Seriously. After two decades of working in the corporate world, I have decided to move out on my own. I can tell you there are people in my life who think I am crazy to leave a job with steady pay and great benefits when we are in the midst of this economic crisis. While the practical side of me might agree with them, my heart is telling me (very loudly) that it’s time. Time to follow my dream, my passion and take a risk. I have been running Modern Pet Furtography as a side job for the last year. More and more, my heart was going into my business and I found it very hard to focus on my 9-5. As a very humble person, I can tell you one thing I know for sure, I have always been a hard worker with a great work ethic. I am also a perfectionist when it comes to my work.  I was spreading myself very thin and not being able to focus ALL of my energy on my business was just killing me.  So here I am. I am super excited to start this new chapter in my life and because it’s been soooo long since I’ve taken a risk…I have to admit I am a little scared. Most of all I feel free and am so excited that I will be focusing all of my energy into something I absolutely love and feel extreme passion for.

Why did I start Modern Pet Furtography? It combines my two passions- photography and animals.  I have always been a HUGE animal lover.  Unfortunately, growing up, my dad never let us have a pet. Not because he didn’t like animals, he loves animals and he has a huge heart. His heart was the problem. He felt so bad when his childhood dog had to be put to sleep, he never got over the heartache and he never wanted us to feel that pain. Believe me, I tried my hardest to have a pet. I would bring home strays and play on my parents sympathy. My parents were stubborn!  My mom had five kids to take care of and really wasn’t enthusiastic about taking care of an animal. So, since the time I moved out of the house at 17, I have always had a pet. While my dad is right, that losing a furry family member hurts,  I would never give up the time I spent with them because of it.  There are too many animals who need a loving home. So many are being neglected, abused and put down for lack of space at the shelters.  If you can’t tell, I am passionate about rescue.  I thought, if I can combine my passion for photography and my passion for animals, maybe in a small way, I can help save some animals from an untimely demise.  I have trained shelter workers how to take better photos in order to find homes faster for these poor animals. I also take photos of adoptable pets for rescue groups. I know the difference a photo can make when trying to find homes for these animals.  It was because of a photo, that I adopted Minnie. Minnie was up for adoption and I took her photo for the Animal Guardian Network to post on Petfinder.  There was something in her eyes and every time I looked at this photo I fell in love with her.

As long as I can remember, I loved photography.  I would take photos when I was just a little kid, I studied it in high school then it was my major in college. I have always loved to use my camera to tell stories.  Here is an example of one of those stories…this was 1980, the models were my sisters and brother and I was using a point and shoot 110 film camera. These photos crack me up.  I dressed and made up my siblings, put blue food color in the water…not quite sure what was going through my 14 year old mind but I’m pretty sure there is a story here. Put the photos in any order and you can create your own story! While technically I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew it was something I loved to do…

With Modern Pet Furtography I love nothing more than the fact that I get to witness and record with my camera- the pet’s story and the love they share with their family.  So, today I combine my passions and will begin this new journey.  I am excited for all the dogs and cats and animals I will meet along the way, their humans and their stories.

You know, my dad was right about one thing, our furry family members are not with us long enough. I can’t think of a better way to keep their memory alive than scheduling a session with Modern Pet Furtography. Let’s work together to create memories that will last fur ever!

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Dog Bless!

Andrea