José Juan Medina never planned on becoming a photographer. But four years ago, he adopted his dog, Drogo, and was inspired to pick up a camera as a new hobby.
“It’s not a job. I’m a manual laborer,” Medina told The Dodo. “I bought a camera to take photos of my little dog.”
And from there, a passion grew.
Though Drogo would be Medina’s first furry muse, the pup wouldn’t be his only one.
As Medina’s photography hobby progressed, he continued to purchase higher-quality cameras to capture moments in even more vivid detail. And he began aiming his lens at other people’s dogs.
“Now I have a setup that many people dream of owning,” Medina said. “I started by going to dog parks and agility competitions. Sometimes owners ask me to photograph their dogs, but I also choose which dogs to feature myself.”
Among Medina’s signature photography approaches is capturing dogs in flight as they happily leap in midair.
Medina shared a video showing how he and his furry models work together to create the perfect midair shots.
“You’re wondering what kind of jump they’ll take, whether they’ll be fast and skillful, and if they’ll lead with their little paws,” Medina said. “I love capturing them when they have that look of pure speed. You catch them in the middle of the action — running or flying.”
Through his hobby, Medina has had the opportunity to meet many dogs and their owners and to learn their stories.
And he hopes to meet many more.
“I form a real bond with them while photographing them,” Medina said.
There are countless sources of inspiration for budding photographers to pursue. But in pups, Medina found his perfect subjects in pups.
“What I love is their naturalness,” Medina said. “They don’t try to put on a front. They’re just being themselves, and they always look great.”
