Dog Portrait
Portrait 1st Place Winner, Anastasia Vetkovskaya, Russia
Title of image: ‘Honey saluki’
Dog: Jozelin, Saluki, owner Eremina Lesya
I love working with sighthounds! They are beautiful dogs but it’s not always easy to find an approach to them. Toys and treats - usual props of any animal photographer - are rather useless with these creatures. Each time I should come up with a new idea to make it work with particular dog.
This shot was taken in a wonderful August morning with one experienced model of mine - saluki named Joseline. We arrived to location to found out that the field was all harvested. We had to look for another location very quickly. Luckily we’ve found another field! I like how attentive look of the pet owner’s eyes gave this shot a special feeling.
Technical specification
Canon EOS-1D X Mark II EF 135mm f/2L USM 1/800s f/2,0 ISO 400 135mm
Website / http://www.vetkovskaya.com
Instagram / vetkovskaya.photo
Portrait 2nd Place Winner, Ria Putzker, Austria
Title of image: ‘Mirror’
Dog: Pumpkin the Catahoula Leopard Dog
My name is Ria Putzker, I am 21 years old and I live in Vienna. Photography has been a part of me for a couple of years now and nowadays you can hardly see me without my camera in my hand! I love to take pictures of animals, especially dogs, since they never have a fake expression. I love to capture their joyful nature and to create memories that last forever!
This photo was taken after a rainy weekend in summer which left a lot of huge puddles on the ground. I took the opportunity to photograph my friend's beautiful dog in one of them. She had to stand still for about half a minute until the water was calm enough so you could see the reflection clearly, it was truly a magical moment and it is still one of my all-time favourite photos!
Technical specification
Nikon D850, Aperture: f/1.8, ISO: 200, Focal length: 135 mm, Exposure program: Manual, Speed: 1/1000 sec, Flash: No
Website / http://www.rp-photography.at
Facebook / riaputzkerphotography
Instagram / riaputzker
Portrait 3rd Place Winner, Sheena Staples, Canada
Title of image: ‘Synchronicity’
Dog: "Synchro" cross breed (Border Collie / Staffordshire Terrier)
This image was taken as part of a commissioned autumn-themed portrait session of Synchro and his two canine "sisters." When I spotted the huge pile of raked-up leaves along the park path that so perfectly matched Synchro's warm, orange eyes, I knew his portrait would be a stellar one. Synchro is a very talented and intense agility dog, and his laser focus and marvellous obedience really lent itself to capturing this moment. So did a piece of cheese!
I am a long-time dog sport photographer but have been moving more into animal portraiture work where my aim is to provide clients with the sort of images that they'll hang on their walls and enjoy forever. I'm lucky to live in the beautiful and natural Fraser Valley of BC, Canada, where we can go from sea to sky in a quick car ride, and the backdrop is lush and stunning virtually wherever we go. After decades of working in animal rescue and animal sheltering, I've managed to cobble together a canine family of nine, so I never run out of models to test locations and they are probably the most photographed dogs that ever lived - but I never fail to get excited about photographing someone else's four legged family members. I feel lucky every day that I get to call photographing dogs my career.
Technical specification
Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 17-70mm @17mm, 1/160, f/2.8, ISO 160, no flash used.
Website / http://www.bigairphotography.com