Her path to photography started with dogs and it almost ended with them too. But ultimately it was through dogs that Karen found her way back behind the camera lens.

Following the death of her beloved senior kelpie Lucy late last year, Karen was left heartbroken and unable to pick up her camera. But when she was asked to photograph working dogs to help promote the recent Blue Heeler Film Festival, Karen saw it as a way to help move through her grief.

Then to go on to win the 2022 Murrurundi Arts and Crafts Council Annual Online Photographic Art Prize last week with a photo of a dog, was just the "icing on the cake", Karen said.

Healing through photography has been a regenerative journey for Karen and through her photos she wants to give others the chance to say goodbye to their beloved pets in a way she never got to with Lucy.

"The day I said goodbye to Lucy was one of the hardest days I've ever had to endure," Karen said.

"Due to the tragic way she died she took a piece of me with her. It's still so raw.

"So I took a break from photography to allow myself time to breathe.

"Then when I came back, I decided to honour Lucy and created special photography sessions called 'Lucy's legacies'.

"These sessions are for elderly or terminally-ill dogs to help preserve their special memory through photos and highlight the special relationship between an owner and dog," Karen said.

A self-taught photographer, Karen's photography journey started with her first kelpie, Indie in 2006.

"She was my very first muse and I loved documenting her quirky outrageous personality and hilarious expressions," she said.

Karen would share Indie's photos online with family and friends and interest in her work grew from there.

When it came time to say her final goodbye to Indie, Karen said she wasn't ready to get another dog for a long time. But she soon found herself drawn to an ad for a pup she would later name Lucy.

This black and tan kelpie pup was what Karen called her 'heaven sent dog', because she was so much like Indie it was unbelievable at times.

"I would say, well obviously Indie wasn't ready to go and she came back as this dog," Karen said.

Lucy soon filled the Indie-shaped hole left in the family's heart.

Losing Lucy was hard. But as a photographer, Karen said it was also difficult to make peace with the fact she never got to photograph Lucy in her final months as a way to hold on to her memory.

"That's something I wanted to do and I didn't get the chance."

Karen is particularly passionate about giving the older generation the opportunity to have a photo session with their pets as a way to say goodbye.

"I feel these sessions can help the owner begin the grieving process before their dog is gone," Karen said. "They are relaxed and stress free sessions and are free to our senior pensioners and struggling families.

"End of life sessions can be very emotional. I do cry whilst editing the photographs and when I receive word that the dog has passed away.

"I recently photographed Millie, an 11-year-old Maltese cross Shiatsu. Looking at her, you would never have guessed she was ill, as she was running around and joining herself.

"A week and a half later I receive word that Millie's health had declined. I offered to photograph them one last time, capturing their special bond.

A privilege Karen says she felt grateful to be able to offer.

"It's just to really give them memories to look back on, you know, they can put these photos away in a drawer and then a year later, they can get them out and then they can look at them.

"We all deal with grief in our own way."

"[Dogs] have all got their own special quirky behaviour and I'm lucky because I just sit back and just watch and see what the dog does.

"I'll watch the dog watch the world go by, and see the animal reacts to things and see that 'Oh, okay, well, you don't like this and you like that."

"You've got to work around all the little things to be able to capture the picture and sometimes it won't work in one photo shoot and I'll have to say 'sorry your dog is just not comfortable, how about we we will reschedule.'

"It's all about being able to capture the emotion they display.

"I don't rush these sessions. If they need me there all day, they just need to feed me and give me coffee."

"It's their special day with their dog."

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