My best dog photographs
This year was very strong in emotions, travels and meetings. This year 2019 is the year I found my way, it’s something I thought I knew until then, but it was not so. This year I discovered what made me happy, what my universe was, what I wanted to say through my photographs of dogs. So this year I decided to share with you my 10 best photos of this year and their stories.
Between the lines
June is an assistance dog from Os’mose – Tilff ASBL who is currently in foster care in training. How can I describe her to you? She is a lively dog who smiles when you scratch her head. Indeed, she is a Golden Retriever with an immaculate coat. This place is somewhere in the big train station of Liege, this white matched perfectly with our June. It only took a second for her to turn her head and then run at full speed at us.
The wonderful creature of the forest
Isil is a Border Collie with hypnotic eyes, she knows how to capture attention, and asks for a lot of love! This photo was taken in Haute Savoie, in a forest not far from Charline’s home, a talented wildlife photographer. At first, I just wanted Isil to sit on this cut trunk, but in the end she preferred to slump down and stare at her human, ready to pounce.
Forest Spirit
A special photo shoot in Belgium on a September morning. While the sunlight barely pierced the forest, the silence transported us into a mysterious atmosphere. The mist from our breaths added to the coolness of the woods. This fascination for the forests gave me the opportunity to accomplish a photography to which I bring a very great importance. Its light, its emotion, its mystery…
Reveal yourself
These dogs are fascinating, they impress and give a whole new dimension to a photograph. During my stay in Belgium, I had the pleasure and the chance to take some pictures in the famous Abbey of Villers. I was accompanied by some photographer friends with whom I hope to spend some good moments next year. For this photograph I asked Kleo’s owner, Saarloos Wolfhound, to take this pose, which was not easy for either of them. But for a fraction of a second, she had her eyes on her human, majestic, the posture of my dreams in this light coming to touch her curves and her golden eyes.
The Last Ray Of Light
In September I went back to Belgium (I’m starting to really love this country). And of course it was impossible for me to avoid going back to my favourite abbey! Everyone who knows this abbey knows this particular place, but I was not inspired last time to photograph it with a dog. My dear friend Claudio Piccoli who gave me a big hand for the realization of this photo, indeed it is him who threw the dust in this ray of light, sublimating the scene. Special thanks to the owners of this dog: El Roalito Easy Going, for coming from Germany for this special session.
Our own way
What could be so intriguing about Basil? I have often been asked how I got that dog to look up. Quite simply, his human was perched on the window of this wall. I love the special and mysterious atmosphere that emerges from this play of light, a photo shoot that I really enjoyed!
Surreal
Many photographers don’t like green, I don’t. When I came across this carpet of moss, I literally fell in love with it (and fell in). This picture is from a small project I did in the beautiful Vosges Regional Park in France, so I called two models, one of which was Ogann, a young Kelpie only 5 months old. I was looking for something special in this place, something I had perhaps never seen before. Then, as I walked a little way down the side of the path, I found this fairy tale place. A beautiful dead tree trunk covered in moss, and another one in the background that formed this grandiose arch.
Illuminated
A magical and unexpected place where the light of the sunset embraces the river and its moss covered rocks. Such a brief moment, the last rays of the sun illuminate the magnificent June, proud and majestic. I would have liked to live this moment for an eternity, to feel the coolness of the evening and to contemplate the magic light. What more can I say? This scene left me speechless. The presence of the animal, the beauty of the place, the fascinating light. A few insects flying in the distance would make us think of fireflies. I asked my friend Florence to throw the ball in my direction after having put June on the edge of the stream, the moment lasted 2 seconds, and only one image could be taken before the ball landed in the water, creating huge flares. A moment of silence, that moment when I wonder if this moment is etched forever, or not. I am speechless when I see a single successful photo of this scene that cannot be recreated again.
Castle of Glass
This photograph aroused curiosity and mystery. Where could this photo have been taken? It is in fact an ice cave located in Switzerland. The Rhone Glacier (Rottengletscher in German) is located at the north-eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Like most Alpine glaciers, it has retreated significantly since the mid-19th century. We took the road to the Furka Pass, a magnificent view awaits you at the top if you go there. I wished Laos would look to the side at this point, however I was alone and there was no noise around to attract his attention. So I positioned my phone in a hole in the ice wall with kittenish meows, foolproof.
Infinite lavenders
This photo was taken during the wonderful flowering of the lavender on the Valensole plateau in France where I had gone for a holiday. Why was I so inspired by this photo? For a start, it’s because it’s my lovely dog Laos, posing serenely in the middle of the flowers. He’s been a great inspiration to me since I adopted him in March 2018, but never before have I loved a photo of him so much. What is he thinking? What is he looking at? I didn’t think that capturing this simple moment would have given off such pure emotion. This time, I decided to look at the dog portrait differently.
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