Jane’s focus on prized pets and precious memories

IT was during the COVID lockdown that Jane Dunning approached her Geelong neighbour with an eye to taking portrait shots of their frisky Airedale pup, Hazel.

Jane had earned her stripes with studies in Geelong and at Melbourne’s Photography Studies College while her children were in primary school.

She had gathered an impressive portfolio of family portraits, landscapes and a wide range of other subjects before turning to her love of pets and starting Geelong’s Best in Show Photography in October 2019.

As COVID closed in, she kept a keen eye out for local pooches, including her hairdresser’s whippet Diva who she captured in a renaissance-style recline with three persimmons at her paws.

By the time Hazel the Airedale got her camera call, Jane had converted her garage into a studio, complete with chaise lounge and mauve velvet curtains.

The result was striking – a proud young pup sitting at attention, with sparkling brown eyes and rich gold and black coat.

Just as striking was another subject who Jane used in the session, an albino Burmese python named Baxter belonging to Seona, now coiled in a cow’s skull above Hazel.

The neighbour was excited by the prospect of the pooch and the python sharing a shot and was overjoyed by the results.

Two years in and out of lockdown gave Jane an opportunity to hone her venture into a fast, responsive business ready for when life returned to normal.

She says COVID highlighted the incredible bond between pets and their owners.

“It was so apparent,” she said. “We were cut off from other people and drawn closer to our pets.

“So many times, I’ve heard people say ‘I wouldn’t have made it without the dog’.”

That bond is front and centre in her work, with two- and four-legged family members happily posing together in her studio, at the family home or in full flight across a local beach or park.

A vast array of dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds – as well as the odd snake – have been caught by Jane’s camera.

She is, of course, a pet lover, with a 12-year-old groodle, Frodo, and miniature groodle, Roo, the latest in a long line of pets to grace her household.

In October last year, she opened a studio in the old woollen mills in Rutland Street, Newtown, sharing the space with other creatives.

“I love photographing the paw in the owner’s hand, the kiss on the owner’s (and pet’s) nose – just the love,” Jane said. “The legacy of the family pet will endure long after their last tail wag.”

For more information, head to janedunningphotography.com or email [email protected]