06-11-2023 Capital Style - Flipbook - Page 15
fessional and amateur photographers carrying
out the Tilly Project’s mission to preemptively
aid in the grief process.
The initiative struck a chord with Bailey,
when she stumbled upon the concept on
Pinterest.
“It’s not something that I ever would have
thought of myself,” she said.
Bailey was gifted her first camera as a
teenager and now runs two businesses: Emma
Matheu Photography, for nature-oriented fine
art photos, and Pretty Poppy Pet Photography,
to photograph people’s pets and those up for
adoption at animal shelters.
Alba Butler, a Glen Burnie-based photographer who grew up in Spain, first learned of the
Tilly Project last year. Through her eponymous
business venture, Alba Maria Photography,
she had already begun offering free “rainbow
bridge” photo sessions for pets nearing the
ends of their lives.
“I want a calm environment for them, a
relaxing session,” Butler, 27, said. It’s her goal
to “capture their little expressions or their
quirks.”
She’s conducted a handful of sessions
through the Tilly Project since signing up last
year and sees each as a way to give back to
people in her community. When it comes to
clients’ emotions, “nobody’s really holding it
in,” she said.
Sessions can also be lighthearted and “outgoing,” according to Jonathan Bruce, who began trying his hand at photography in the fall
of 2021 and shares his work via the Instagram
account @thebrokenlenz. Bruce, who lives in
Annapolis and grew up in Edgewater, has used
photography as a creative outlet — and as a
way to enhance his “passion of hanging out
with dogs,” he said.
“Every dog has a different personality,”
Bruce, 30, said.
Since his first Tilly Project session in August
of last year, he’s photographed six more families and counting, only charging for the time it
takes to edit their photos. He’s willing to travel
to Baltimore, D.C., and parts of Virginia to offer
his skills to pet owners.
“They are getting a memory,” he said.
The idea of a photo shoot so close to a pet’s
death might feel intimidating — but it’s an
opportunity that photographers say pet owners
shouldn’t let pass them by.
“Even if you’re crying in these pictures,” Bailey said, “I know you are going to want them.”
Sara was a 10-year-old boxer. Sara had been
diagnosed with a brain tumor and another cancer.
Find a photographer:
thetillyproject.org/find-a-photographer
PHOTO COURTESY OFJONATHAN BRUCE
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