I first met Pepper’s owner many moons ago when she came to her friend’s viewing session. I had photographed Harlequin at sunrise using off-camera lighting and ever since then she wanted me to do the same for her dog Pepper. So when she received a voucher from her partner for her birthday she was pretty happy.

We met at 5.30am on a brisk morning in September. Lucky I’m an early bird!

Before the sun started to peek above the horizon we moved to another spot on the coast for a bit of variety. Pepper was so well behaved. Her biggest crime was wanting to be too close to my yummy homemade treats but I took that as a compliment.

When the sun was well and truly up we drove down the road a little bit to a park with trees, to filter the harsh light. It was magpie swooping season and we were all very lucky to avoid getting pecked on the head while she did some running through their park. A passerby nearly copped it from one angry bird!

After a freedom run, which gave us all a scare, we put an end to off-lead activities. Pepper was pretty happy with herself, nonetheless.

Pepper’s owners selected my top collection, which includes a wall art collection, a big album and all the digital files. I’ll post a digital flip through of the album on Instagram in the new year. You can follow me here if you’d like to check it out.