I post regularly about my monthly portrait winners from The Dog Wash located here in Portland. If you are new to my blog, let me give a quick recap. If you take your dirty dog to the self service Dog Wash you can enter your dogs name into a monthly drawing to get their portrait taken. If your dogs name is chosen, I will contact you to set up a time to take the photos. Technically, we can usually accomplish this in 15 minutes or less, but we usually need at least 30 minutes to give your dog a chance to do what dogs do when they arrive somewhere to have their photo taken! A few weeks after the photo shoot, I choose my favorite, have it Artiplaq'd and bring it to the Dog Wash where it hangs for a year. After a year, you the dogs owner can purchase the Artiplaq'd for a donation made out to the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. There is no obligation to purchase anything, however, I do post the photos to an online gallery and you do have the opportunity to purchase photos if you wish.
What do I get out of all of this? I get to meet great people who own great dogs! I get to hang a beautiful portrait of your dog in the Dog Wash, where all the Dog Wash customers view the photos and hopefully enter for their chance to get their dog photographed...and I get exposure for my business, doing what I love to do, photographing dogs! Do I hope you will love your photos and purchase some? Absolutely!
When I contacted Lisa to let her know her name (and her four dogs) had been chosen as a monthly winner I was clear to her that I would need her help in getting FOUR dogs to cooperate nicely for a portrait together. Lisa was very excited that I was willing to do all four, both individually and together, we then both pulled out our busy calendars and scheduled a place and time to meet. Lisa had told me her dogs were search and rescue dogs, and that she had been getting a bit of press lately and was excited at the opportunity of getting some great photos taken. WOW, did I have my "work" cut out for me. All four of Lisa's dogs are pretty big, and strong! Be sure to note how tiny Lisa is...but there is never a doubt she is in control!
All four dogs have their own unique personalities, but one thing they all had in common was the immediate need to check out their surroundings...and staying together for a group portrait was definitely not on today's radar! (We scheduled this for Shaw Park in Gorham which has paths, fields, and water!) Once I felt I had gotten what I needed for photos we headed back up to our cars to leave. Lisa gave me a hug and thanked me for what I do. It's not everyday I get a hug after a pet portrait session, but I'm all for it! As I drove home I thought about what Lisa's dogs do, and how the situations are not always happy ones...like today...taking photos. Her dogs search for missing pets! The bond she makes with a client is intense! Now I understood the hug...both heartfelt and compassionate!
When I got home I immediately searched out Lisa's website. Again, I was blown away by what I read. How a person changes their career, literally overnight, because of a personal experience. The courage to follow a passion, get the necessary training needed to provide a much needed service, and just "do it" is a quality I can't help but admire and aspire too. I can share Lisa's story, but I think it best that you read it directly from her here. (get out your glasses...her font is small...and you may need a tissue too!)
http://lostpettrackingdogs.com/k9team/Home.html
I see a little of myself in Lisa. I too changed careers after a life altering experience...mine cancer...but...there were other stars that lined up too. I'm not sure I would have been able to make the "leap of faith" to photography without a bit of a push "out" from the job I currently held. I'm not big on risk taking. There...I've said it! And I've come to realize it is a quality that I greatly admire in other people! It is my ongoing goal (and challenge) to open myself up more to risk! Anyone want to help me with that?
Please read Lisa's story.
As I said in the beginning of this post, the day I photographed Lisa's dogs was one of those days when I got so much more than I gave. I got to meet someone great!
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