Meet Jackson and Meiko, two springer spaniels who have just turned a year old! They belong to my friend Annabelle, and her mum, Michaela. Annabelle and I have known eachother for a number of years and keep our horses together at the same yard.
Annabelle had been trying to convince her mum for a number of years to get a dog. We were camping at Barbury last year when we bumped in to a couple with some Jack Russell puppies - Michaela knew what Annabelle was thinking and kept saying: "no, you're not having a puppy!"
Well, a few weeks later, after visiting family, Annabelle sent me a text saying: "Guess What" .. and as a joke I replied: "You've got a puppy..?" .. not only was there one puppy - there was 4! The puppies couldn't be left where they were and instead of going in to a rescue centre, Annabelle took them home. Her brother took two, and Annabelle and her mum kept the other two.
We spent many hours playing with the puppies. It's been amazing watching them grow, and very quickly at that! They have provided us with hours of entertainment! I've had several ideas for shoots when they were very young - who can resist their little faces!? But we never got round to setting them up, so, before they got to a year old we were adamant we'd get some shots!
The nature reserve by the yard seemed like the perfect location - with varying backgrounds and lots of places to explore, armed with treats we were going to finally take the photographs!