Ellie & Dima the Siberian Huskies | January Breed of the Month | Thomas Farm Preserve, Watkinsville, GA
I'd photographed Dima before — years ago, alongside his sister Stoli, in a session that has stayed with me. So when his name came up in the January entries, alongside a new Husky named Ellie who had only been home for a few weeks, I didn't need long to make my decision.
I wanted to see Dima again. And I really wanted to meet Ellie.
The Dogs | Ellie & Dima
Dima is nine years old. He came into Ashley and Jamie's life at two — then named Achilles, underweight, adopted from the local humane society's care. The executive director knew Ashley and Jamie well from their years of volunteering, and she knew they already had two Huskies. One afternoon she texted Ashley after seeing a photo of their dogs lounging under her desk while she worked from home.
They weren't looking. They weren't sure they were open.
Ashley went to meet him anyway and fell in love immediately. She visited every day until he was ready to come home — so he would know she wasn't going to leave him behind.
Dima is an old soul. He stepped into a fatherly role one Christmas when Ashley's parents brought their three-month-old deaf Boston Terrier, Zoe Noel, for a visit. He followed her everywhere. Quietly watched over her. Patiently taught her how to go up the stairs and curled up beside her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He has also, at this point in his life, lost almost all of his front teeth. Which gives him a permanently derpy expression.
It suits him perfectly.
Ellie is the newest member of the pack. Ashley found her through the Husky Education and Rescue Team — HEART — a Maryland-based rescue with fosters up and down the East Coast. She fell in love with Ellie's eyes and couldn't stop thinking about her.
She applied without telling Jamie.
She knew the process would take time — references, interviews, home visits — and her hope was to have Ellie home by Thanksgiving.
She made it.
Ellie had been with the family for six weeks by the time we photographed her. She is curious, gentle, and quietly optimistic — with bi-colored eyes that stop people on their walks. Left eye blue. Right eye brown with a streak of blue at the top.
The Location | Thomas Farm Preserve, Watkinsville, GA
Thomas Farm Preserve in Watkinsville is one of my five Breed of the Month session locations, and in January the bare winter trees and open fields with golden grass gave us exactly the kind of light and space two Huskies need. The muted tones of the landscape let Ellie and Dima be the clear star of the photos. Those muted browns and golds are one of my favortie reasons to photograph dogs in winter.
→ Learn more about Thomas Farm Preserve as a session locatio
The Session
Waking up to snow flurries on the morning of Ellie and Dima's session felt like a little bit of kismet.
While the snow didn't stick around long enough for the afternoon, the crispy cold air was exactly their kind of weather. They were everything you hope Huskies will be — beautiful, independent, and just a bit silly.
Working with Ellie, who had only been home six weeks, was one of the more interesting challenges of the session in the best way. Huskies are naturally observant & independent dogs. They're tuned in to movement and novelty — which means that even when the formal commands aren't fully locked in yet, you can still work with them. A toy tossed at the right moment. A quick movement in the right direction. The right treat held at the right height.
Ashley and Jamie had clearly put real work into her basics in those six weeks. She didn't have every command fully cemented yet, but she understood enough that we could lure her where we needed her, redirect her attention, and get her looking where we wanted.
The Together Shot
Almost every client who brings multiple dogs asks for the same thing: a portrait of them together.
It sounds simple. It almost never is.
Dogs don't naturally sit pressed close to another dog unless they're already deeply bonded — and Ellie and Dima had known each other for six weeks. Asking two dogs to hold position, facing the same direction, close enough to look like a pair, when one of them is still figuring out her new home and new packmate? That's a lot to ask.
We got what we needed through a combination of patience, timing, and a little Photoshop work on the back end to bring the final image together. The result looks effortless. It was not effortless. But that's exactly the point — the images that feel the most natural are often the ones that required the most problem-solving to make happen.
It's also one of the main reasons that trying to recreate a multi-dog portrait on your own is so much harder than it looks.
What Ashley Said
After delivering the gallery, I got a message from Ashley.
She said she wasn't sure how I did it. That she wasn't 100% convinced I was at the same session they were — because those dogs did not stand or sit still for the entire 90 minutes for anyone to capture any of those moments.
That's the part clients don't see. They see the hundred moments that didn't work, and often miss the handful that worked perfectly. My job is to be ready for those moments — and to make it look like easy.
About the Breed of the Month Program
Each month I open one session to the public — a complimentary Signature Session plus artwork credit for one dog whose story moves me most.
→ Learn about the Breed of the Month program
→ Read next:
