Wow! I have been a photographer for almost a dozen years, and here I am writing my first blog. Ugh. My journey into photography began a very long time ago with a love of wildlife and nature. Like many photographers, I carried my camera around my neck, just looking for anything, or anyone, to photograph. Photography, at least for many beginners, is a game of photographing the perceived "low hanging fruit", ie, what is the easiest, or closest "thing" to photograph. Landscapes don't ask why you are photographing them, and animals present a bit more of a challenge to get close to, especially until you can afford a long, white, lens anyways.

Even from a very young age, I always absolutely loved being outside, especially in the woods. Maybe because I grew up on a farm in rural Ohio, or maybe because I was an only child. Maybe because I was not the kid glued to video games or the TV. I'm guessing it was some combination of all of those elements. I just loved being outside, rain or shine, hot or cold, going back in the woods, and down to the creek to see what I could find. As a young adult, I realized that while I grew up with a father who was very much into hunting, I didn't care to kill anything (other than those pesky soda can targets).

When I began photographing wildlife, something changed inside of me, and I became hooked. The more you photograph a subject, the more interested you become about the habits, personality, where is it going? Is it looking at me because it's scared of me, or just as curious about me as I am of it? Who knows, but I was hooked regardless. While I was a full-time real estate broker, photography became more than a hobby, it became an obsession. Every chance I had, I'm exploring new forest preserves looking for wildlife, and unique vantage points to photograph the city.

Several years into this newfound hobby, I began photographing shelter dogs at a local animal rescue organization. Needless to say, but because this organization takes in around 17,000 animals (mostly dogs and mostly bully breeds), I now had a new sense of purpose. Don't get me wrong, helping buyers and sellers with the arms length transaction that is real estate is important, but I never really felt the sense of accomplishment that I felt when knowing that my photos, videos, and efforts led to saving a dogs life. You cannot put a price tag on that feeling. Over my years of volunteering, I have met and photographed literally thousands of shelter dogs. I have even had news segments, publications, major social media channels feature me, photographed dogs for several calendars, and even a book that won a James Beard award. Accolades are great, but knowing a single life has been saved is the best reward.

Through years of posting shelter dogs on social media, my local followers began to reach out and request photo shoots, and that's how Josh Feeney Photography began. I photographed families, dogs (obviously) dancers, NFL games, weddings, engagements, events, headshots. This would be a shorter list to write what I have not photographed...

Ok, enough with the past. Earlier this year, I (ok, my girlfriend and I) decided to leave everything and move to Delaware to be closer to her family. When I say "everything", yes I mean everything, for me at least. I left my 24 year real estate career as a real estate broker, my thriving "side hustle" as a photographer, and sold my condo to move to a state that I have only visited a few times, to truly pursue my passion and make this work no matter what it takes. While wildlife and nature are my first photography loves, closely followed by dogs, I have grown to love family photography (as well as essentially anything photography), especially here on the picturesque beaches and surrounding woods of Delaware. For me, being able to not only capture, but also orchestrate everything, brings a great sense of accomplishment. And if there is one thing that we all need, it is a sense of purpose and accomplishment.