Come on in, the water’s warm!

by Darren

Another image involving water, this time a pet labrador that I photographed at ‘The Stepping Stones’ near Dorking.

I try not to do images of pets on fluffy blankets with studio lighting. It’s generally not a likeness of the animal that the owner recognises from everyday life so I when I’m asked by clients to capture their pet, I try to get something natural.

Of course, working with wild animals is good training for the skills needed to capture images such as this. And it’s often such a challenge. I like to play with the dog first so that it gets to know me and isn’t as bothered before I get the camera out.

Indeed when I photographed a couple of dog shows last year, I spent most of the day on the ground with the dogs, much to everyone’s amusement.