Time for a change?
I recently found myself without a job due to my contract ending unexpectedly. I will not go into detail, but having worked in the same profession for over 40 years it did come as something of a shock. I could simply find another contract and probably start work immediately (due to the current staff shortages in my former area of work). However, I have not really been enjoying my role as an enforcement officer, which can often be stressful and confrontational. Photography on the other hand remains a constant pleasure in my life, and helped me to get through a difficult 2020.
Albert Einstein is often quoted as defining Insanity as 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result'. Would it be insane for me to get back into my former role, which is usually a case of 'the same meat, different gravy'. I am now at a bit of a crossroads in my life, being far closer to the end of my working life than at the beginning. My options seem to be carrying on as before and expecting a different outcome (insanity?) or considering just packing it all in and taking early retirement (sounds a bit boring) or I could try to make at least some of my income from doing something I love, photographing other peoples dogs..
I think that I have probably just answered my own question... of course I should at least give professional dog photography a go. Unfortunately, I am pretty lousy at marketing myself, so I will have to try and push through my natural modesty and lack of self belief. Over the past 7 years of photographing dogs, I have perfected the art of active dog photography, (as opposed to studio dog photography, which does not appeal to me in the same way). I therefore consider myself to have ability and credibility to make it as a Pro Dog Tog. I realise that I may still have to make part of my income from contracting, but at least I will be able to enjoy part of my remaining working life.
So, it's exciting times ahead, I just need to get to grips with the marketing side of things, so if you have any tips or suggestions, please feel free to leave me a comment.
'Maisy the Moocher', our miniature schnauzer, frolicing on the beach at Rye Harbour, East Sussex.
Out of My Comfort Zone
During lockdown lots of people were furloughed and many people still find themselves at home. A friend of mine is currently still furloughed, and we were recently discussing how she could start her own online business. Sharon specialises in upscaling existing clothing, using trim, beading, and lace to create new individual garments. She has recently started a facebook page called 'it's just trimtastic' and Instagram itsjusttrimtastic21 facebook page and online fashion business. Sharon needed some photographs for online use, and I suggested that when I next visited London, that I arranged to visit her house for a photo shoot.
We arranged to meet last weekend, and I took my trusty Fuji XE1 with 18-55mm zoom lens. Upon arrival, I set about rearranging the room in order to place the photo shoot adjacent to the bay window, where the sunlight was shining through the diffused net curtains. Sharon set up her tailors dummy, and had a number of tops and products that she wanted me to photograph, as well was some shoes and complete outfits that she was to model for the shoot. Despite not having a lot of available space to work, I was able to create a pleasing background complete with freshly cut flowers. Fortunately the sun shone throughout the shoot, and the light lit the clothing perfectly.
Whilst this is not my usual subject to photograph, I really enjoyed the experience and it was great to catch up with my good friend. I am really proud of the photographs taken on the day, and they look great on Sharon's online store.
Dog walking with the boys and Ruby
Yesterday I was invited for a walk with my neighbour's Steve, Jayne and their two larger than life Labradors Bentley (The Governor) and Royce, The morning started off misty and generally uninspiring, and not really good light for action photography. We are still missing Eddie our miniature schnauzer, and it seemed strange for Laura and myself to be going for a 'dog-less' dog walk. We drove to a location called Butt's Brow high up on the South Downs near Polegate, in East Sussex. The usually amazing views from the top were obscured by the mist and fine rain, but at least it was a lot cooler for the dogs after days of a heatwave.
We set off on the walk and the dogs started to get stuck in to each other, play fighting and generally doing crazy stuff that dogs do. We came across a stagnant pool of green water, in a dipped circle of concrete (which may at one point have been used as a water supply for livestock). Ruby (a six month old Labrador puppy), dived into the middle of the green slimey stagnant water, and managed to fish out an old beer bottle. She was very proud of her find, and ran around with the foul smelling water pouring out of the bottle... We eventually managed to retrieve the empty bottle and disposed of it safely.
The boys also managed to get wet and have a drink from the water, which would almost certainly make any human being very ill. I'm always amazed by what dogs will attempt to eat and drink!
It's a shame that we did not get to see the views of Eastbourne, far away Hastings, and Brighton's off shore wind farm, but that will have to wait for another visit. Like all good things, time flies when you're having fun, and soon the walk was heading back towards the car.
The boys and Ruby all had a lot of fun and so had we. I still miss not having my little side-kick Eddie around as it's hard being a dog photographer, without a dog... I'm sure that we will eventually make room for a new dog in our lives and our hearts, but for now I have to get my doggy fix from our friends and neighbours....
Bentley and Royce (below) are a lot of fun to spend time with.
Ruby managed to find an old beer bottle at the bottom of a stagnant pool of water:
She made sure she emptied every last drop of the green foul smelling liquid before we safely disposed of the bottle...
We met some other great dogs on the walk including Derrick the Beagle, who enjoyed running around with Ruby...
Ruby chasing after an un-named dog who just appeared from nowhere....
Ruby and the boys managed to find time to snaffle some ripe blackberries for a quick snack...
Ruby making the most of the walk, looking around for her next playmate...
Heading back to the car after a fun walk on the beautiful South Downs..
Losing Eddie (Our Miniature Schnauzer)
We recently had to say goodbye to Eddie, our miniature Schnauzer. For such a small dog, Eddie had a larger than life personality. Anyone who has ever owned a dog will tell you what a bond you form over the years that they spend with you. Sadly Eddie did not make it to 5 years old, having suffered acute kidney failure, which is rare in a dog so young. We tried everything to save Eddie and even took him to TV Super vet's Fitzpatrick Referrals.
Eddie was my muse, and a major inspiration for getting into dog photography. He was such a fun little dog, and he helped our family get through the lockdown, by making us laugh and he was always up for a cuddle and a belly rub! As a photographer I am lucky that I have so many great photographs of Eddie to remind me what a fun dog he was. Loosing Eddie made me realise how important it is to keep a photographic record of who or what it is you really care about. For many people photographs of their dogs are stored on mobile phones and never get printed. If the phone break, gets lost or stolen these memories are lost forever.
Our family is devastated by the loss of Eddie, and I have lost my best friend and companion. The house is too quiet without him, and I miss the sound of him shaking his collar, and his musty popcorn smell, and even his doggy breath. We will eventually get another dog, that will probably be another Schnauzer (it's the beard and eyebrows that does it for me), but we will never forget our black and silver furry friend,
Rest in Peace little man!
He was very photogenic, and always knew how to strike a pose!
He was also a very handsome boy, and seemed to enjoy having his photograph taken.
No other dog has a bottom quite like a Schnauzer's!
I really miss the little guy, but he will always be my boy!
Eddie was always ready for a belly rub, and lots of fussing
Eddie was never a big fan of getting his hair cut!
Eddie was a pleasure to photograph, and I always seemed to be able to get great shots of him, like this one of him being chased by Alfie the Cockapoo.
Life during lockdown, (a tough time to be a photographer)
This really has been a strange and unsettling time for all of us, and 2020 will go down in history for all of the wrong reasons. Like many others I had to adapt to working from home, in what is now being referred to as the 'new normal'. Personally, I preferred the old normal, and wish that the world had never heard of Coronavirus, Covid19, R values, and daily Coronavirus briefings and home schooling. It seemed that as a country we had only just started to get over Brexit, and leaving the EU, and now we were being faced with a deadly virus that killed people indiscriminately and in great numbers, all across the globe.
As a family we had only recently decided to relocate from London to East Sussex, and moved in December 2019. Suddenly I found trying to come to terms with a new home in an unfamiliar area, a new job, and a deadly virus and a global Pandemic. Inevitably the stress of it all became to much for me, and I became quite depressed for a couple of months. My collection of cameras was left unused to gather dust, as I had no desire to take any pictures, and did not want to pick up my camera. In between trying to work from home, I found myself drawn to sitting in front of the television watching Sky news, watching the terrible pandemic unfold before my very eyes. Clearly this was not exactly uplifting viewing, and it did not do my mental health a lot of good. As a family with two children, we had to try and master home schooling, as well as home working, which is not easy when you are both Environmental Health Officers for local authorities, whose main job function is to undertake inspections of poor housing and in my wife's case restaurants take aways and care homes. The days became weeks as the relentless lockdown drove the world to the brink of madness, with the only light relief being the Thursday night clap for the NHS and key workers.
Gradually, little by little the situation started to improve, and the sacrifices we all made during the lockdown began to show some positive results. I also started to feel a bit better, and once again began to think about my unused cameras and photography.
I have always been interested in dog photography, since starting a Facebook page called Barks in the Parks Dog Community. We slowly started to get to know our new neighbours, and their dogs and I decided that it was time to once again pick up a camera and point it at man's best friend. I became hooked once again, and started thinking about new places to photograph dogs. Having relocated to Bexhill on Sea, the beach seemed to be a good starting point. We arranged to meet a friend and her dog Gus, a black miniature schnauzer, and I was able to capture some fun shots of him enjoying the beach.
One of our new neighbours is the proud owner of two young Labradors, Bentley and Royce (Bentley below Left, and Royce below right). They are two of the most chilled out dogs I have ever met, and both are therapy dogs at a local hospital. I began to rediscover my enthusiasm for dog photography, and started to share their photographs on facebook once again. During this time I started to think about restarting a website, and decided the easiest option was to contact Zenfolio, as I have previously had one of their websites and I liked their inbuilt blog facility.
Coronavirus and the global Pandemic is still hanging around like an unwanted smell, or a house guest who has overstayed their welcome. We are all hoping that there will not be a second wave of Covid 19 cases, as the lockdown is eased further. It has been a huge relief to be able to go out taking pictures once again, without feeling like I'm breaking the law. I truly believe that my mental health would have nose dived without photography acting as my therapist. It's hard to feel depressed when you have two big soppy Labradors sticking their big noses into your camera lens. Let's all hope and pray that this is the beginning of the end of Coronavirus, and that better times are just around the corner for us all.