Bev Barker.

Image: Bev Barker View photos at VIG, using Cooliris

I will try and keep this brief but when i get started on something i bite the bit and dont know when to stop, right, my first big love in life was horses. I spent every spare minute i had at a riding school, working hard for that free ride, i loved every minute of it, and would never turn the clock back, i learnt alot in that little world, especially about myself.

I have always had a passion for animals, bringing strays home and working on farms cleaning pig styes for cash to help pay for my horses when i finally could have my own, dogs have always been a part of my life, always having a dog at home and then having my own when i got married, but the passion for them grew stronger when i found the competitive obedience bug! I had always wanted a GSD and on our wedding anniversay one year we brought Annie home(anni versary) get it? a big short coat bitch, she was huge! she weighed 43kg fully grown,and often mistaken for a male, Annie's idea of life was to take life slowly, watching bees and sitting in the garden looking at the birds, she was my gentle giant. Annie collapsed one day at home and we had to say goodbye to her on October 26th 2005,she was 11 years old, we miss her dearly.

Whilst we had Annie my husband got Lacey, a long coat bitch,gentle by nature but very strong minded, she was a very loyal bitch. Laceys health was poor from the start, cancerous growths, bad hips, and allergies have always plagued her and unfortunately on January 4th 2008 we had to say goodbye to her as she fell ill one night and nothing could be done, we miss her greatly, Forrest, Forrest was "my little man" as i called him, my long coated GSD, half brother to Lacey, he was what i always wanted in a Shepherd,good looks, brains, love for work but such a cowardly lion! he had very little courage, his mum had to be in his sight otherwise panic set in, he was my shadow. But once again health problems were an issue, when he had his first Gastric Torsion at 2 years old, we nearly lost him, he had a ruptured spleen, and lost a lot of blood, but he pulled through only to have another major one 1 yr later, he was stitched this time on his underline, although this helped he continuously had bloats and stomach troubles throughout his life, our lives were run round forrest, i started my Dog grooming business from home as i didnt want to leave him alone for long periods, we bought a huge caravan and our holidays were maped out thoroughly, nearest vet etc. But on June 29th 2005 he had his last one, i couldnt watch him go through this anymore, he was 8 years old and had lived alot longer than expected, but it ripped my heart saying goodbye to him, to this day i still miss him terribly and have'nt yet been able tolook at pictures and watch videos with him in them withou getting upset. So my decision was NO MORE GSD's i cant stand the heartbreak.

Hmm, i then decided to get another border collie as i already have Teddy my white tri working sheepdog, Teddy is partially deaf and was retired from competitive obedience quite early due to this, he took me to C only and i am so proud of him, he does nothing at fast pace, Teddy goes at Teddys pace, slowly! and i wouldnt have him any other way. Finally, we have the three boys, Ozzy and Ice who are my blue and white border collies, Ozzy who i got first,I looked in Dog training weekly and saw an add for collies in Norfolk, bred by Rosemary Durrant, (who has become a good friend)we went and saw them and this blue and white chocolate box puppy chose me! he is my angel, loves life to the full, loving, sensitive, a personality that ouses,and i miss him when im not with him. I then got an email from Rosey showing me a litter she had had and that there was a blue and white boy in it out of the same mum as Ozzy but a different dad, I emailed back without looking and said i have got to have him! mad yes, but now, it was meant to be, he is just like Ozzy a personality to die for and the want to work and please never ends, he is very effectionate and a real mummies boy, where i go he goes, no arguments.

Fisher is my husbands dog, he has done very well he qualified to work ticket at Surrey Ch. Show 2006 and won his first ticket at Thurrock Ch. Show 2006 only after 4 attempts in ticket! so he had his first visit to Crufts in March 2007!!
A terrific day it was, Fisher didnt get placed although the whole round was completed in usual style and exuberance and one to be very very proud of, he came home our champion, what more can one ask..
He has since been retired from competitive obedience and we are now taking a while out to enjoy holidays away with the dogs, and have time for the other things in life we so much enjoy doing.

Now getting onto the photography, i have been self taught, couldnt find any clubs in our area, i started with a very small compact digital camera and just kept clicking away,read loads of books and practised, practised, and practised more,which has paid off as i have now had images published in various magazines and images used on peoples websites, my main passions are animal/wildlife and action photography and not having the proper camera to get near to wildlife ie zoom capabilities, and grab the action, i purchased my first SLR camer a Canon 20D and various lenses to suit my needs i have now also added to my kit the Canon 1D MKllN and i have'nt looked back, and if i dont take pictures regularly (which sometimes is hard as i have my own dog grooming business which is thriving) i get twitchy, so my combined love of dogs and photography makes me a very happy person.

If you would like to view my other website containing images of all subjects, wildlife/plants/action/dogs please visit my gallery at www.bevbarkerphotos.com