Man’s best friend
“A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”
— Annie Leibovitz
We sometimes get a chance in life to meet people who impact us more than what we know at the time. Shirley is one of these people and I honestly knew it the moment we got to meet up in real life, but it really hit home in December last year.
We started to follow each other on twitter, connecting over motorbike racing and soon became friends. Shirley was such a huge help while I was doing my HND. Her faith and support in me was nothing I was used to. Genuinely helpful, supportive and encouraging to strive for more. Shirley may not know it, (well, she will now) but the amount of respect & admiration I have her as a business woman, mentor (if you ever need your arse kicked into gear!) mother and friend is of the utmost and I’m honoured to have her as part of my small circle of friends. So when Shirley askes if I can take photos for her, she is one of the very select few that I drop everything for and clear all schedules.
It really didn’t hit home how much I put of myself into my photography, with the people I meet until tradegy hit Shirley’s family and this time I wouldn’t have both her sons infront of my lens. Their previous session has been one of my all time favourites and their photos, while I was given permission to share, I think are exactly where they need to be, with them. I don’t need to share them online to make my point about the importance of taking photographs.
For her session in December, we met in Barnett’s Demense and with herself, her son Donal and their little golden fluffy bundle of love. Meet Ellie.
All the puppy dog feels
“It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.”
— Alfred Eisenstaedt
For their session Shirley didn’t want a studio setup, which was great as this gave us the open space and the last of the golden leaves clinging to the hedgerow to punch a little colour into their background. Immediately upon meeting Ellie you can see she’s lively, happy, content and loves her humans. It’s a reflection upon themselves. She’s a little heart mender who loves them unconditionally. But then isn’t that why they say dogs are a man’s best friend.
Happiness is ear licks
As a photographer I don’t like to force poses with my clients, I’ll direct where I want them to be, so this can reduce distractions and I love that Shirley get’s my style. It’s a way for you to be relaxed and makes you feel completely at ease, both with yourself, the environment and with me and the camera. In the end you get natural photographs with genuine interactions and reactions. Ellie caught on quickly too!
Even with Covid and the restrictions, we were able to get their session completed safely and enjoyed catching up with each other’s lives while Ellie had the run of the park. I was still able to support local businesses by getting their prints done by R A Calverts in Lurgan. As usual, their high quality print was beautiful and ready in time for Shirley to have for Christmas.
The one thing I did miss, was being able to hug them hello and goodbye. Another life lesson of what not to take for granted eh?
“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”
— Imogen Cunningham
A huge virtual hug to Shirley for choosing me again to be her photographer. I am humbled and honoured to capture her everyday moments because they’re as special as the big life events.
If you would like to talk about any photography sessions, Drop me a message
In the meantime, stay safe & enjoy your doggie snuggles
Much Love, Jules x