woof-fest | Sydney event photographer

This was an interesting job, with a couple of small challenges. Firstly I am allergic to dogs, but that didn’t stop me attending woof-fest 2012 when Western Sydney Parklands  hired us as the official photographers for the event. Also it had rained heavily in the week leading up to the event and the grounds were wet and muddy, but that didn’t stop me getting down on the ground to get close to our little subjects, so lets just say that the shoes and the clothes I wore to this job had to make their way to the bin the next day. Also it was extremely bright & sunny which was not ideal for photography. Thankfully I love a challenge & I enjoy documenting events. My sneezes aside, the dogs were adorable all basking in their very own day out. There was puppy face painting, dog washing, stalls with dog related products, fun competitions and demonstration teams. RSPCA inspectors & education officers also attended. Surrounded by over 1,000 people attending the event, aimed at raising awareness of Western Sydney Parklands off-leash area available to dog owners, I felt a little out of place holding a camera instead of a much loved dog. At one point Pete & I walked past a stall and we were offered a ‘Pet Barn’ promotional bag & Pete said, “No thanks, we don’t have a pet”, I think the lady was speechless. It probably wasn’t a line she expected to hear at woof-fest. I quickly covered by adding, “but my mum does” & took a bag so we didn’t look too strange. Honestly I thought this event was a great idea. I am a fan of anything that brings people & community together. I think these dogs will happily bring their owners back next year.