Now that the scores are official, I can finally share my images from the Professional Photographers of Canada 2026 National Image Competition! All five of my entries were accepted into the National Image Salon, with 4 receiving Merit scores (very good), and 3 are finalists for Best In Class!

This is something I run into frequently in my work as a pet photographer. People WANT large artwork of their beloved pets to decorate their walls, but they worry, “What will people think?”.

So here’s the truth: SOME people will think you’re crazy.

I truly believe that my success as a pet photographer can be attributed to my understanding of animal behaviour much more than my skill as a photographer.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone once again and speak in public, at a professional photography conference. I do not enjoy public speaking, but I do enjoy saying “yes” to things that scare me, and seeing where it leads.

One of my friends said “goodbye” to her senior dog this week 😢. Condolences led to a conversation about how our lives have revolved around caring for our senior dogs in the past couple of years. As my friend said, “People say puppies are hard. Puppies are so easy compared to seniors.”

When the president of Atlantic Canadian Dachshund Rescue reached out to me about photographing their event in Shediac, NB in August, my first inclination was to say “no”. I don’t usually photograph events, but this one was called “Wieners By The Sea”, which tickled me, and it was for a good cause, plus there would be lots of adorable wiener dogs, so I was intrigued. Then I learned that there would be a costume contest, wiener races, a watermelon eating contest, as well as contests for the longest wiener and shortest wiener. It sounded like an event that would be too much fun to miss, so I was sold! 🌭🤣

Recently, I was contacted by Dog Bites, a local pet treats company in Salisbury, NB. They were looking for some marketing images for their new line of Cat Cravings treats. I know how tough it can be working with cat models, especially if you try to take them to a different location that they aren’t used to - that’s why I normally do cat sessions in their own homes. We determined that our best bet was to use Shazam! as a model so that I could work on his cat schedule and in his familiar environment. Bonus that he is such a handsome and cool-looking cat, with his different coloured eyes (heterochromia).

The Professional Photographers of Canada National Image Competition judging was this past weekend. Now that scores are official, I can finally share my award-winning images from the Eastern Image Competition back in the fall. The Eastern Competition includes all 4 Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, and Ontario, so it is highly competitive.