01/05/2025
Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Edgar, Nelly and Violet - a family trio of very handsome Pointers - at Deffer Woods just outside Huddersfield.
This kind of shoot with multiple large and VERY lively dogs, is usually exactly the kind of disorganised chaos I thrive on, and I would be in my element. However, it was a scorching hot day, and as I walked around the woods with a heavy backpack full of camera gear, I just couldn’t quite find my usual mojo and creativity - despite having three wonderful dogs and a backdrop of never ending bluebells to capture them in. I literally felt like I was wading through glue, and buckling under all my weighty equipment.
When I returned home, and downloaded my shots from the session, I immediately knew I hadn’t nailed it. And I won’t lie - I beat myself up pretty badly about letting everyone down.
The next morning I woke up to the beginnings of what has turned out to be a week-long case of covid-y style flu that has knocked me for six, and has now had me laid up in bed pretty much unable to move. And now it all makes sense….
Of COURSE I didn’t do my best work when I was barely functioning at 50%. And sometimes, even with the best laid plans, and most organised shoots, things go awry.
So all you can do is be honest, apologise profusely, and hope the pawrents will accept your mea culpa and allow you another opportunity to come back and try again.
So I have uploaded a couple of shots from the shoot to here…. just to remind myself that sometimes we all have an off day, and it’s ok to be fallible and learn from it. And also to remind myself that four years ago when I was just starting out I would’ve been THRILLED with these photos, so it’s a testament to how far I’ve come and developed as a photographer that I now consider these shots to be Not Up To Scratch.
The important thing is to be honest, and admit when you can do better. Not all photographers are as scrupulous and I think it’s important to show that I will - without fail - admit when I’ve come up short. Every experience is an opportunity to learn, and when I am back to full health I will move on to another shoot with all this extra knowledge in my arsenal. But for now, I shall be kind to myself, and hope that I get over this very debilitating illness soon so I can move on and remind myself how good I can be on my best days.
The doggos are still beautiful, and ever forgiving, even on a bad day. And that’s why we love them ❤️
