I considered it a feather in my cap when my Destin, Florida photography studio was chosen to be the photographers of the Destin dog show. I knew that a lot of Destin photographers had bid for the job and was simply thrilled that my two photographers and I had been chosen to take the pictures. I did not really think the job would be all that hard.
I mean, how hard could it be to snap photography shots of a bunch of dogs and their owners? Boy was I wrong.
The event was held on the 4th of July a busy enough day in any Florida town. So the first problem was the heat and the humidity. It was simply sweltering. I am sure a lesser photographer would have given in to the heat and humidity which made the dog park smell…..less than appealing. Not me. I was going to do my job as the photographer of choice at the Destin Dog Show.
The second problem came soon after when I realized that the promoters wanted action shots of all of the dogs during the competition. My fellow photographers and I really had to hustle to get pictures of all of the dogs, especially since there were multiple dogs showing at the same time. Some how we managed to get them all in.
The third problem was not as bad; in fact I figured it could lead to future photography business. Many of the owners wanted shots of their dogs by a professional photographer. We set up a little area and even managed to take a lot of pictures while advertising my Destin, Florida photography studio.
That is when it happened. One owner and 9 Weimaraner puppies in one shot. It was simply insane. It is hard enough to keep one puppy still enough for a good shot, let alone 9 Weimaraner puppies. I do not think the breed is known for its patience. The puppies were simply everywhere. I am a pretty good photographer; I am not such a good dog catcher. We spent more time chasing down those puppies then taking pictures that day. I was terrified that I would get a single shot with all of the puppies. Somehow, my assistants and I managed to coral all the puppies around their owner and we all quickly snapped a bunch of shots.
At the end of the day, I managed to get a great shot of the 9 Weimaraner puppies. The organizers of the event were pleased enough with my work to use some of my photography in their brochure for next year. They even made an announcement advertising my Destin photography studio, which I really appreciated.
The last problem of the day happened at the very end. The organizers approached me and asked me if I had plans for the next 4th of July. It seems they wanted to invite me back next year. I have not decided if I am up for the chaos again or if I will let another Destin, Florida photography studio have that honor.