My First Photo Contest
A few months ago I saw an opportunity to enter images in the Shoot & Share Photo Contest. Phots are entered from photographers around the world, with more than 330,000 images entered in 25 categories! I entered just 3 images in the Pets & Animals category, which had 14,000+ images competing. Two of my images placed in the Top 5,000, and I’m very excited to say that one received a Top 20% Award!
Willa
I am so happy that this image is the one that was selected as a Top 20% Award Winner. This is a picture of Willa, Renee & I’s Boston Terrier who has passed away. Willa inspired our love of the Boston Terrier breed which in turn moved us to adopt a special needs Boston Terrier (Bocephus) and then to begin fostering, and ultimately to found our Boston Terrier Rescue, the Rescue Ranch and move to Rutledge onto this incredible piece of property with acres of fenced yards for the dogs to play! That’s a lot of inpiration from a 13 pound dog, but exactly right for the force of personality Willa had. This photo was taken in that big yard not long after we moved out to Rutledge.
The Image
This is also the image that inspired me to take photography beyond a hobby. I have loved crafting the image I can envision since I was a teenager working in fashion, but I wasn’t connecting the images I helped create at work to sell dresses to the emotional connection of our pets yet. I was just taking pictures of our foster dogs to help get them seen by their forever families. This image of Willa so perfectly captured who she was I realized that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to create images for people of their pets that just looking at the picture made them come alive again.
I can’t explain how much this image means to me. It’s a huge canvas over our fireplace in the living room of our home. Willa is on many of the informational and marketing pieces for the Rescue Ranch. The impact of this image, espceacially now that she is gone, reminds me of the importance of having beautiful images of our furry family and why I want to be a professional photographer.
The Award
I am so grateful to receive this award for this image. I love that people felt the same joy I see in this image and choose to vote for it in the contest. It is my first time entering an image in a photo contest and I’m delighted in how well it was received.
Creating More Images
I’m looking forward to exploring the awards side of photography more, but my main focus is on creating images like this for people of their own dogs. Images that portray your pet and make you really see who they are. Images that you want to hang on your walls and display on your coffee table. If you want that for your fur kids, please contact me.
PS. Other Entered Images
Here’s the other images I entered in the contest. These images placed with a few votes of each other. I still love both of these of Lira, my almost 2 year old Boston Terrier. She is showing the perfect little grump face that I see every day. 🙂
I have the image of the far left printed on  wood above the sofa. Both of these were taken at the now closed train station in our little town.
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