I first became interested in dog photography about 10 years ago whilst walking Charlie our miniature schnauzer. I took a photograph of another dog chasing a ball, and I was instantly hooked. Charlie became my inspiration and I perfected my skills taking photographs of him. I then started a Facebook page called Barks in the Parks Dog Community @barksintheparks, featuring dogs that I met whilst walking Charlie, as well as dog related news content. I have also recently launched a second Facebook page called Pro Dog Tog @prodogtog which is my more focused professional dog photography page. It wasn't long before I was approached by a number of dog owners, eager to have photographs taken of their own beloved dogs.

I took the photo of Buddy below on Cooden Beach in East Sussex, using my Nikon D500 and trusty 300mm lens. I managed to capture him frolicking in the surf. When I look at this picture, I'm always reminded of a shark, as Buddy's fur behind his neck almost looks like gills. Again, it's all about timing, and being in the right place at the right time. It's not easy running along wet sand with a heavy camera and lens, trying to get 'the shot' but I love every minute of it!

_DSC6880 Although I enjoy all kinds of photography, I now mainly specialise in dog photography. There is something magical about capturing a dog's personality and character in the blink of an eye at 1/8000th of a second. When I am in the zone, I instinctively know when I have that ‘special shot’ and, I will do whatever it takes to get it. On one occasion I ended up lying chest down on a wet sandy beach, to get as low as possible to include the sea in the background (see Finn below).

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Dog photography can also be quite a hazardous, I once narrowly missed being kneecapped by two 35kg Labradors, play fighting and charging past me at top speed!  Despite the potential risks, my happy place is being surrounded by a group of dogs having fun, with my camera in hand.

It is important to remember that dogs age much quicker than we do, and sadly do not live that long. Maisy is our third miniature schnauzer, having lost Charlie at 6 years and Eddie at 5 years. Despite being short lived, I have a particular love of the miniature schnauzer breed, (it must be the eyebrows and the beard), Maisy is our bearded lady, and is a crazy as a box of frogs. She loves nothing more than stealing my slipper, and charging around the garden triumphantly daring me to try and retrieve it! When Maisy plays fetch, she never lets the ball go! (see below).

‘When Maisy plays fetch, she never lets the ball go!’
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I am really pleased with the photograph below of Maisy romping through the bluebells in the local woods. Everything was against me when I took this photograph, the evening light was fading fast, and I was struggling to get a descent shutter speed on my camera. I only managed 1/160 of a second at an aperture of f5.6 which is very slow, and my ISO was 1250. I was using a 300mm tele zoom lens, and Maisy was charging towards me at full speed. I managed to fire the shutter at just the right time to catch a shaft of light illuminating Maisy's eyes and face. You can see catch lights in both of Maisy's eyes, which if left unlit would have looked like black boot buttons.

Maisy in the bluebells I care passionately about the quality of my dog photography, and I will only show my best images to my clients. I use professional quality Nikon equipment, which is capable of capturing 10 frames a second, come rain or shine. To get an idea of the quality of my work, take some time to look at my website www.davidjamespage.zenfolio.com and view the Pro dog tog galleries. However, if you are looking for a static studio dog portraits, I am probably not the dog photographer you are looking for!

So if you have ever thought about arranging a FUN photo shoot with your four legged friend, get in touch (unlike some dogs I don’t bite) for a no obligation informal chat. We can discuss your needs and wishes.         

Maisy and me

   Me and Maisy, my best friend