Split Second Photography

I’m posting here to warn other vendors of working with the Silken Windhound Association of the Rocky Mountains(SWARM).

I was hired by the event planner unaffiliated with the club for the specialty show in May. All communication and planning and confirmation I have received about anything regarding the show so far has been with this planner. This person is headlining the event in their efforts to coordinate everything.

I saw another exhibitor offering a raffle to benefit the show and the club, and thought that I could also get folks to contribute with a similar fundraiser, but with the prize being a photography package from me. Their fundraiser is still posted in the same spaces mine was and still hasn’t received a singular complaint. I can’t post screenshots given the rules of that group, but as of 8:08PM CST it was still up.

I asked this planner on Thursday if I could host a raffle that would benefit SWARM, the club planning the event. 100% of the proceeds were to be donated to the club directly. I was told yes(Picture 1), so I made my flyer(Picture 2) and posted it to this page, and shared to a couple groups(Picture 3)—the original post is still up, and you can look at the edit history to see the changes I made throughout the duration of this. I also confirmed with another planner that my usage of the show logo was approved, and they enthusiastically confirmed and provided me the PNG’s(Picture 4).

I then receive a message from the planner on Friday that SWARM’s president, Autumn Lynn, is upset at the raffle I have posted because they are illegal in Utah(where the specialty is being hosted)—mind you, legally, both myself and my LLC are registered in Ohio still, and I’M hosting the raffle. This is still a moot point because raffles are illegal in Ohio as well, not that they really put much thought into their ire. I did not know that raffles were illegal, in fact, Autumn advertised a raffle that benefitted the medical needs of the club Secretary(who comes into play)‘s dog just a year or two ago. It’s a raffle. And mine was for a value of less than $200. I don’t think the FBI would hunt me down, but nonetheless, if the club was uncomfortable with the legality of the fundraiser, I wouldn’t expect them to be forced into it.

But we’re making mountains out of molehills because it was never really about the legality, it was about their personal qualms with me that they can’t keep separate from their professional roles, especially in such leadership positions. Evidenced further by the complete disregard for the still active raffle for the club/event. I had to hear about their complaints from the event planner versus them directly like this is middle school—their excuse is that because I have blocked them on personal platforms, they didn’t bother trying to contact me despite referencing a screenshot from my photography page meaning that whomever sent them the screenshot(probably the Secretary as neither WERE blocked from this page until now because they want to make an argument, and I have better things to do with my time) could have reached out to me directly.

I did some research and found that a sweepstakes IS legal as long as it is free to enter, and also offered optional additional entries depending on if someone donated to the club/how much. I did not consult an attorney to get a 100% answer on this, I admit(nor did they to support their claims that I’m doing something illegal), but again, I felt confident enough based on what I was reading. It’s a raffle. So, I changed the verbiage on the advertisement to it being a sweepstakes instead, and also removed any mention of SWARM on the promotional flyer beyond having their PayPal email linked as the beneficiary for the fundraiser.

This still wasn’t good enough, so eventually, I discussed with the planner, who discussed with other organizers as well, who confirmed we could just switch to a different beneficiary altogether and go to a club that is based in a state that doesn’t have any laws on raffles. Immediately done, though I didn’t specifically name the beneficiary club either(Picture 5, 6). I provided the planner with my professional email, advised them that any additional qualms could be taken up with me directly and to not send me any more communication from them, which they respected.

The next set of pictures is our email exchange from there, where I eventually tell Autumn that I will only discuss it further with other specific members of the board, or the planner, because they were being disrespectful. They immediately ignored this boundary, so I turned off my notifications for them, and then shortly after, the Secretary began harassing me as well, and I turned off notifications for them as well without engaging further.

Because I didn’t IMMEDIATELY comply with their unreasonable requests, as their end goal was to get me removed from the event in totality—nevermind the fact that the board members I named to contact me, never did, nor the planner, with additional concerns—Autumn and Sol made the decision for the club to remove me from the event.

I received confirmation from event planners that they were satisfied with the sweepstakes as is, but SWARM has now announced that I didn’t have permission, I wouldn’t participate, they had no other choice, I simply had to be fired. SWARM does NOT own the rights to the artwork for the event or the phrase “Windhound Hoedown”.

This is gross behavior from someone in leadership positions for a club, especially for a vendor. I am remiss to have to publicize such an experience, but want to make sure everyone has the full story versus the narrative they are pushing.

EDIT:

As of yesterday, 4/19, I will no longer be photographing the event, sorry guys!

Silken Exhibitors!

I will be your photographer for Utah’s upcoming specialty: SWARM’s “The Windhound Hoedown”! I am shooting conformation and LGRA/FastDASH(racing photography assisted by Morgan Cox).

For the first time, I am offering pre-registration and pre-orders for the event! You do NOT have to do either, as I will be shooting everyone regardless, BUT! If you have a good idea going into the event that you would like to or plan on purchasing photos, you may pre-register(no payment required) to signify your interest, OR you can pre-order a photography package and lock in an early bird discount!

Here is the link for pre-REGISTRATION:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvordYoPZsPpgoqToYCH33cRpLep-ZdayNUvyahyTfnNKyeg/viewform

Here is the link for pre-ORDER:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLKLxFzojYof0VyVOD7nzbxFcA2zxXFsbziZQDIxjfP0h9NQ/viewform

Pre-Registration is open until the day of the event!

**PRE-ORDERS CLOSE MAY 25TH**

Additional links:

Here is the link to other galleries on my website if you’d like to explore more of my portfolio!
https://splitsecondk9photography.pixieset.com

Check out the Merch shop and consider purchasing some incredible swag to support this specialty!
https://honey-hound-shop.fourthwall.com/pages/products

Here is the link to the event premium!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hs-zhVw2xsnNLcib5DQF5aRJ4gpB1d37/view?usp=drivesdk

Enjoy some examples of my recent work from previous specialties I have photographed, as well as racing meets!

Keep an eye on this page for updates as I will also likely be offering a handful of additional portrait sessions at the event itself!

*ATTN COLORADO RESIDENTS*

End of Life Photography Session

Many of you know me exclusively from my sport photography, as it is my main focus for sure, but always have a passion for portrait sessions that I love to nurture on the side as well!

Back in October, I very unexpectedly lost my senior girl who was so extremely special to me. We had 10 beautiful years together!

One of my goals this year is to find more time giving back, and finding photography projects that feed the soul.

With this, I’d like to offer one or two(for now!) FREE End of Life sessions if there are any families in the Colorado Front Range area that may know they’re on borrowed time with their special pet.

**No charge at all, and I will provide all of the high resolution digital images from our session(usually 10-15 depending on how long we shoot)!**

My *preference* is to have an outdoor session(typically 30-45 minutes in length), BUT given the current temps outside, and any prospective factors that may limit a pet from physically being able to do so, I am also open to a session in your home if you have a space in the house with strong natural lighting!

And this offer is open to ANY animals—same standards apply, though, if you have an indoor only pet, I just need some decent natural light in the space! (And some grace, as I have not photographed other types of pets yet, so I may need a little extra time to master the learning curve🙂)

Please feel free to message me if you’re interested but unsure if your situation is one I’d be able to photograph! I’m fairly flexible on all of my wants/needs and will try my very best to meet you where you are.

I am located West of Denver, but would be willing to travel within an hour/hour and a half of Denver, and, of course, am willing to schedule a session for anyone regardless of their proximity to Denver, if you can come to me!

Dog sport exhibitors!

This isn’t a call out (maybe a call in?), and I’m not fussing at anyone either, so I hope this post isn’t taken that way!

If you want photographers to capture the memories of you and/or your dog at trials, competitions, shows, meets, etc.—you’ve got to purchase photos!!

It’s up to exhibitors to show photographers that the event is worth shooting, and the only way to do that is to support their work and purchase images!

There’s a TON of behind-the-scenes work put into every single gallery we publish. We spend hours upon hours photographing our subjects nonstop, often in blistering sun/blazing heat/pouring rain/frigid cold, and at the sacrifice of our own bodily comfort as we contort into strange positions or settle into some hard ground for extended amounts of time—ALL so we can ensure we are capturing the best angle, light, position, etc. and give you a high quality gallery! Then, we are spending an extensive amount of time(I’m talking 20+ hours minimum) to sort our images, toss the ones we aren’t using, edit the ones we are, upload them to our website, and sort them again before we FINALLY get to publish the images for purchase!

Only in very rare, select circumstances are photographers paid in any capacity to photograph an event. If we’re lucky, travel costs and room/board are covered by the club, but even that is more exclusive to larger events like Nationals or Championships. Often, for many conformation events, photographers have to pay the CLUB to be there and shoot! So, most of the time, we are coming out of our own pocket to be there!

The only compensation most of us get is from you, the exhibitor.

Now, for my absolutists, I don’t write this to say that you NEED to purchase every picture from every photographer! I enter my own dogs in events where there’s a photographer(that isn’t me), and I don’t always buy images! If you weren’t a fan of that photographer or the gallery they produced, then don’t buy anything! But for the photographers that you enjoyed having at your event and whose images were ones you would want more of in the future—support that person! Buy their images!! Buy 1 if it’s all you can afford. Share that image(tag your photographer!), show us how much you enjoy it! We love seeing our images go to homes to be loved and appreciated as much as we love them
ourselves🥰

I have events that I won’t shoot anymore because they were very labor/effort intensive and the sales were so poor—I love dog sport photography!! It is my passion through and through. But, I can’t pay for the gas I need to get there and back with passion.

I know we’re all hunkering down for the unstable economy that’s before us, so I hope everyone understands that this post isn’t saying you need to spend your last dollar on a photograph. Times are hard, they’re probably only going to get harder, and we photographers understand that! What I’m talking about is unrelated to financial hardship.

All I’m hoping to impress upon you with this post is that if you’re able, and if you loved them, and if you want to continue seeing that photographer at your events, buy the photos!