! It was super last minute and he was very accommodating!
Alexa L.
“We hired Greg for photography and graphics composition services on a kitschy doggie card traditionally sent to company associates for the holidays. Over a dozen employee’s dogs were costumed in festive Hawaiian attire for individual photography on a tight Saturday schedule at our offices – requiring much patience and flexibility from our photographer – but Greg was clearly up to the task. The dogs all loved him and the shoot had such great results that perhaps our biggest challenge was selecting which images to actually use for our marketing piece. Great job, Greg!”
Tammie Richards
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…so my write-up of Greg’s work won’t do his work justice. Simply put, when I have an important client project on-line, I want Greg behind the camera, working with me to deliver a top-notch project.”
Matthew Klink