An 18-month calendar project that brought together community fundraising, K9 protection, and professional photography across three separate sessions

In late 2018, I received an email through my website that would become one of my favorite community projects. Melina Casillas had founded a nonprofit called Barks for the Blue with a specific, urgent mission: raise enough money to outfit the entire Tucson Police Department K9 unit with bullet and stab-resistant vests. Each vest cost around $2,500, and the city budget didn't cover them. Her fundraising strategy? An 18-month calendar featuring TPD's K9 partners.

She needed a photographer comfortable working with working dogs—animals trained for protection, apprehension, and detection. Dogs who were all business on duty but still deserved to have their personalities captured on camera.

I said yes immediately.

The Vision: Three Different Approaches

Melina's vision for the calendar was more comprehensive than typical fundraising projects. She wanted formal portraits that showcased the professionalism of both handlers and their K9 partners, action shots demonstrating the dogs' impressive training and capabilities, and community engagement photos showing TPD's K9 unit connecting with Tucson residents.

This meant planning for multiple session types across several months—studio portraits, training facility action shots, and public event coverage. My friend and colleague Reena Giola worked alongside me on this project, helping with lighting and logistics while also capturing some of the photos herself.

Behind the scenes - showing the mobile studio with Officer Franklin and his K9 partner — Behind the scenes showing Office Franklin and his K9 partner Nova in the mobile studio.

Session One: Studio Portraits at the Training Facility (February 20, 2019)

The first session took place at TPD's training facility. I set up a mobile studio with black backgrounds and strobe lighting—the same professional setup I use for executive headshots, just adapted for a working K9 environment. These weren't going to be casual snapshots. These were formal portraits worthy of the professionals they featured.

Tucson Police Officer Winans and her K9 Partner Oni

We photographed each K9 partner solo, capturing their intensity, focus, and individual presence. Then we brought in the handlers for paired portraits showing the partnership between officer and dog. The black background eliminated distractions and put full emphasis on the subjects themselves—clean, powerful, professional imagery.

Here's what most people don't understand about photographing police K9s: these aren't pets. They're highly trained professionals with serious jobs. Their handlers depend on them in life-or-death situations. That means working with the same calm confidence and patience I bring to my regular volunteer work photographing shelter animals at Pima Animal Care Center and creating photography and videography content for Humane Society of Southern Arizona. Working dogs may have different training than shelter dogs, but they still read human energy. They still respond to measured, respectful handling.

K9 Ranger, a Belgian Malinois who became one of the poster dogs for the campaign, worked with Officer Joe Teplitsky. There was K9 Hondo, a German Shepherd with intense focus. K9 Raven brought that Malinois intensity that makes the breed so valued in police work. And K9 Niko rounded out the roster with his own distinct working style.

The Training Ground: Showing Capability

Immediately after the studio portraits, we moved to TPD's training facility. This place is essentially parkour for police dogs—A-frame climbing structures, agility equipment, and obstacles designed to keep these working animals sharp and ready. Watching a Belgian Malinois scale an A-frame or navigate complex obstacle courses demonstrates exactly why these dogs are so valued in law enforcement.

I kept the strobe lighting but adapted for action photography, capturing the dogs mid-training with their handlers. These images showed capability and athleticism—the working side of working dogs. My MFA training taught me to see composition even in fast-moving situations, and my CPP certification means I can deliver technically excellent results regardless of conditions.

The combination of formal studio portraits and dynamic training shots gave the calendar both polish and energy.

Session Two: Community Engagement at UA Mall (March 16, 2019)

Tucson Police with their K9 partners walking in front of Old Main on the University of Arizona Mall

The second session took us to the University of Arizona campus for a public K9 demonstration and calendar promotion event. This was a completely different energy from the controlled training facility environment—handlers working with their K9 partners outdoors, demonstrating capabilities for the Tucson community, and connecting the fundraising mission with public awareness.

I photographed handlers and K9s working together on the UA Mall lawn, with the distinctive campus architecture as backdrop. These images captured the community-facing side of police K9 work—not just the tactical capability, but the partnership and trust that makes these teams effective. The outdoor natural light and university setting gave the calendar images that showed TPD's K9 unit as part of Tucson's broader community.

This was also where the fundraising mission became most visible. The calendar wasn't just about beautiful images of impressive dogs—it was about protecting the four-legged officers who protect our city.

Session Three: Completing the Roster (April 17, 2019)

Portrait of a Tucson Police K9 drug detecting dog photographed with a badge with a black background in a mobile studio. — Tucson Police drug detecting K9 photographed in the mobile studio

The third and final session brought us back to TPD's training facility for additional studio portraits and training shots. Same black background setup, same strobe lighting, same professional approach. By this point, the handlers and K9s knew what to expect, and the sessions flowed smoothly.

Each K9's formal black background portrait became a monthly header image in the 18-month calendar. The training facility action shots and UA Mall community engagement photos filled in throughout each month, creating visual variety while maintaining professional consistency.

And here's a detail I particularly appreciated: we printed 8x10 versions of each K9's portrait for the training facility itself. Now each dog has their formal portrait hanging in their workroom—recognition of their professionalism and the partnership they bring to public safety.

The Calendar: 18 Months of Purpose

The final calendar balanced three distinct visual approaches. The black background studio portraits provided clean, powerful monthly headers that put full focus on each individual K9. The training facility action shots demonstrated capability and athleticism. And the UA Mall community engagement images connected TPD's K9 unit with the broader Tucson community they serve.

This variety meant the calendar worked both as a fundraising tool and as a genuine showcase of what makes police K9 units valuable. These aren't just impressive animals—they're trained professionals working in partnership with their human officers to keep Tucson safe.

The Launch and Impact

When the calendar launched in late 2019, Barks for the Blue held release events with local media coverage from KVOA News 4 Tucson and KGUN 9. The response from the community exceeded expectations. People wanted to support TPD's K9 unit, and the calendar gave them a meaningful way to do it while getting something beautiful and meaningful in return—professional images of the dogs protecting our city.

By 2018-2019, Barks for the Blue had achieved its primary mission. The majority of TPD's active-duty K9 partners received their K9 Storm ballistic vests. K9 Ranger was among the first to be outfitted. The nonprofit essentially fulfilled its purpose and wound down, which is exactly what successful single-mission organizations should do.

The project raised somewhere between $15,000-$20,000—enough to protect an entire unit of working dogs whose safety directly impacts their handlers' safety and Tucson's public safety.

What This Project Taught Me

1. Multi-Session Projects Require Strategic Planning

This wasn't a single afternoon shoot. Planning began in late 2018, with three distinct sessions across February, March, and April 2019. Each session served different purposes—formal portraits, training documentation, public engagement—and required different technical approaches while maintaining visual cohesion.

The mobile studio setup I brought to TPD's training facility was the same professional equipment I use for executive headshots. Black backgrounds, strobe lighting, controlled environment. But immediately after those formal portraits, I pivoted to action photography for the training ground shots. Then a month later, outdoor natural light work at UA Mall for the community event.

This kind of versatility—studio portraits, action photography, event coverage, all maintaining professional quality—is exactly why I specialize in both headshots and pet photography. The skills inform each other. Executive headshots taught me controlled studio lighting. Pet photography taught me to work with unpredictable subjects. Police K9 photography required both simultaneously.

2. Collaboration Amplifies Results

Working with Reena Giola on this project reminded me why I value collaboration. She helped with lighting setup, captured additional angles, and brought her own rescue photography expertise to the project. When you're photographing multiple K9s across multiple sessions, having a trusted colleague who understands both the technical requirements and the animal handling aspects makes everything flow more smoothly.

The best projects aren't solo efforts—they're collaborations between photographer, subject, client, and sometimes fellow photographers who share your values and approach.

3. Working Dogs Deserve The Same Respect As Any Professional Subject

Whether I'm photographing a company executive, a beloved family pet, or a police K9 apprehension specialist, the fundamental approach remains the same: respect for the subject, patience with the process, and commitment to creating images that honor who they actually are.

The formal 8x10 portraits now hanging in TPD's training facility represent that respect. These aren't just fundraising images—they're recognition of the K9 partners who put themselves at risk alongside their human officers.

4. Community Investment Creates Meaningful Work

I didn't take on this project for portfolio purposes or business development. I did it because Melina's mission mattered, because TPD's K9 unit deserved support, and because I had skills that could contribute to protecting working dogs who protect our community.

But projects like this—along with my regular volunteer photography at Pima Animal Care Center and photography and videography work for Humane Society of Southern Arizona—create community connections that matter more than any marketing strategy could achieve. When people see you showing up authentically for animal welfare and community safety, they remember. They trust you with their own important photography needs.

The Complete Project Archive

The original Barks for the Blue website eventually went offline after the organization completed its mission. But the photography lives on—formal black background portraits that served as calendar headers, training facility action shots showing K9 capability and athleticism, and UA Mall community engagement images connecting TPD's K9 unit with Tucson residents.

The project spanned three sessions across three months, required multiple technical approaches from studio portraits to action photography to event coverage, and resulted in an 18-month calendar that successfully funded protective vests for an entire K9 unit.

I've preserved both the calendar selections and the complete session galleries from all three shoots. They represent a specific moment in Tucson's community commitment to protecting both the officers and the K9 partners who serve alongside them.

View the project galleries:

Calendar Selected Images - The images that made the final 18-month calendar
Complete Project Archive - All three sessions including studio portraits, training facility action shots, and UA Mall event coverage

Why I Share This Story

I'm often asked what makes my approach to photography different. Part of the answer is my nearly 20 years of volunteer work with animal rescue organizations. Another part is my fine art training and professional credentials that bring artistic vision to every session.

But projects like Barks for the Blue reveal something else: my genuine investment in Tucson's entire community. Whether I'm photographing shelter dogs to help them find homes, creating professional headshots for busy executives, capturing family pets in commissioned portraits, or documenting police K9s for community fundraising, I bring the same core belief—photography can serve purposes beyond aesthetics.

The K9 calendar project is just one example. I've also worked on fine art installations for medical and veterinary practices, creating collections that bring warmth and healing to clinical spaces. Each of these projects reinforces why I chose to build my business here in Tucson, specializing in both professional headshots and pet photography. The skills overlap, the community connections matter, and the work itself serves purposes larger than beautiful images.

Ready to Work Together?

Whether you need professional headshots that show who you actually are, pet portraits that capture your companion's personality, or fine art photography for your office or practice, I bring both technical excellence and authentic community investment to every project.

Let's talk about your photography needs | Learn more about my community involvement

Based in Tucson, Arizona, I've specialized in professional headshots and fine art pet photography since 2006. My MFA training, CPP certification, and nearly 20 years of animal welfare volunteer work inform everything I create—whether I'm photographing a company executive, a beloved pet, a police K9 protecting our community, or creating art for healing spaces.