Taking

From getting a dog’s attention to making

the most of natural light, entrants to Dog

Photographer of the Year share their tips

D

ogs will listen to your

woes, lift your spirits,

and provide endless

opportunities for

pictures. It’s no surprise, then, that

the 2019 Dog Photographer of the

Year competition attracted more

than 7,000 entries.

Founded in 2005 by the Kennel

Club, this annual competition

celebrates the remarkable work

of professional and amateur

dog photographers, while also

promoting a positive perception

of dogs. This year there were 10

categories with highlights including

Oldies (featuring dogs of eight years

and over), Man’s Best Friend

(illustrating the bond between

people and dogs), and Rescue Dogs

(showing positive images of dogs

living in shelters or at home with

their new families). The overall

winner of DPOTY 2019 was Denise

Czichocki from Switzerland with

her lovely shot of Merlin (see right),

a 14-year-old rescued Podengo,

posing under a magnolia tree.

Czichocki wins a selection of prizes

from sponsors SmugMug, Flickr,

Nikon School UK and Loxley

Colour. Categories for young

dog lovers included Young Pup

Photographer (won by 11-year-old

Sabine Wolpert from the USA),

and I Love Dogs Because... (won

by 12-year-old Mariah Mobley

also from the USA).

An exhibition of the winning

entries is now on show at The

Kennel Club Art Gallery, Clarges

Street, London W1J 8AB and runs

until 4 October. For details about

next year’s competition, visit http://www.

dogphotographeroftheyear.org.uk.

Technique DPOTY

To see all of the awarded entries from DPOTY 2019,

visit http://www.dogphotographeroftheyear.org.uk.

the lead

© DENISE CZICHOCKI/ THE KENNEL CLUB

Dirty Dog

Monica van der Maden

Winner Dogs at Play category

Website monoafotografi e.nl, Instagram @

monoa_photography, Facebook MoNoaFotografi e

Technical details Nikon D850, 200mm, 1/2000sec

at f/2, ISO 400

‘This image is from my series Dirty Dogs,

which came from a desire to do something

a bit different from the usual clean dog portraits.

I searched for a dog who loved to play in the mud

and I found Waylon, an Australian Shepherd.’

MONICA’S TOP TIPS

1 To catch an action shot like this you need

to use a shutter speed above 1/1000sec.

2 Try to capture a dog’s character – to

achieve this, communicate with its owner.

3 Educate yourself about different kinds

of dog breed and their behaviour.

© MONICA VAN DER MADEN / THE KENNEL CLUB

36 27 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

‘Dreaming Merlin’ by Denise

Czichocki was the overall

winner of DPOTY 2019

Waylon the Australian

Shepherd loves the mud