Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello and welcome, Chris.
I'm super excited to have you here today.
Chris: Thank you, Anke, and I'm really pleased to be with you as well.
Anke: Awesome.
Before we dive into the topic, and if people are watching, you can already see
the photos behind, behind Chris there, so you get a sense of where this is going.
But before we go there, why don't you give people like a two minute bird's eye
overview, you know, where you're based?
What's,
Chris: what's the story?
What's the dog story?
Yes, thank you, Anke.
Well, people can probably tell from the accent, I'm based in the UK, or at least
I'm from the UK, but I'm based in the UK.
Nice.
Uh, we live between Windsor and Ascot, um, so if you know the UK, uh, well,
Heathrow Airport just, uh, to the west of London and, and Windsor Castle, uh,
is where that area with the Windsor Great Park, we take a lot of photographs.
Um, for those looking and watching the, uh, this podcast, you will see some
of those photographs on the screen.
Uh, the country looking ones, the forest looking ones.
We have so many forests near us.
Uh, as you can tell, I'm a dog photographer.
Um, we are called Mill Pet Photography, but we exclusively focus on dogs, and
maybe I can share a little bit about why that, uh, why that is in a moment.
Um, but I have spent 40 years in the tech industry, uh, and then,
uh, at the beginning of last year, switched to be 100 percent full
time focused on photographing dogs.
I love
Anke: it.
I love it.
And I remember, actually, I remember when we connected on LinkedIn, it
was just when you'd made the leap, you know, and so it was just awesome
to see where you've taken it.
So, so yeah, why don't we start there?
You know, what, what's the story behind the focus on dogs?
Chris: Yeah, well, if I go all the way back, I mean, I've always had a passion
for photography, um, and like many people always had a passion, not just for dogs,
for all animals, to be fair, um, cats and dogs, um, but the very first dog that I
had was, uh, when I was two years old.
Uh, and obviously I don't remember the dog coming home, but it was a
one year old, uh, greyhound rescue.
And, uh, my granddad at the time, uh, used to, uh, work with greyhounds
and actually test them before they raced, uh, back in those days.
And that's how we got Jenny, uh, a beautiful grey greyhound
with little white paws.
Um, but the sad story, I mean, I grew up with her, which is fantastic.
Uh, she lasted almost 12 years.
But I knew no other dog in all my life.
And even now when I speak with my father, we only have between
us one photograph of Jenny.
And that is a photograph of Jenny and me.
And it's always made me sad, and even now I'm thinking of it.
But it, it started to become quite important to me a few years ago.
When around 2018, I was starting to think, what do I want to do when
I eventually retire, if that's the phrase, from the tech industry?
Um, and I did consider non executive type roles, though there's more
natural route that people in senior leadership roles would move
into, and that was my background.
But I don't always like to just follow the norm, I like to
do something a bit different.
So, I decided then, what's the hardest thing?
It's working with...
Children and animals.
So how about if I photograph, well at least, animals.
And so in 2018 I started on that journey and I took training with a number of the
leading dog photographers still today.
In the UK, Nick Ridley, who does a lot of gundogs and working
dogs, I started with him.
Um, Maria, Michael helped me a lot as well.
Uh, she still photographs.
Nick doesn't, but, uh, Maria does still photograph and her work is excellent.
She does, uh, equine as well.
Um, and then remotely.
Charlotte Reeves in Australia was just absolutely a superstar
in helping me focus and just get outdoors, just focus outdoors.
Um, and then as the journey's progressed, a whole, whole
load of other people, including Claudia, uh, Claudia Oli in Italy.
who really taught me dogs in action, um, so that I can get dogs in flight.
And, and I think it's for that more locally that I've become
reasonably, um, uh, well known.
And people always want pictures of their dogs flying if
their dogs will run at speed.
So, That's how I sort of got there.
And I started, I think, 2018 through 2021, as much as I could in my spare
time, just train and train and train.
And then, yeah, took the step early last year.
I love
Anke: it.
I love it.
And if so, if you can see the photos, you can see all the
images, they're all out in nature.
And so what's the, what's the hardest part?
about getting like, you know, because your, your photos on sort
of staged in a, in a studio, right?
So they kind of capture the dog in movement in their natural, like literally
just kind of like a snap, like in motion and, you know, where you can
really feel the essence of the dog.
Like what's the hardest part of capturing that?
Chris: It's a really good question, and I'm glad you picked that up as well, Anke,
because, um, first of all, uh, with the, the technology in most people's mobiles
today, everyone can get great photographs of their dog, um, particularly, as
I would say, in a portrait style.
Uh, and, and do so.
Just keep taking those photos.
I encourage everyone.
In fact, if anyone wants to later come across our website, sign up to our
newsletter, they will get, um, a free guide, a PDF guide on, on taking better
photo, photographs with your phone.
Um, a bit of your dog.
But coming to the point that you say, yeah, how do you do it?
I just like getting pictures of dogs being dogs.
Um, and, and it's a phrase I use.
I know a lot of people, I know in the industry now, say the same thing.
You've gotta little dog, be a dog.
Now, I do love cute photographs taken in studios.
Uh, there's some amazing studio photographers, um, in the UK as well.
Uh, you and Chain up in, uh, in, in Scotland.
Uh, spent some time with him last month and, uh, and his work is just stunning.
Um, but, and it's beautiful and I love that.
And, and, and it is still a dog, being dog, but for me,
it's not my, my personal style.
I, I will do some, some studio work, but it's for projects.
I just like getting dogs in their natural environment, letting them have fun, and
I studied canine behavior, um, just over two years ago now, and, uh, got a diploma
in it as well, and that helps me really understand the dog at the time, so I can
work with very anxious dogs, um, the dogs don't need to be on, uh, off lead if they
want to stay on lead for the safety of the dog or the environment we're in, we'll
always do that, and we'll do the magic of, uh, of post processing in Photoshop later.
But for me, it is about trying to connect with the dog, and Yeah, the one thing
I do that might be a little different is when I meet the dog, I meet the dog.
I don't meet the owner.
So when I'm there, particularly with Sue, because my wife does join me,
uh, she's a dog wrangler, but actually she's often talking to the owner.
I will engage with the dog immediately, unless it's an anxious one, in which
case I'll, I'll give it a lot of time.
Um, but I'll get to know the dog and I'll get very friendly with the dog.
And what comes through hopefully in the photography is that the dog's
just having fun and just wants to carry on doing what we're doing.
I love
Anke: that.
I really love it.
I mean, I was just, I was just thinking, well, I'm going to go get that guy because
I have one of my dogs is like all black and it's so hard to get a decent shot of
Chris: him.
Dog photographers will all say the same thing that an all black
dog is one of the hardest to...
Not to photograph, but to show in its true representation.
And I know those watching on the screen will see there is a black
dog there, and it's relatively small in its image size there.
Um, but the reason behind it is because, particularly if you're
out in the natural light, you've got lots of other colours going on.
Um, and you will tend to get blues and magentas coming through in a black.
Uh, which is natural, but unfortunately the way our cameras work is that
they'll often accentuate that, so you need to balance that and
correct that in the post processing.
Not to get the dog completely black, because that's also
not natural, but to get it...
Back to the natural colour that you saw.
So yeah, they are, they are a challenge.
Um, and also dogs at speed are a challenge as well.
I bet, I bet.
That's what obviously I've, you know, both with the equipment and the technique is
what I've learned is to capture those.
So
Anke: I think, well, my imagination goes like, well, you'll probably take a lot
of photos in really short procession to sort of find that, that, that one.
You know, so what, what's the, what's the funniest story you've ever had with a dog?
Chris: Well, actually, um, there's quite a few, but if I think of, there's two
that spring into mind immediately, and they both ended up with, uh, me and
the dog on top of me with my camera.
Um, there's one that's, uh, actually, um, I put out on social media earlier
this week, which is of Harvey, a wonderful, uh, chocolate Labrador.
Now, he's a dog that I've now been able to photograph three times, uh, over the,
the five years, and, uh, in this one that I posted, he was, we're in the forest,
um, I'm laying on the ground, he kind of knows we're there, I've got Dad behind me,
calling him, so he's running towards Dad.
But he sees me lying on the ground at a slightly odd angle and I
literally am laying almost in a little dip, so I'm below him.
And he jumps to go towards Dad, sees me and sort of changes direction
and the photograph is, is captured as, you're absolutely right, there's
probably 25 images in that sequence.
Uh, but that one is just before he, he hits me.
Um, and then after that, he's hit me, he's on top of me, and he's having a
good old lick and a laugh and things.
Um, but, and a very similar one, I did a dog agility earlier this year, uh,
just for one client who'd taken the, uh, the entire agility circuit, and I was
at different points taking photographs.
But at the end, when we were finished, uh, Kiva was encouraged,
uh, go on, go and see Chris.
And I had photographed her once before already.
Uh, so this was the second time, and so she kind of knew me, and she,
again, she was all over me, and this time she's licking the camera and
stuff, so, yeah, that was, that was a pretty heavy duty clean afterwards
that was needed, but that's fine, let dogs be dogs, and, uh, you get
the best pictures as well that way.
Anke: Totally, totally, I think especially when it goes a little off
Chris: plan, right?
It's good fun, it is good fun.
Anke: Love it.
So in the last couple of minutes, why don't you share
about your amazing 60 project?
Chris: Yes, Anke, thank you.
So, um, yes, so I turned 60 in a couple of weeks time, um, and Lots
of people have been saying, hey, what are you going to do for your birthday?
And we're going to do a few things for friends and family.
But, um, it was like, are you going to celebrate?
Are you going to go off?
Are you going to have a super party?
Are you going to have a super holiday or something?
And it was kind of like, I want to celebrate this.
But actually, I want to celebrate it with dogs.
And so, um, the project that I'm creating, and I'll be announcing
it all fully soon, is, is 60 at 60, a celebration of the life of dogs.
And what I'm considering is photographing, you know, so I don't want to use
any, uh, photographs I've taken before, I'm happy to use the same
dogs if they want to be part of it.
But I want 60 different, uh, dogs.
They could be similar breeds in some cases, but as, as unique as possible.
And I want to celebrate the lives of dogs.
So I want a group of, of dogs that are in their puppy phase.
I want a group of dogs that are up their, uh, very senior phase
and then everything in between.
And I'm also thinking that I might go for some groups of
dogs that are truly working.
Um, so they're service animals as well.
Um, and if I look back over the last five years, I've photographed dogs in all
of those categories, and wouldn't it be nice to maybe get 60 of them, get them,
and I'll probably put them into a book.
We published a book last year, Tales of Windsor and Ascot, and that
had 45 dogs in, so we might self publish another book to cover that.
It'll be a fundraiser, anyone that's part of it will be raising money for a
local dog charity as well, but I have this vision that doing that would be
great to celebrate the lives of dogs, but then I want to take one photograph
from each of those sessions and bring that into a piece of art that I create.
Um, and I, I still don't know what that will be, but it will be titled
A Celebration of the Lives of Dogs, and it might be 60 at 60 still,
I'm not sure if I'll put that with it, but that's what I'm after.
Um, I took a course earlier this year with a lady called Belinda Riches
in Australia, who's the absolute...
She's the master of composite photography for dogs, and she's created, if anyone's
not checked out her work, just, if you love dogs, just check her out, so
Belinda Richards, and she, she takes photographs mostly in the studio,
and then composites the pictures and creates amazing piece of works of art.
So she's already trained me, and she's agreed to, uh, to be a bouncing ball for
me as I try and come up with this idea.
It has to be mine, I have to create it, it's got to be unique.
But I've never done it, so I can't quite say to anyone, wow, this is what
it's going to look like at the end.
But I'm thinking I'll spend most of next year taking one image from each
of the sessions, putting them into a 60 at 60, and before I hit 61, make
sure I finish this piece of work.
So, uh, if you were to check in this time next year, I need to be sure.
I will definitely.
I've
Anke: got you now, Neil.
Chris: There's accountability.
Oh, I
Anke: will, you know, I'm a mean account of kind, but I'm there.
So I'm going to check in on you.
So where can people go find out more about you, about the
project, about the books to book
Chris: you?
Yeah.
The best place, I mean we're all over socials, but the best place to
go is the website, and that's www.
millersimage.
com.
Um, the M I L stands for Millers Image Limited, so it's, but it's Miller's Image.
If they forget that, just search Mill Pet Photography, we should be found.
Uh, there shouldn't be a problem with that.
The project itself, I'm just waiting on, um, a couple of charitable
commitments, or confirmations.
Once I get those, then I will, Start to socialize that, but I'm probably
going to wait until I am actually 60.
So maybe a couple more weeks before that's up there, but the website and if you want
to be able to get to that PDF guide of getting great photos from your mobile,
just sign up to the newsletter that's up there and you'll get a copy of that.
Anke: Sounds fantastic.
So the link will obviously be in the show notes.
If you're listening below the video, if you're, if you're reading it
in the, in the, in the newsletter.
So thank you so much.
This was so much fun and I can't wait to get that going now.
Thanks so much for listening.
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And if you know a pawsome human you think I should interview,
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Email me at Anke.
That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.