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1st in Pet Portraits

Wednesday, December 02, 2020 | By: Joan H. Walker - The PAWtographers

FLORIDA PET PHOTOGRAPHER AWARDED

1ST PLACE & HONORABLE MENTION IN PET PORTRAITS

also...

NINE AWARDED PET PORTRAITS

CPP AWARD

MOST CLEVER TITLE

AND MULTIPLE ADDITIONAL PLACEMENTS & AWARDS

There's no denying that 2020 has been a strange year indeed.

Print competition for the Professional Photographers of North Carolina was held earlier this year with awards supposed  to be announced at the organization's annual convention in August. COVID19,  however, threw a wrench in those plans and as with many other state organizations this year, the print competition awards were held virtually. PPNC's awards were held in the fall and now that International Print Competition has been completed (see the images from my Silver Medal awarded print case HERE), I can share this print competition's results with everyone.

My highest scoring image and the recipient of the CPP Award (the award is given to the image with the highest score in print competition that was submitted by a Certified Professional Photographer [CPP]) is actually a photojournalism image -- but since this site is dogcentric (you can see my pets and people work HERE), I thought I'd first present my dog and equine work first.

1ST PLACE PET PORTRAIT

Cookie Is My Name... and Cookies Are My Game

This image is one I adore and is my husband's heart dog. (Her name is Carmen but we do call her "cookie" from time to time as one of her "pet" names -- and yes, I know, a "pet name for a pet" may be taking it a bit far. LOL)

Carmen (a/k/a/ Cookie) is often my stand-in in the studio for lighting and promotional pieces. She has that beautiful cock to her head and the softest eyes.

This image was taken about an hour before my clients came in with four dogs for an afternoon of photographing.

 

HONORABLE MENTION / PET PORTRAITS

Wabbit Hunter

Don't you just love beagles? 

This guy, however, was a little bit of a challenge because not only is he deathly afraid of thunderstorms, he is also afraid of any light flashes (i.e., strobes) and even the light from a flashlight.

So... his entire session was photographed using constant lights. 

MOST CLEVER TITLE

Beauty and the Bitch

This image was entered as a Portrait of a Woman and received a Court of Honor for its score.

The complete surprise came when my box of awards were shipped to me and in that box was an award for "Most Clever Title." I think this may have tickled me more than any other award this year and I am delighted that the jurors at PPNC's print competition found the title fun, too.

Without further ado, my beautiful client and her amazing Vizsla, Suki (who pretty much expresses how she is feeling at all times).

COURT OF HONOR / PET PORTRAITS

THE REST OF THE PACK

...in alphabetical order

Christmas Pajama PAW-ty

You know the saying, "“the cobbler's children have no shoes,” which apparently dates back to the 1500s and may have originally been translated as "the shoemaker's children always go barefoot"...

Well, often is the case for my own sweet puppers. 

Fortunately, they are often "stand-ins" for sessions so that I can get my lighting right before my clients arrive with their dogs or in this case, they were my guinea pigs for a promotional holiday session I was having in the studio for -- yes -- dogs in Christmas pajamas. 

The sessions were adorable.

And these are three of my Havanese (there were FIVE at the time!).

From left to right: Noelle, her littermate, Choco Taco (a retired AKC Champion), and Jolie (also a retired show dog and the mom to Noelle and Choco -- she's 13 in February!).

En Pointe

This image is part of my #BlackDogsInTutus project, in which I photograph hard-to-place, adoptable black girl dogs in flouncy tutus and floral collars.

If you'd like to read more about the project, please visit my page: #BlackDogsInTutus

This is Skylar from Misplaced Mutts and she has a very happy ending -- a wonderful, loving furever home!

 

Forever Yours

This black and white study of a sweet Labrador retriever was from what turned out to be a bittersweet "Gotcha Day" portrait session.

Unbeknownst to the owner, the labbie was suffering from cancer.

Shortly after the print collection was delivered to this devoted dog's human mom, she received the news no pet owner wants to hear and her treasured pet (and wonderful certified therapy dog) passed away within weeks.

 Hug your furbabies tight. Tell them you love them every single day because tomorrow is a gift that is never to be taken for granted.

Lend Me an Ear

As with many of my print competition images, this image of an adorable German Shepherd dog puppy (who was in for his "Adopt Me" studio session to help him find a furever home) went through several title changes. (My final title ended up being, "Ruh Roh.")

But more on sweet Stevie (the GSD puppy) and why I do what I do....
Stevie was seriously injured and suffered two broken legs.  He healed from his injuries but had a slightly different gait. It didn't slow him down nor did it slow down his natural affinity to love all things great and small -- other dogs, children -- you name it, he loved them.
 
The happy ending to his story is that he, too, found a furever home.

My Three Sons

This image is of one owner's three doggos -- all looking at their mums, who is on the left with a pretty good treat in her hand.

This image was taken as part of a 1-day class I teach from time to time for the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). I had not met these dogs before that day--or the owner-- and we were able to create this image within just a few minutes. 

I probably should do an image like this for my Havanese... 

Retirement Looks Good

(I think I actually got the title written incorrectly on the image -- but you get the idea!)

And yes, I photograph horses, too!

Little known fact, I exercised horses for the track as an exercise jockey while I was in high school, trained my own OTTB (off-the-track Thoroughbred) as a hunter/jumper, and was the assistant trainer at a large Arabian horse farm and showed at Nationals while in college. 

And I have the head injuries, broken back, collar bone, hip, etc., to prove it.

(For the record, I ALWAYS wore the highest grade safety equipment that was available at the time and never rode without a helmet.)

This gorgeous OTTB is "Paddy." And for the most part, he is much better behaved than most the Tbreds I exercised, rode and trained back in the day. But as with all ex-track horses, he does get the urge to frolic a bit even though he's been off the track of some time now. 

His owner adores him nevertheless, and he has the perfect "retirement" job of being someone's beloved pet and saddle horse.

#NoMoreHardWorkForThisBoy

This Is Not Goodbye

 

I've written about this session and image before and it never gets any easier telling how this image came to be. 

As you might have guessed, it's an End of Life Celebration/Rainbow Bridge session.

 

This one I had a difficult time focusing because that's really hard to do when the tears are raining down.

Sweet Coco.

Our gift to our (then) 12-year old daughter. A Havanese who was supposed to live to be 15 or 17. Or live  forever.

A beloved family member who was in his "hooman" momma's wedding and nearly stole the show. The fluffy dog who was going to be best friends and grow old with his hoomans future little baby boy.

Except life has a way of breaking hearts when you least expect it. 

Suffering from an inoperable brain tumor, Coco was only 10 when he gained his angel wings. In those last cherished days, he was happiest hearing his "momma's" heartbeat. 

His momma didn't let him suffer and allowed him to pass without pain and in peace. (Thank you, Cooke Veterinary.)

 

 

 

For more information on End of Life Celebration/Rainbow Bridge Sessions, please see HERE or contact us HERE.

Yo... Where's My Ball?

How about a happy image to wind up all the winning pet portraits in PPNC's print comp this year?

THIS girl was a love. All she wanted to do was cuddle with everyone in the studio. 

Karma was rescued by Misplaced Mutts and entered their foster program, looking for her forever home. She was a little more challenging to place as she really wanted to be an only dog and needed a more experienced owner. But oh what a wonderful one-dog pet she was going to make.

Her "Adopt Me" images were a huge success and she was adopted into a wonderful home several states away.

CPP AWARD & 1ST PLACE /  PHOTOJOURNALISM

For those who know me well, it doesn't come as any surprise that I'm still entering photojournalism images. This editorial form of photography is how I had my start in image making, dating back to my first published images in 1990--also the year of my first published articles.

I am both a writer and a photographer -- and a published author. 

The photojournalism images that I entered in PPNC print competition are those that had been photographed for a photo/feature travel article on India for a national magazine. They are also some of my favorites.

Sacred Sikh Ritual... On Hold

This image was taken in New Delhi on a rather cool, foggy morning at the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib (Sikh house of worship) in Delhi, India. The large holy pond is considered to have healing properties and Sikhs of all ages dip into the water.

Except one young boy was not having it. 

This image caught the age-old struggle between father and son, wherein, the son is reluctant to partake and the father is becoming increasingly less patient.

3RD PLACE & HONORABLE MENTION / PHOTOJOURNALISM

Like to know more about these images?

Head over to my portrait site (Joan H Walker Portrait Artist) HERE for "Behind the Shot" information!

HONORABLE MENTION  & COURT OF HONORS / ILLUSTRATIVE

HONORABLE MENTION / WILDLIFE

And that's it until PPNC 2021!

If you have any questions, interested in scheduling a pet portrait session in 2021, or just want to "talk dog," please contact us!

Click HERE or the button below.

TO BOOK OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, CLICK HERE
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