Hot on the heels of the International Dog Photographer of the Year Awards a month ago, the 2024 International Pet Photography Awards have been revealed, with an Australian photographer once again in the spotlight.
The awards celebrate the work of pet photographers across the globe, and in its sixth year the competition saw 3621 entries from 41 different countries.
Alongside a new Equine category, the competition has five other categories: Action, Creative, Documentary, Pets and People, and Portrait.
Each category winner receives a prize of $250 USD and a trophy as well as a year’s membership to Unleashed Education and the Professional Photography Business Network, run by the competition's founders, for their efforts.
Janneke De Graaf was crowned the 2024 International Pet Photographer of the Year with a portfolio of images depicting her Basenjis.
Image: Janneke De Graaf (The Netherlands)
“My partner and I have four at home, three of which are bred by ourselves” she says.
Posed in in different locations, judges were impressed with the variety of techniques used in De Graaf’s portfolio.
Image: Janneke De Graaf (The Netherlands)
De Graaf continues “Basenjis have a beautiful, quite serious expression and very elegant lines, which makes them stand out in images. Their obedience, or lack thereof, can make them challenging to pose though and a handler is almost always needed!”.
Image: Janneke De Graaf (The Netherlands)
Closer to home, Australian photographer Kerry Martin won the Pets and People category, with her image of Amelia and her assistance dog Mr. Darcy.
Image: Kerry Martin (Australia)
"Mr Darcy works in the classroom with Amelia," explains Martin.
"While the kids love him (he has his own ID pass and gets more christmas gifts than any other member of staff!), he's not there as an assistance dog for the students. He's there to give Amelia independence and support in her role as a teacher.
It's a complete surprise and honour to be considered as a finalist. There's such incredible talent in the dog/pet photography community across the globe so my goal with entering awards is to participate and grow from that experience.
I never expect that I am going to walk away with anything."
From New Zealand, Rebecca Williams won the Documentary category, with her image depicting a New Zealand Huntaway.
Image: Rebecca Williams (New Zealand). An early morning bringing weaned lambs into the yards. The New Zealand Huntaway works the lambs by barking to move them up. There was plenty of action in this shot, the horses had come over for a look and the sun was just breaking through the clouds. With the long shadows and the light rays, the image seemed to work well in black and white. I often try to get images when the dogs are working a mob, sometimes it's all a blur, but this time it all came together!
Interestingly, the comp also gave a breakdown of its most popular subjects - there were 2991 dogs, 236 cats, 311 horses and 83 'others', including pigs, cows, chickens, parrots, lizards, snakes, frogs, rabbits, ferrets, a hedgehog and a rat.
You can see the other category winners below.
Action category winner, Regine Jensen. The image was taken at a sand excavation site in Norway. While my vision was initially to photograph in the Sahara, I had to get creative and find a local spot that could replicate the sandy, warm atmosphere I envisioned. After exploring several locations, I finally found a suitable sand site that matched my concept for the shot. How the image was created: The inspiration came after watching a masterclass by Kris Anderson, which led me to sketch a composition that combined fluidity and motion with straight lines and structure. We had an assistant holding a long fabric strip to create a sense of elegance while a whippet, my model, trotted gracefully toward its owner. I took countless shots to achieve the perfect alignment, and afterward, I stitched several images together to create the panoramic effect.
Creative category winner, Katie Brockman. These two are my former foster kittens, Ed (left) and Cleo. They are brother and sister, and I wanted an image that showed both of their personalities — Ed was a spicy and cranky boy, while Cleo was super mischievous and loved harassing her siblings. This image is part of a series I've been working on with "painted" kittens, to show off cats' unique markings and personalities. There was a ton of composite work involved in this one, but it was such a fantastic learning experience.Equine category winner, Sabrina Einig. This photo was taken in late August as part of a personal portfolio project I’ve been working on. Since I rarely capture action shots during my usual horse photography sessions, I felt inspired to try something different this time. Meet Friso, a remarkable and gentle seven-year-old Friesian stallion with a heart of gold. He truly embodies the spirit and strength that remind me of the deep inspiration horses offer us every day. Despite his calm demeanor, he showed incredible energy and grace, bringing such powerful emotion to this moment. For safety reasons, Friso wasn’t entirely free during this session—he ran with a long rope that I later edited out.Portrait category winner, Anna Failner. The photo was taken in a nearby forest (Veldensteiner Forst) on a foggy morning in August, when the sun was slowly rising. The dog on the photo is my golden retriever girl Tala. I am so happy and thankful to be a finalist. I never expected this wonderful surprise!
