Passion Projects with Purpose
I needed a passion project to throw myself into when I made the move back to Australia from the UK, and what started as a bit of fun completely changed the course of my photography work.
I am a HUGE fan of passion projects. If you have spare time (it doesn’t always have to be a large amount) then I highly recommend having a little bank of passion projects to work on. Not only is it nice to work on something for yourself, but it can also help you hone your craft or try a new style or develop new relationships with other creatives, charities or potential clients.
My own surprising development came in the form of ‘Muttshots - A Compilation of Canine Characters’ book. It wasn’t actually ever intended to become a book. My partner and I were moving back home from the UK and I was in a bit of professional limbo. I had moved into more of a retouching role while I was in the UK and I missed shooting. So I thought I’d try a bit of personal work to ease back into it, and what better way than to combine my love of dogs with photography?
Initially Muttshots was going to be a breed study in the form of studio portraits, I wanted to shoot all angles of my subjects - front, back, left and right sides. We always have photographs of the faces of our canine companions but we also spend a lot of time looking at the back of their heads when we walk them, or they’re sniffing or digging at something they shouldn’t be or sitting on us - blocking the TV.
After a conversation with one of my printers who had just seen a collection of vintage mugshots at a Melbourne museum, the concept of Muttshots was born! I began to photograph my dogs, and then my friend’s dogs, and they told their friends, and their friends and so on, and I posted a couple of the shots to my Instagram and then suddenly I had a huge collection of portraits and stories!
I loved hearing about all of the different personalities and quirks our dogs had and I wanted to capture these funny tales I was hearing about these sweet, cheeky and naughty pups. I decided that I would try and make some sort of self funded short print run of a book to celebrate all the amazing characters that came through my studio. One thing lead to another and suddenly I was fortunate enough to be published and now my book is available in multiple countries around the world.
But hands down, the most rewarding part of Muttshots has been all the emails and comments and messages I have received from fellow dog lovers all over the world telling me how reading these stories has brought a smile to their face - reminding them of their own dogs, past and present and really solidifying to me the amazing power of the human and canine connection. My passion is connection through storytelling and Muttshots allowed me to connect so many people by recording these stories and memories of our beloved puppers to cherish for many years to come.
Needless to say, after finishing this first book, my photography work is now heavily focused on our furry, feathered, tooth and clawed friends - and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
So get out there and try something new - you just might find your calling!
