For the love of dog
Pet photographer Cassie Latta-johnson has the best job ever
With his butt barely touching the grass, eyes wide and ears sticking straight up, Dexter is keeping a close eye on his human. She has the treats, after all.
SQUEAK!
Dexter whips his head around just in time for a few clicks of a shutter button.
Then back to the love of his life for praise and nibbly from her bag.
Cassie Latta-johnson, camera in one hand and squeaker in the other, has a laugh and a quick look at the photos as Angie Arra, Dexter’s other half, coos “You’re so handsome.”
They’re doing a quick photo shoot at the Dartmouth Commons Saturday as twilight comes on fast. Giving the four-legged supermodel a break, Latta-johnson (who uses they/them pronouns) explains just how they managed to land what they consider the best job ever.
In their teens, Latta-johnson swiped their mother’s digital camera and snapped away.
“Then I discovered there was somebody who did dog photography as her job, she’s in Ontario, where I’m from,” they said.
“I thought that was the most amazing dream job ever, but (as an) introvert how was I going to get clients, how was anybody going to pay me? Not really an option.”
Over the next few years, they decided their love for photography was strong enough to push them out of their comfort zone. And dogs were it.
“I just don’t know how to pose people, I don’t know how to make them look natural,” Latta-johnson said. “Dogs don’t care. They don’t have a good or a bad side, they’re not camera-shy, they’re not selfconscious, they’re just happy to be there.”
They took a photography course at NSCC, starting the business Wet Nose Images after the first semester, and graduated in 2016.
While dogs make up the bulk of their subjects, they have shot several other beloved pets. “I’ve also photographed cats, horses, hedgehogs, bunnies, a sugar glider, and a snake. Oh, and birds too.”
They still have a day job, but Latta-johnson is building it into a full-time gig.
“I have big plans for 2021.”
A LOT OF MONEY FOR A PET PHOTO
Dog lovers spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on photos: Massive prints over the fireplace or extensive photobooks on the coffee table. Some people might think that’s crazy.
“The people who work with me, their pets are their children, essentially.”
Arra knows all about that. “At night he snores like a freight train but he’s always there,” she said. “This was an opportunity for artwork, but also he’s the love of my life so why wouldn’t I photograph him?”
Arra first met Latta-johnson last summer when they shot Dexter at a beach for an SPCA fundraising calendar. Dexter’s nickname is “Mr. January.”
Dexter, 7, is a rescue from the SPCA and has been with Arra since he was a puppy. They’ve been through a lot together. When he was eight months old, he was hit by a car. His two front legs were broken and he needed surgery. Arra stuck by his side and now, years later, Dexter shows no sign of his injury.
As he runs around her on the Dartmouth Commons, his tags jangle from his collar. The flip side of one of them is inscribed: “Call my mom. She’s ugly crying.”
“It’s me and Dex. He’s my boy.”