Client Session ~ Juno the Border Collie in Brisbane

The littlest Border Collie puppy huddled in the corner, making herself as small as possible to avoid notice by her litter mates. Why oh why did they pick on her so much? Suddenly, she was plucked from the enclosure and sensing her newfound safety, immediately snuggled into the loving arms of her new mum and dad.

Juno has come a long way from the scared little pup she used to be. With the love and support of her adoptive parents, she’s realised that life isn’t as scary as it first seems. The happy girl I met on Friday confidently chases her ball and jumps with wild abandon to catch her frisbee (though always keeps one eye firmly fixed on her mum and dad).

The perfect mix of sweet, sensitive, clever and well behaved, Juno was a joy to photograph at my country pine forest location.

I must admit, Border Collies are starting to grow on me a little! I’ve photographed quite a few lately and love their energy, enthusiasm and focus.

Their athletic prowess makes for some pretty good entertainment as well.

Checking the sky, as I constantly do towards the end of a session, I saw the sun just about to dip behind a thick low lying blanket of smoke rolling across the sky. There must be a bushfire somewhere I guessed, commonplace for this time of year.

Resigning myself to the fact we’d miss out on that last thirty minutes of “golden hour” we headed back up the dirt track and began the long walk back to the carpark.

At the last moment, something made me turn back. The huge sun hung suspended in the smoke like a radioactive orange. The light warmed, and the air itself seemed to catch fire. This is what I’d been waiting for, except it was much, much more striking than usual.

Juno, being the co-operative girl she is, stood beautifully in the middle of the path for me as I lined up the fiery sky behind her and shot madly, capturing the phenomenon before it ended as abruptly as it began.

This is what I love about photography! The world constantly throws surprises around – they’re all there for the catching if you stay alert and practice some patience.

The smokey atmosphere lent some colour and life into the post sunset sky. I love how silhouettes tell a story through posture and body language, without relying on details and expression.