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Healing Companions: Jane Thomson – Dog Photography Awards Dogs & People Category Winner

Jane Thomson is an acclaimed photographer whose work often explores the deep bond between dogs and their human companions. Her unique and heartwarming image, « The Princess and the Pea », recently won first place in the Dogs & People category of the Dog Photography Awards. Known for her ability to tell stories through her lens, Jane aimed to capture the strength and resilience of children at BC Children’s Hospital alongside their therapy dogs in this memorable piece. With « The Princess and the Pea », she combines storytelling and portraiture, crafting an image that celebrates the healing and joy therapy animals bring to young patients.

  • HOW DID YOU GET INTO DOG PHOTOGRAPHY?

6 years ago I was looking for a hobby to keep me busy between my freelance bookings as a commercial TV producer. During this time I adopted a terrier named Phoebe. This sweet little girl turned out to be very dog reactive, so I discovered dog training as this hobby. I had considered learning how to use a camera about a year prior, but never got around to it…the small Fuji camera I bought was collecting dust in a cupboard. While I was training Phoebe, I began playing with this camera thinking I could try some street photography, but quickly realized I couldn’t walk around the city with my dog while I took photographs as I needed to always keep both eyes on her. Because she and I live alone, she was the only beating heart in the house to photograph…so I practiced taking photographs of her inside the house to avoid her reacting to other dogs. This started my dog photography journey, the rest is history as it is now is my full time passion. Phoebe is my muse and the reason I became a photographer.
  • YOUR WORK « The Princess and the Pea » EARNED YOU THE TITLE OF DOG PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR. CAN YOU SHARE THE STORY BEHIND CREATING THIS IMAGE?

A good friend of mine has her dog enrolled in the Children’s hospital pet therapy program. One day and she asked me if I knew a photographer that would be willing to photograph a calendar for their program. She said she felt I was too busy and it would be a bit beneath me. I asked if they would be willing to let me conceptualize the calendar and everyone agreed. I had been feeling a bit stagnant with my portraiture and been wanting to try doing narrative work, as I mainly do commissioned dog and human portraiture. Once the idea of the calendar was put in front of me, I knew this was my opportunity to grow my photography, so I ran with it. I thought it would be wonderful to pair the pet therapy animals with the young patients in the hospital in simple portraits. It dawned on me that fairytales and children’s stories would be a great way to feature them in studio portraits – simple costume… seemed so easy and something I could handle. It was much more work than I anticipated!  I ended up creating 14 portraits, although some are a stretch calling them fairytales, but I had to fill the calendar so I used a bit of creative license. To me, the Princess & the Pea was an obvious fairytale to include as it’s so visually interesting and the thought of putting a young princess on top of the mattresses with a tiny dog could be remarkable. I was sent photographs of children who wanted to be in the calendar and I started pairing them with the therapy dogs (and a cat, and a rabbit).
Once I completed The Princess & the Pea session, I immediately knew this portrait would be the cover of the calendar. It tells a beautiful story of a brave young girl sitting proudly with her furry little therapy dog Tintin.
  • THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, WHAT POSED THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU?

Apart from the emotional aspect of the project, something I never expected. I am use to photographing humans with their dogs so I thought this would be pretty easy working with pet therapy animals and children. The thing I didn’t consider was that they didn’t really ‘know’ each other, so for some of the portraits, nerves and hesitation crept into the sessions and at times I had to switch gears and make a new plan. With the Princess & the Pea, finding enough mattresses and the linens I wanted took some work – and Tintin kept wanting to jump off the bed.  In the end, all the portraits for the project worked out beautifully with some being even better than I had imagined – I’m incredibly proud of the outcome.
  • WHAT DOES WINNING THE AWARD MEAN TO YOU?

This project has been the most enriching experience for me since I began taking photographs. Working with these brave children and all the generous pet therapy teams felt like I was given a gift. Having received this recognition for this portrait (which is the cover the calendar) by judges of such a high caliber, I couldn’t ask for anything more.
  • LASTLY, CAN YOU GIVE US A GLIMPSE INTO ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS YOU’RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON?

Believe it or not, I am still completing this project…the calendar came off the press a few days ago, and today I photographed one of the pet therapy dogs for yet another portrait in this same series. I’m currently in the process of compiling new ideas, brainstorming really but nothing is concrete yet – this project took me 6 months from concept to printing, so I need a little time to let my next idea hatch!

More about Jane Thomson: https://www.janethomsonphotography.com/ 

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