TruLife® Acrylic is thrilled to have partnered with HeARTs Speak in the Artists Helping Animals Photo Contest to highlight shelter photography.
The contest ran from August 23rd to September 6th. And with over 100 entries and thousands of votes, it’s clear there are many animal loving photographers who care and advocate for sheltered animals. Each photo contest entry was spectacular and showed the unique beauty of the animals and the shelters that care for them.
HeARTs Speak is creating a world where no sheltered animal goes unseen, shining a light on these amazing, but often forgotten animals.
Likewise, TruLife® Acrylic helps a photographer translate his or her vision from behind the camera to the wall. True-to-life presentation means virtually no reflection, vibrant colors, and UV protection to help protect against fading.
Together our two organizations set out to spotlight sheltered and rescued animals through photography – both those who have already made many families complete, and those waiting to find their forever homes.
Based on the caliber of the entries and the sheer volume of voting, we succeeded.
The Winner is…
Delilah
The winning photograph of “Delilah” was submitted by Carolyn Penn-Martin. Here’s what Carolyn had to say about her shelter photo of Delilah.
“Delilah is PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT in the house, on a leash, in the car…and the list goes on. A complete princess who needs a kingdom of her own. She is a “Super Senior” at Villalobos Rescue Center who is just 10 years young. A favorite of many staff members, Delilah still loves to play, run, tear up the occasional stuffed toy, and still knows when it’s time to snuggle under the covers.”
Carolyn also shared why photographing rescue pets is so important to her.
“The photo I chose to enter into the contest was of sweet Delilah, who is a senior with Villalobos Rescue Center. It reminds me of what every animal should have that comes through a rescue or shelter. A sense of warmth, security and family. Every pet deserves a family.
Working with a rescue, caring for them while they wait for their forever family, and seeing some get the life we want for them all is worth every minute of happiness or sadness in their journey. Every pet deserves to be seen. There is someone for everyone. Young. Old. Short. Tall. Special Needs. Every person is looking for any one of them. Some don’t even know it until they see them and their heart explodes.
My being able to capture the personality of any of our dogs in a photo and making a connection with someone who sees it is probably one of the best feelings. They say the eyes are the windows to a dog’s soul. If they let me in, I want to share it with the world and hopefully make two souls connect.
This contest showed that in every single photo that was entered. Every beautiful soul. Little secret – I voted for everyone. ;)”
The Prize
“Delilah” will be face mounted on TruLife Acrylic (valued at approximately $500), and Carolyn will also receive a free, year-long HeARTs Speak Artist Membership, which features unique vendor discounts, including one for TruLife Acrylic! (Note: Carolyn is already a member, so she gets her next year for free!)
Delilah’s Home
Villalobos Rescue Center is a rescue, rehabilitation and placement facility for abused and abandoned Pit Bulls, and other breeds, and is where Carolyn photographed Delilah.
Click below to find out about an exciting surprise that was announced at the end of the Artists Helping Animals photo contest.
No Sheltered Animal Goes Unseen
HeARTs Speak, has the admirable mission of “uniting art and advocacy to increase the visibility of sheltered animals.” Their continuing commitment is so vital to protect these animals and find them good homes.
Hannah Pearman, Director of Communications, HeARTs Speak, says “Innovation and collaboration form the foundation of the HeARTs Speak mission to create a world where no shelter animal goes unseen, and our #artistshelpinganimalscontest with TruLife Acrylic harnessed these two things in such a magical, engaging way! Not only was the contest bunches of fun, uniting photographers and animal lovers alike, it gave us a whole new audience with which to share the truly life-changing power of pet adoption. Across the U.S. alone, only about 25-30 percent of animals in homes were adopted from a shelter or rescue group. Trulife has directly contributed to our ability to increase these numbers by providing a new platform for exposure for shelter animals and the entire concept of pet adoption.
We’re touched by TruLife’s kindness and generosity, and consistently impressed with their care and attention to detail — which we now see extends well beyond their beautiful range of products and services to a global community of art makers and the causes they care about.”
The Runners-up
Enjoy the sheltered photographs from the Top 5 Runners-Up of the Artists Helping Animals photo contest:
Sassy
Wondering about tomorrow
Shelter:
Photographer:
Sherry Stinson
facebook.com/TylerDogPhotography
instagram.com/TylerDogPhotography
John
John was roaming the streets of Dallas when a lady pulled over at a gas station. She opened her door and he jumped right up into her truck. She took him to a shelter and he was rescued by Legacy Boxer Rescue in the Dallas Fort-Worth area. He weighed 42 lbs at the time he was rescued, but should have weighed 60 to 65 pounds. John was staring at the Bluebonnets in this image because the wind was making them move back and forth. He was just a bit enthralled by them.
Shelter:
Photographer:
Jeffrey Feole
facebook.com/TheBoxerGangPhotography/
instagram.com/theboxergangphotography/
Zack
I’m all ears!!
Shelter:
Love Hope Believe Galgo Adoption
Photographer:
Travis Patenaude
http://www.stinkeyephotography.com/
Mr. Bojangles
Every Dog is a Superhero
Shelter:
Photographer:
Susannah Maynard
http://www.petlovephotography.com/
instagram.com/petlovephotography/
facebook.com/petlovephotography/
The Guardians
Left to right: Star-Lord, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula
Shelter:
Photographer:
Emily Karolski
http://www.emmaraephotography.com/
facebook.com/emmaraepawtography
Congratulations to all the entrants for raising awareness about shelter animals!
But Wait, There’s More!
Are you interested in joining HeARTs Speak and their ongoing Artists Helping Animals program? If so, you are in luck!
As a member doing so much on behalf of animals, HeARTs Speak believes you deserve lots of karma points and the organization is constantly seeking ways to fuel good work, including:
- Access to an ever-expanding library of educational tools and resources custom designed to strengthen and complement creativity and reach for shelter animals
- Unique vendor discounts exclusive to HeARTs Speak members
- The opportunity to earn a generous licensing fee and sell your work through HeARTs
- Speak stock library, ‘Images With HeART’, simultaneously helping animals achieve more mainstream exposure
- Get yourself on the local rescue radar while finding opportunities for paid work as an official artist member listed in their artist directory
- Help extend lifesaving services to more homeless pets by partaking in programs like the Perfect Exposure Project
- AND, HeARTs Speak members now get a discount on TruLife Acrylic!
To receive valuable info & notification of TruLife’s activities, sign up HERE.
Learn more about TruLife Acrylic, or see see it in action: TruLife featured photographers.
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This article is intended for educational purposes only and does not replace independent professional judgment. Statements of fact and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) individually and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, are not the opinion or position of Tru Vue or its employees. Tru Vue does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy or completeness of the information presented.