Hi all – another little (ok on completion, not so little) note from Charlotte here…
As many of you probably know, I run a dog photography business here on the Gold Coast in Australia. Kaya was the starting point for this direction in my life and continued to be my favourite model – any time I felt I needed some practice she was always there, looking beautiful and willing to help.
Losing her so suddenly and unexpectedly was probably the biggest shock of my life so far. In the days that followed, I doubted ever wanting to take photos of dogs again. The thought of meeting up with happy owners and their beautiful dogs seemed impossible and so incredibly painful, I didn’t even wish to contemplate it.
Then two things happened that changed my perspective.
First, reading all the comments and messages that I received through this blog. Reminding me that she had a wonderful life, that she was loved and mostly that I had so many beautiful photos of my gorgeous girl to remind me of the good times. I think about all the people out there who have lost their dogs and don’t feel so alone, however I do think, do they have beautiful photos of their dogs to remember them by? I think in most cases, the answer is no, they don’t. I consider myself very fortunate in this respect.
The second thing that happened were the events of the following Friday. I had been talking with a lady who had just started up a new dog related business in Brisbane. She was keen to have her two Standard Poodles photographed so she could use the photos in their promotional material – they had their own doggy models – so why not use them! I knew they needed the shots asap so I agreed to do the shoot on the Friday after Kaya went to doggy heaven.
I was expecting it to be difficult and painful. I was expecting to burst into tears at inopportune moments. I even warned Sam of this beforehand so she was prepared! What went on though was very different. Elly and Luca, the two gorgeous Poodles in question, reminded me so much of my two girls. Elly, the older, wiser, cleverer big sister. Luca, the lovable, goofy and somewhat ‘challenged’ annoying little sister. So many of their little interactions reminded me of my two, so many features of their personality reflected my own dogs.
It made me realise that the more dogs I meet, the more I am going to be reminded of mine. And I think that is a good thing.
Shortly before Kaya became sick, I ditched my snazzy business website in favour of a blog format site, with the intention of using it to post photos from sessions, product reviews, shelter dog photos and a host of other things. During the hard times, it laid dormant for couple of weeks and I feared never going back to it. These latest happenings though have made me realise that continuing on, forging ahead, is what I need to do.
I want to continue to create beautiful images of peoples’ dogs, because I realise now that when you lose them and after you have recovered from the initial shock, images alone can be so powerful in keeping their memory alive. I want to continue meeting more and more dogs and getting to know them, because being dogs, they all in some way remind me of my sweet girl. I’ve learned that remembering the good times is vital and most importantly, I want other people to be able to do this too.
So, over the last few days, I’ve resumed work on my new business blogsite. There are lots more sessions to add and I have more posts up my sleeve when I run out, plus all the sessions I hope I can provide people with in future.
If you haven’t already, check it out at www.charlottereeves.com.au
Even if you are overseas and will probably never be a client, you may just find yourself enjoying the photos and the dogs anyway!
I’ll leave you with my favourite photo of me with my favourite girl. Good memories. 
Photo by Catherine Lowe of Celebrations Studios (also Mum to Kaya’s friends Spot and Boss and a very good friend of mine)
by Charlotte Reeves
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