‘It hasn’t quite sunk in yet’: Photographer scoops international award

A photographer who specialises in taking snaps of pooches has scooped an award in an international competition featuring more than 13,000 other snappers.

Amie Barron, 37, of St John’s Road, Battersea, was awarded the Image of the Year Runner-Up award and was also recognised as a top 10 pet photographer of the year in the Image of the Month Competition hosted by the Guild of Professional Photographers.

Each image from the monthly competitions is scored, and the scores from the year are then totalled to determine who wins one of the Guild’s top 10 photographer awards. 

Ms Barron said: “I am overwhelmed to have achieved this award. 

“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”

The award was announced at a ceremony at The Hilton, Etruria Hall in Festival Way, Stoke-on-Trent, on February 3.

Ms Baron bought her first camera at the same time she bought home her first dog, a miniature pinscher called Theodore.

She said: “I have always been interested in photography but was never in a place in my life where I could pursue that interest.

“I dabbled with it as Theodore grew, wanting to document her life with me and my dachshund mix, Oscar.

“When Oscar suddenly passed away, it broke me. He got me through some really hard times in my life, and the loss hurt more than anything I had experienced before.”

Ms Baron said, after Oscar passed away, she was left disappointed with the quality of the pictures she had to remember him by.

She said: “All I have are grainy phone photos, some with terrible filters applied, from the days before I knew how to use my camera.”

Ms Baron began to take her photography of dogs more seriously and progressed quickly.

She said: “Every dog is unique and has their own personality and narrative.”

This is not Ms Baron’s first award for her photography of pups, having won five awards in last year’s WPE Photography Awards, including a bronze and three silver awards, a gold and overall category winner.

She is ranked 30th in the Top 100 photographers in the world and 19th in the United Kingdom ranking. 

Lesley Thirsk, director of The Guild said: “We are proud and delighted that Amie has achieved this recognition with her striking image. 

“The judging is undertaken by a panel of internationally recognised experts from a variety of photography backgrounds, so Amie quite rightly should be delighted with her extraordinary achievement”.

Pictured top: Ms Baron’s winning picture for the Guild’s competition (Picture: Amie Baron)