Capturing Canine Agility: Francesco Junior Mura – Dog Photography Awards Action Category Winner
In the captivating realm of dog photography, one image can speak volumes, capturing a dog’s spectacular athleticism in a single frame. Today, we enter the extraordinary world of action photography and shine the spotlight on a true artist behind the lens: Francesco Junior Mura. Recently awarded the prestigious Dog Photography Awards in the Action category, Mura’s breathtaking work has struck a chord with dog lovers the world over. One of his most remarkable photographs features a dynamic Border Collie rising into the air, gracefully conquering an obstacle in its path.
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How did you get into dog photography?
It started almost by accident! among the activities of the dog center where I took to educate my first dog (a Siberian Husky, named Steel) they were teaching agility dog. I started to make the first trials for photographing my friends’ dogs, failing in the task. Those early failures led me to study and practice incessantly to this day….
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You were awarded Dog Photographer of the Year for your work « She is Bagheera », an incredibly well-timed photo of a Border Collie. How did you create this image?
This photo, I call it the photo of a lifetime! was taken during an Agility dog competition, so only 1 chance to portray the pose as always, it is not repeated… It was the first obstacle I decided to photograph of the course, the canine Bagheera did all the rest showing this performance. I was there to observe her and capture the frame.
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What is your most unforgettable memory of this project?
There are many memories and experiences related to this project, it made me live a dream, giving me access to important world competitions! Allowing many people to get to know me and my photo all over the world. Undoubtedly the title Dog Photographer of the Year is among the most beautiful experiences, with this title the photo was included in newspapers such as The Guardian and many other important magazines.
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What was the most challenging aspect you encountered with this project?
Here again the challenging aspects were many , in this project I believed in it and invested a lot of time in it, before it took off, submitting the photo in the most prestigious competitions can be easy, but it requires a lot of attention and commitment. Even during the success to respond to all the interest it brought to be among the best photos of the year, it absorbed a lot of energy.
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What does winning the award mean to you?
Winning this award means I was able to convey the emotions I experience in sports photography, and share them with the world. Most of all during Agility competitions the athletic feats of these super dogs really leave me with the strongest emotions. To have conveyed them is yet another victory.
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Are you working on any new projects?
From this achievement came the design of my new website www.francescojunior.com For 2023 2024 I have new projects in sports photography, in the coming time I will present the news through my socials.
