So I am back to writing about dogs, horses, spreading the word on specialist dog and equine photography and anything else that comes along.  What a couple of years it has been but today is not about that, its about everything else!

Last year ended with myself winning an award - The Me and My Horse Award for 2021 from the Xperience Group.  Sadly this year the competition has changed it’s categories and is lacking in the Equine department although I can still enter equine images in to a ‘Me and My ……….?  Group’.  Not quite the same thing so we shall see how it goes.  On the plus side this was an award that I had gradually been working towards over 3 years and was one that I really wanted so to say I was thrilled is a little bit of an understatement.  I can now say that if you want something bad enough you can go out and get it, which is always spouted by those who have achieved what they wanted.

The image itself took some work to achieve.  I remember the weather being sunny and cloudy with shifting amounts of light which can be tricky to work with at times.  The horse has a ‘personality’ shall we say and I could only photograph him in his fenced off piece of his field which was not very big and up against trees.  Thankfully the client had him groomed and his beautiful white coat stood out against the background.  The other element that makes the image is that because he was secure in his ‘home’ he didn’t need a bridle or head collar on either so you can see the whole of his head nice and clearly.  The rest is some clever editing to take out the distractions.  I never like to over edit an image, its a question of white balance, colour enhancement, removing distractions and making it the best possible image I can.  In a ‘Me and My Horse’ Category this image really summed it up I felt so was happy that others could see what I can see when I look at it.

As for the start of this year, well January and most of February were wet and muddy so spent the months planning this year and working on things behind the scenes.

After 13 years, my car is to be replaced (part of some ongoing plans for this year which I cannot talk about just yet).  I’ll be sad to see it go but it raised the question of how do you get rid of a car that really isn’t worth anything so not worth selling.  Well I found ‘Giveacar’ who will collect your car for free and work to get the most amount of value out of it as possible, whether it is to be recycled or auctioned.  Then 100% of the money made from it goes to a Charity that you choose and there are lots of animal welfare charities listed so even though I’ll be sad to see it go, I know that it will help raise valuable funds for animals in need, so I’ll feel better about where it ends up.

I have been raising yet more money for the Dogs Trust with my 30 in 30 Charity Photoshoots that have been advertised on Social Media.  So far I have raise £200 which is a great start.  If you would like to know more or would like to book, drop me a message.  I have an amazing new digital product to show clients which I am very excited about and may solve the ‘digital’ question all of us photographers specialising in print have.  Then there is some big news to come which is partly why I have started writing again as there will be plenty to talk about and to keep you updated about in the months to come.

For now though, stay safe and give all your dogs and horses a big hug from me.