What. A. Year. From the iconic landscapes of Iceland and Costa Rica to backyard shoots with our newest family member... 2024 has been an absolutely incredible ride. Choosing the highlights for this year's top images was incredibly difficult. Trust me - its difficult every year... but this year in particular was nearly impossible!
We had so many wonderful moments with incredible people and pups along the way. I am continually floored by the reception we get from our community. With a fully booked calendar in 2024, our business along with our hearts continued to grow.
I also achieved some milestones that contributed to the business in some big ways, but you guys will learn more about those in my upcoming "The State of Wander" blog post. I will link that here once its live.
For this post, let's keep it focused on highlighting just a handful of the amazing pets I photographed this year.
So let's dig into it!
IMAGE BREAKDOWN
International Pet Photography Awards
I entered 21 images into the International Pet Photographer of the Year (IPPY) Awards in 2024, and was awarded for 20 of them. You can check out all 21 competition images in THIS BLOG POST.
Interestingly enough... just 7 of those images made it into my Top 24 List! The IPPY doesn't allow submissions from photography workshops, which immediately omits the images I captured in Iceland. I also had a number or images that were created after the IPPY submission deadline that I just absolutely adore. So you guys just might be getting a sneak peek at a few of my submissions for next year's awards! 😉
EMERGE PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE
I also participated the second round of the Unleashed Education photography challenges, Emerge, this year. 6 of my Top 24 images are from the Emerge Challenge, although there is some overlap with them also being used in IPPY.
Once again, the growth I experienced as a photographer is directly tied to the feedback and encouragement I received from these challenges. 8 out of 12 images placed in the Top 10 of the Emerge Challenge, which is considerably better than my participation in the first round. I enjoyed the experience so much that I'm "graduating" to their next challenge tier, Empower, in 2026 after the program takes an "off year" to allow for more graduating members from the next Emerge class to join us.
TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
Windswept black sand landscapes and rocky basalt columns. Massive waterfalls and sun-drenched beaches... photographing dogs while we travel around the world has to be one of the absolute BEST perks of my job. This year's travel included a trip to Iceland and two trips to Costa Rica. A smattering of images from both locations snuck their way into the Top 24 for this year. Whenever I travel to somewhere new, there is typically a specific image that I just can't get out of my head until I capture it. It's like chasing a rainbow... you rarely can create that absolutely PERFECT image that you have pictured in your mind - but man do you have fun trying! After a lot of hard work, some excellent help from the instructors and a healthy dose of master planning and coordination - I managed to snag a pot of gold or two during the Iceland trip. 🌈
PUPPY FEVER
We brought home a puppy in April, and our lives were forever changed for the better. Brutus, the most handsome yellow Labrador Retriever in all the land, provided an endless source of entertainment in 2024. I did my best to photograph him as much as possible this year and it still doesn't seem like it was enough! There was a gap between 5 months and 9 months where I didn't get him in front of my lens... and WOWZA did he change a lot! Regardless, we have a TON of puppy memories to keep for the rest of our days. A couple of which made it into the Top 24 for this year. One image from his 6 month shoot is actually a silhouette and we are having it printed as a statement piece on acrylic. 🥰 It's going to be EPIC!
CLIENT IMAGES
This is where things get difficult... after I select my personal favorites from competition and personal shoots - I move into selecting my favorites from my client images. You guys... we had SO MANY beautiful and wonderful dogs this year.
My first pass at pulling my “favorites” resulted in a whopping 48 images! Thank GOD I have another photographer in the house, to help me go through the decision making process. It was an impossible task, but we managed to round out our Top 24... How amazing is this group of four-legged snugglers?
SIDE NOTE: The process of picking my Top 24 was actually really insightful! It was interesting to be in the shoes of my client. Now knowing what it’s like to see a full image gallery and needing to pick out your favorite images... I fully understand that it is really hard work. I commend you all!
So here we go! My Top 24 images of 2024!
Each and every one of these images has a story. A wet nose (or three). A sweet kiss. And an amazing human. Each one of these images deserves their own spotlight, so I'm going to give them just that. Follow along on Wander Pet Photography on Instagram and Facebook during the month of January while I tell the amazing story of these sweet faces.
Thank you to every one of my clients who braved the weather, hiked the trails, laughed until we cried, and most importantly - shared the love of your dogs with me. This year was one for the storybooks and I cannot WAIT to see what 2025 has in store. Happy New Year!
~ Amy
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