This isn't an arty picture, as pictures go there is nothing really technically brilliant, nothing artistically excellent in this image, but it IS personal.
You've all met Juno before (the dog on the right as you look at the picture), she is incredibly photogenic and very pretty (and she knows it), but the dog on the left, Ollie, is the real subject of this picture. After our Collie, Bisley, died, we wanted another dog -- I've had dogs almost all my life -- and I've always tried to rescue dogs and Ollie came into the picture.
We got him from a dog rescue and was sold to us under false pretences. He was a nasty, savage beast that would try to bite anything he didn't know, me included in his time. They had him for three months and I cannot believe he didn't go for someone in that time but the dog's home people said nothing (although the home checkers let something slip and said it was not the first time he'd been re-homed). The first inkling that things were far from good was on the day we went to pick him up. A man at the reception came towards him and put his hand out to say hello to the dog who immediately jumped at the guy's throat with teeth bared, something he did to other people several times over the next few months. He hated people, cats, other dogs; he was a bloody nightmare.
I could go on, as the story is long and arduous, about how I encouraged, trained -- both him and myself -- and despaired sometimes, over the years, but in the end, I won; we both won. He is at the stage now where if no one bothers him he will bother no one and he has turned out to be rather a nice dog -- but don't push it or you'll know about it.
He is my 'personal' triumph. Of all the dogs I have had he is the one in which I have invested most of myself. He was never going to go back to the dog's home, it's not what I do, although people thought I was mad to keep him. They would only have put him to sleep he was so bad. I took him on and he was damn-well going to become my dog even if we both died trying.
So, it's not a brilliant picture but it is indeed very personal.
Personal by
ShinySU, on Flickr