The twelfth and final challenge in the Embark Pet Photography Challenge Series was “Party Time”.

The goal: capture your subject at play, either with toys or other subjects. Here's the final image I created for this challenge:

I had a couple of ideas for this challenge. One was to photograph my husky and lab playing together. When those two get going, it’s total chaos but in the most entertaining way possible.

My second idea involved my lab and her unique obsession with acorns. This time of year, they fall from the trees, and for some reason, she loves to pick them up in her mouth and launch them onto the ground. It’s absolutely hilarious to watch!

Of course, I know acorns are toxic to dogs, so I always keep a very close eye on her to make sure she doesn’t bite down on one. When she first started doing it I tried to stop her, but she was determined to do things her way. So now I just watch her like a hawk whenever she decides it’s “acorn time.”

Since I was scheduled for hand surgery and knew I’d be in recovery when this challenge was due, I needed to plan ahead. While I was still in the planning stage, a client called asking me to photograph her German Shorthaired Pointer, Ellie Mae

Because I always include some playtime photos in my sessions, I decided to make things easier on myself and choose a shot from Ellie Mae’s session for my submission. The photo at the top of this blog quickly became one of my favorite shots from Ellie Mae’s playtime.

At just one year old, Ellie Mae is still very much a puppy, full of energy, curiosity, and personality. She’s beautiful, sweet, and always up for playtime. And when she’s done, she’ll let you know it! 😄

For this shot, I used my 70–200mm lens at 200mm, with a shutter speed of 1/4000 sec and an aperture of f/4.5.

For action shots, it’s generally recommended to use a minimum shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. Personally, I’ve found that still isn’t fast enough to freeze a dog in motion so I usually shoot at 1/2000 or higher.

I also used single-point continuous autofocus (AI Servo mode) to track Ellie Mae’s movements. This mode allows you to keep focus locked on the dog’s eyes while the camera continuously adjusts for movement. Even then, autofocus can get tricky depending on the lighting and contrast between your subject and the background.

The shoot location was gorgeous, surrounded by mountains. For the action shots, I moved down a small hill so Ellie Mae would be isolated against the bright blue sky.

This time, I knew better than to rely on my LCD screen for fast-moving shots. Instead, I laid down in the grass and used my viewfinder to track her as she played.

Ellie Mae had an absolute blast playing fetch and tug with her mom. After several rounds of running back and forth, I finally captured the moment you see at the top of this blog, full of joy, energy, and motion. Here are a few behind-the-scenes shots of her having the time of her life:

And here are a few of my favorite edited images from the session:

One day, when Ellie Mae grows out of her puppy stage and can stay still a little longer, I’d love to return to that same spot and create an epic panoramic shot with the mountains in the background, the kind of image I’ve been dreaming of capturing.

The judges said this image captured a really great moment. They loved the green grass, blue sky, and fluffy white clouds, saying the image felt simple and clean. They also mentioned how lovely the light was and how nice and sharp the overall image looked.

The only critique was that the noise reduction on Ellie Mae’s face caused a bit of oversmoothing, especially around her neck. They admitted they were being a little picky, but that’s exactly what they’re there for.

Overall, they reiterated how much they loved the sky, the vibrant green grass, Ellie Mae’s playful pose, the color of the toy, and of course, those adorable flying ears.

I was really happy with this critique. It shows that I’m continuing to grow in both my photography and editing skills. This photo made the shortlist and came just one spot shy of the Top 20, which feels like a huge accomplishment for me, especially for an action shot, since I’m still working on nailing focus on the eyes. With more practice, I know I’ll get there.

I wish I could make a few adjustments to this image and resubmit it for the final portfolio review, but my recent hand surgery has me on pause for now, and the final deadline is only a couple of days away.

Still, I’m incredibly proud of how far I’ve come on this journey. It hasn’t been easy. There were moments of frustration and times I wanted to quit, but I’m so glad I kept going. Along the way, I’ve met some amazing friends, and I can honestly say this community of dog photographers is one of the best I’ve ever been a part of.

I’ll be taking a break from challenges next year to focus on recovery and growth, but I’m hoping to join the next series, Emerge, the following year.

This challenge wraps up the Embark series, but stay tuned for the awards and final portfolio reveal!