This week's pet photography theme is "Photographer's Choice" and I'm touching on a subject that many do not want to.  Thus far, the year 2020 has not been a great year - it's a year which several friends have lost their furry companion(s) - I ask myself why so many in such a short span of time that I personally knew? I wonder if the animals know something about the world that we humans have not recognized?

Either way, I wanted to write this particular blog because I know a great many of us are very attached to our furry children.  As such, we should do our best to have great photographs of them.  Short home videos are great too.  Each of these photographs doesn't have to be something special, it can be just a moment in time at home.  Capture those moments that you want to remember - capture their personality. 

Many of you know that we lost our beloved Jimbo just over two months ago - I haven't written to the general public about our loss as it has been hard for us.  It's a deep and personal loss as Jimbo was my shadow, my buddy, always willing to go wherever I wanted to go.  We hiked, boated, played, walked, laughed, smiled, cried - you name it, we did it together.  We even took our first road trip - just Jimbo and I from Tampa, Florida to Nashville, Tennessee.  That's when Jimbo learned about drive-thru restaurants.  I always joked that he must have thought - "Mom drive somewhere, talks to someone, then a hand comes out with all that good food".  He loved 'snacks' (which could be anything besides dog food - dog treats or human food). Not a day doesn't go by that I don't think of him.  In time, perhaps that will change as it did when we lost Dolly - but we always remember and I have hundreds of wonderful photographs of him during the time period he was all ours.

Jimbo

Jimbo came to us from the Bahamas - he flew in a private airplane to come to Florida (very brave!).  It was not our thought that we were going to adopt a second dog - but apparently it was Jimbo's and he won!  Here he is on his 'freedom flight' to Florida - loaded on the plane and heading our way.

Feeling much better thank you

Here's our first photograph together - this is when we went to pick up Jimbo and begin our lives together. It was October 17, 2012 (a Wednesday - maybe I was taking off a few days or working from home - I can't imagine that I went to the office those next few days).

Loving our new dog, JimboOur first family photo together - the evening we brought Jimbo home

This beautiful smiling face - I will always remember.

If you're curious about Jimbo's first year of life starting with his roots in the Bahamas through the end of his first year, we put together a photo video (a bit long) of his travels. It is on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPtZUPGU30Q - Jimbo's first anniversary.

In the last couple of weeks, these dogs left us for the rainbow bridge and this blog is to remember each of them.

Nalli

The photographs I captured of her several years ago are when the dogs were playing at a local dog park.  This photograph was taken many years ago before I started photographing dogs almost weekly - I can tell how much my photography has changed (for the better!).

Little bit of cleanup on the background to make it a nicer photograph - she was playing, so she has a little bit of dirt here and there - but still a wonderful girl who lived with many dogs and her Mom & Dad.

Spooki

These photographs were captured during social distancing near the height of the current COVID-19 pandemic.  The photographs were spur of the moment as Spooki and his owner were walking by our house this particular evening.  I grabbed my camera (70-200mm lens) and we had Spooki stand in front of our fence with a little distance between to ensure the fence had a nice blur.

Fred

These photographs were captured when Fred came into the Maxx and Me Pet Rescue as a timid and frightened dog who learned love while in foster care.  This particular photograph was captured of Fred who was so timid that his tail was tucked underneath.  Fred was attacked prior to his coming into the rescue and his ears were 'trimmed' as a result of the damage (so he had cute fluffy ears instead of hound ears). He was a good sport once he realized that we were not going to hurt him and eventually we got some great photographs (now in the hands of his owner).  This particular photograph was captured outside, the background was replaced with a texture and then Topaz Impression was used to create a painting effect.

We got Fred to do a little run across the front yard - he was on leash (removed in photoshop) and my partner was running with him.  When the sunlight hit his eyes, that was the moment to click.

For each of these beautiful dog souls that came from a bad place in this world and entered into the world of rescue - we will miss you. 

For each of the beautiful human souls that work in this tireless profession, thank you.

For each of the human parents that have not captured great photographs of your furry companion - don't wait - do it now.  If you find yourself in a 'end of life crisis' and you haven't done this task, do not hesitate to email, text or call as I will do this as an act of kindness to you and your pet providing my schedule allows even if you can not afford to pay a photographer.

Bless each of you - remember your furry children.

That's it for this week's pet photography blog.  For more pet photographers sharing their take on this theme, head over to visit Elaine Tweedy of I Got the Shot Photography, making choices in Northeastern PA and the Endless Mountains.

If you would like to book a custom pet portrait session, send an email to [email protected] or give us a call/text Linda at 813-610-2671 in the Tampa Bay area (Florida).