National Puppy Day 2017 - Edmonton Family Photographer - Edmonton Pet Photographer
A selection of images featuring my two pups for National Puppy Day 2017.
Early this morning when I opened my Facebook, I was greeted with this iPhone snap from six years ago. It was of my pup wearing a cone after his neuter surgery. Soon after perusing Facebook a bit, I learned today was National Puppy Day. Did I ever feel awful for scheduling his surgery (even though all those years ago) on National Puppy Day. Sorry, Bud.
National Puppy Day is a day not only to celebrate our pups, but also a day to help bring awareness to the terrible puppy mill situation. Millions of dogs are improperly bred for profit and mistreated along the way. If you're looking to add a puppy to your family, remember to adopt - don't shop from pet stores or backyard breeders or puppy mills. If you are looking to add a purebred puppy to your family, always do extensive research about the breeder. Contact your national breed club who may have a list of reputable breeders in your area. With the awareness rising, hopefully one day these illegal mills and backyard breeders will be shut down.
A few great ways to celebrate National Puppy Day are:
- Take your pup(s) for an extra long walk!
- Adopt a puppy! But only if your family is ready. Remember to find a great trainer to get your training off to the right start.
- Donate to a local shelter and/or rescue.
- Have a puppy party or visit a dog park and make some new friends.
In honour of National Puppy Day, I thought I'd share some photos of my two pups. They're half brother and sister, two years apart. People have a hard time telling them apart, but they really couldn't be any different personality-wise.
Here are a few of my favourites from the last few weeks:
Are you doing anything to celebrate National Puppy Day? I'd love it if you left a comment below and let me know! :)
Week 12 - Gratitude - Edmonton Family Photographer
Week 12 - Gratitude - A selection of photos included in the theme Gratitude.
Week 12's photo challenge topic was Gratitude.
Of course, my kids come to mind first. This was the photo I selected for my weekly image.
Grateful for these little piggies.
Some other photos from last week:
2016 - A Personal Year in Review - Edmonton Family Photographer
A selection of my favourite personal images from 2016.
I wanted to look back on 2016 through my personal images too. I always try to have personal projects on the go, not only to ensure I have photos of my own kiddos, but also to keep my inspiration up and continue learning and improving the best I can. To me, photography is not only appealing as a creative outlet, but also as a source of constant learning. There is always something new to try, or a new technique to experiment with. I love that about it.
I spent a good chunk of 2016 taking courses. On shooting and editing techniques, video, business, and lighting, etc. I started 2017 enrolled in a course, and am planning out a couple others for winter/spring as well. I practiced. A lot. (My poor kids, haha.) I feel it's so important to keep learning continuously and, honestly, I'm still working my way through some parts of past courses. As a creative, it's hard to be confident in your work sometimes (okay, most times). I always second guess myself. I always worry about messing up. Worry about it not being good enough. I let anxiety get the best of me sometimes. But, being able to go out and get the shot you want, and not have to guess about how to do it is seriously such an amazing feeling and not something I had when I first started out on this journey. It makes all of the past time, difficulties, stress, and worry worth it.
I have high hopes for 2017. I hope to continue learning and growing as a photographer. New ideas. New personal projects. New business plans. New plans for self growth. New hopes of battling the worry and anxiety that comes with the creative process. New plans to stay organized. New plans all around. haha. One specific thing, is I decided to join the 52 Frames Photo challenge this year. I'll have more about that in my next blog post. ;)
In the meantime, I've gathered my favourite personal photos of 2016. Mostly of my kiddos, because that's how I roll. I love seeing how much they have grown over the last year. I hope you'll have a scroll through, and if you've made it this far - thank you for reading!
Happy New Year to you and your loves.
xo
Megan
