Life, can be filled with happiness - days with your pup training in the raining !!
Life, can be filled with joy - days when it all comes together and the Labradors all do what they are told.
Life, can be filled with frustration - days when all the cockers decide mutiny is the order of the day.
Life, can be exciting - every day when we learn something new together.
Life is a memory - of all the things that came before.
Life can be gone in a moment.
Life can be taken for granted. We all understand the fragility of our existence, it isn't something new and it is something that has been written about before by people with far more import than I, but it is something that most of us would rather not think about as we drink our coffee and eat our toast, me included.
My life is stuffed full to the brim with dogs of varying shapes, size and ages. They bring happiness, joy, frustration, and love but the chances are that I am, at some point, going to have to say goodbye to all of them.
It is something that that we accept when we bring that young pup , older dog or any pet into our home and lives, but that is years away.
We have plenty of time to take puppy pictures, we have plenty of time to catch that first retrieve on our iphone, we have plenty of time to get a group shot of all the dogs together, we have plenty of time for a portrait session .......
We ran out of time......
....If only we had booked that photoshoot and grabbed those pictures.
I can hear those sighs and thoughts of "how morbid" "what a sad thing to write about" but believe me those that come for a "Memory Session" will tell you they are anything but.
Jasmine's family booked a session when they discovered that she was very poorly. We had two amazing sessions full of love and laughter, a hayloft session where Jas posed like a diva and showed us how to work the camera and a heather session with the rest of her family later in the year.
We created a huge A3 book stuffed to the brim with memories and with space at the back for the 'next generation'. A visual memory to be treasured for years to come.
Last year Luna came to visit. I have known Luna since I first dipped my toe into the world of Gundog training so it was always going to be a little more emotional, but along with her brother Tucker they rocked their session and Laura has a gallery brimming full of very "Luna-esque" expressions.
Myself and every animal owning photographer I know are lucky, we will have albums and memory cards and hard drives stuffed full of images of our own, walls full of our friends both past and present.
Having lost Indy earlier this year, my advice, as a girl living with dogs, book that shoot and get those shots - they are "priceless"
If you would like to talk to us about booking a memory session please give us a call on 07798 883142 or 01226 766485.