Celebrating Success: My London Dog Photography Scored First Place and Gold in The WPE Awards 2023
I am thrilled to share some wonderful news with you all! I recently participated in the first half of The WPE Awards 2023, an esteemed International Photography Competition. I am overjoyed to announce that I won first place and received the prestigious Gold award with my London Dog Photography.
The competition attracted thousands of talented photographers from around the world, and I'm honoured that my dog portraits caught the judges' attention.
Five of my photographs received recognition in the Animals/Pets/Insects category, including three silver awards and a bronze award.
However, it was my fifth photograph, titled "A Man About Town," that took home the Gold and secured the top spot in the category.
I wrote a little something about this image for a publication, and I would love to share it with you below:
"A Man About Town"
This image was taken in Shoreditch, one of my favourite places to photograph dogs in London. In March 2022, I worked on a collaborative event with a dog event planner, shooting urban portraits for a dog-friendly street art walking tour. Though I was there to take a couple of urban portraits as part of the ticket price, I noticed this step when we stopped for a moment between locations. There was something special about it, but I would never have fathomed just how special it would become.
I asked a few of the humans if they would let me photograph their dogs on the step, though it was not part of what we were there to do on the day, and they obliged. I did nothing with these images for roughly 10 months because I wasn't quite sure how to do them justice. In January 2023, inspiration struck and I sat down to retouch the photographs.
This portrait of Wolfy the spitz has since gone on to succeed in The Societies of Photographers (Highly Commended), The Guild of Photographers (Silver Award), The National Photographic Society (Gold Award), The Tog Awards 2023 (Merit), and finally The WPE Awards 2023 (First Place & Gold Award)
Another photograph that received recognition was titled "King of the Lost Toys," featuring my miniature pinscher, Theodore. This placed 10th in the category and earned a silver award. This fine art portrait, which appears to be captured in a lush forest, was actually taken in Clapham Common, a park in South West London. Theodore has been my inspiration since the day she came home and the reason I embarked on my journey as a pet photographer.
I will share a little more about how this image came together below, and some insight into what goes into creating gorgeous fine art dog portraiture which has been described by some as resembling paintings, all from the comfort of London’s green spaces.
"King Of The Lost Toys"
Last winter I was on a quest to find moss in London’s parks. Unfortunately, we don't really have gorgeous, dense woodlands here. When I noticed this mossy log on a walk in my local park, I figured it was an excellent opportunity to attempt to create some magic!
As a photographer, I struggle with imposter syndrome daily. Learning to vanquish the little voice inside my head that tells me I’m not good enough. has actually been my number one focus in 2023. When Theo and I stepped into this bush on Clapham Common, it was the beginning of something incredible inside of me. I wasn’t going to hold myself back anymore out of fear of failure.
I was going to create a stunning portrait of my dog in the woods worthy of a massive frame on my way, and that is what I did.
This image is what kickstarted my awards journey this year. It has succeeded in The Guild of Photographers (Bronze Award), The Tog Awards (Merit), The National Photographic Society (Highly Commended) and The WPE Awards 2023 (Silver Award)
The announcement of The WPE Award winners came at the end of May, and now I'm excited to participate in the second round of the competition. I am currently ranked 30th out of over 11,000 photographers in the Top 100 Photographers in the world (19th in the United Kingdom), and I'm determined to continue pushing my boundaries and aiming for the crystal trophy awarded to the Top 100 Photographers at the end of the year.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SOME BEAUTIFUL FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY OF YOUR DOG?
Why not say hello and let’s begin an incredible journey together…
