30 Day Photographer Challenge: Day 17 “Photo Lab Pet Photography”
For Day 17 of our 30 Day Photographer Challenge, I decided to go with a photographer who was a little different than all of the other photographers who we have featured so for. This is why Photo Lab Pet Photography out of Petaluma, California has been chosen as the featured photographer for Day 17 of our 30 Day Photographer Challenge. Although most of the photographers you will find online strictly work with humans, I came across Bill Parsons and Natalia Martinez after a friend of mine on Facebook commented on their work. Although finding a photographer who’s only subjects are pets is rare, as its seems that every 500 photographers, there is one pet photographer, I am glad that I have found Bill and Natalia and that I can now share their work with you.
It is always interesting to learn how and when a person discovered and then fell in love with the art of photography. On Photo Lab Pet Photography’s Facebook page, Bill and Natalia explain that they have always had a passion for animals. They feel, just as I do, that our pets are an important part of our family and should be treated as such. I could never understand why a person would want to have a dog, who they left outside, chained to a tree, waiting for a 5 minute interaction when their human came to feed them. Or why have a cat, who you leave outside, only putting food and water out for them and never allowing them to come inside? In my opinion, animals, being the loving and loyal things that they are, should be treated the same as your children. Just like your children, your animals did not ask to come into your life. You chose to bring them into your world and you therefore have an obligation to treat them with all the love and kindness they will no doubt show you.
Bill & Natalia have a black lab named Corbin. They would frequently photograph Corbin and his feline siblings until sadly, one day they learned that Corbin had been diagnosed with cancer. Bill & Natalia were glad to have the photographs of Corbin that had been taken before he was sick so that they could look at them and remember all of the wonderful times they had with him. When they were told that Corbin was cancer free, they were overjoyed. However, the treatments had earned them a large vet bill. Learning of this, a friend asked them to photograph her two dogs in order to make some money to put toward the outstanding vet bill. She paid them to take the photos of her dogs, but she gave them something much more valuable then money- the idea that would eventually become Photo Lab Pet Photography- named in honor of the black lab who started it all.
In truth, I can admit that I am an extremely sensitive person. When I learned of the horrible things that Michael Vick had done to his animals, I could not help but to cry and become sick to my stomach. When I was 7 years old, I had a cat that would follow me to the bus stop to watch me get on the bus and he would be waiting for me in the same spot when I got home from school. Our scary neighbor would walk his son to the bus stop as well. One morning, he went to pet my cat and the cat, probably sensing what an evil man he was, bit his hand. I stood frozen and horrified as the man picked up my cat by his tail and proceeded to bite him on the paw. “An eye for an eye,” he said. The cat scratched at his face and took off running back to our house and I ran right behind him. I was so distraught that I did not go to school for two days. And I would hold my cat and ask over and over for him to forgive me for letting the evil man hurt him. Looking back, I think it was this experience that made me become so protective of animals. Not only my animals, but any animal. They cannot speak and can only do so much to protect themselves, so I feel as if it is our duty to protect them, just as we would protect our children. It is nice to know that I am not alone in this feeling, as is clear from the frequent posts by Bill & Natalia regarding their various charities and requests for assistance for animals in need of Forever Families.
Anyone who has a pet as a child, learns at a young age how very short an animal’s life is when compared to ours. I had once told myself that I would never get my own children a pet because I knew just how badly it hurt to loose them. When I did have a son of my own, I changed my mind because I wanted to allow him to love an animal the way I had as a child. We now have two white German Shepards named Thor and Odin, as well as a black and white cat named Cecil, who we adopted just a few months ago but already love as our own. As anyone with a pet knows, they each have their own unique personalities, which only makes them more lovable. Bill & Natalia are able to capture these personalities in order to allow them to shine through their lens in the photograph. It is this ability which separates them from several other pet photographers I have seen. The entire reason for a photograph is to remember a special moment in time, to be able to look at the photograph and remember the love you felt for the subject and the emotions you felt during the time in your life when it was taken. Its obvious that Bill & Natalia are able to give this gift to their clients and I applaud them for it. It is absolutely invaluable and I would give almost anything to be able to go back and have them photograph the animals I loved in my childhood who are no longer with us.
Anyone who knows the love of an animal should be sure to check out Bill & Natalia’s work for Photo Lab Pet Photographers. To see the animals they have helped and the charities they support, go to their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/PhotoLabPets . To browse through their amazing photography, check out their website at: http://www.photolabpets.com/#home/ . Be sure to send them some love as well and let them know how much us animal lovers appreciate what they are doing for the love of an animal.
When you visit their website, make sure to check out my favorite images! They are:
*Portfolio, Feline, Conspiracy- Pic 3/9: Black & White of a woman with a cat over her shoulder. Neither are looking into the camera, but you can feel the emotion of the image.
*Portfolio, Menagerie, Menagerie- Pic 8/9: Color image of a man with two gorgeous birds on his shoulders. The love for these animals is obvious in the image.
*Portfolio, Canine, In Company- Pic 4/39 & 9/39: Images taken on a couples wedding day which feature their dogs. I love that they included their dog in their wedding and the images are just beautiful.
Memory Lane Porcelain Portraits 