I thought my first blog post should be about myself, and why I do what I do. I’m Marlee! I love people, coffee and animals! The age-old question “what do you want to be when you grow up” was always “a veterinarian” for me. I was, to say the least, OBSESSED with animals. Every time I received a doll for my birthday, I exchanged it for a stuffed animal at Toys “R” Us (sorry friends and fam). I only had a Barbie because it came with a horse. If I was playing make believe with friends, they were always people and I was the dog (my own choice – seriously). Bugs, lizards, tigers, pigs, dolphins. I loved them all. I studied every dog book in the library. I memorized all the breeds, I drew all of them, and I wanted all of them. This obsession eventually paid off when I got a dog of my own - Monty. My parents didn’t just hand me a dog, they made me work for it. They waited until I was ready to take on the responsibility. I knew that this was my dog, and I was to take care of him. He was literally the more precious thing I’ve ever had, and I wasn’t going to fudge it up.

Christmas morning, 1999. The world was freaking out about Y2K. I was freaking out because I received a golden retriever stuffed animal. He was wearing a backpack with a note inside. The note? A letter from my future Monty. He wasn’t ready yet, but soon I would be able to go and pick him out. A few (long) days later we went to get him. We were put in a small room with 6 tiny golden pups running around. I couldn’t handle it – it was my wildest dream come true. I chose Monty because he peed on me when I held him. So I guess you could say he chose me. He was my world. I became a morning person because of him. How can you NOT wake up with a giant smile when a golden jumps on your bed? Needless to say, Monty changed my life. I had my “Golden Years” from ages 11-25. He shaped my view on how special animals can be to a person or family.

I was pretty set on having a career helping animals. It wasn’t until high school in a darkroom developing prints that I started to sway in a different direction. My love of art stemmed from my grandpa who was a photographer and art teacher. I had a knack for it and it was an escape from everything else. So while a lot of my photography in high school was of Monty, I started leaning into a different career path. I went to RIT for film and animation. I made a Bolex film of Monty and Oliver (my brother’s Golden). And then I started focusing on filming for other people. I left MY storytelling behind and focused on creating beautiful shots and telling OTHER people’s stories. I lost a bit of myself – I was on a fast-track with dreams of Hollywood films and stars. But that lifestyle would never suit me. After spending a short stint in NYC working for a director/producer, I moved to the Buffalo area and worked as a media producer for Fisher-Price. This was great at first, and I loved my job. It was fast paced and I juggled many different tasks every day. I got to see the chubby faces of babies in rockers and the thrilled faces of kids flying around in Power Wheels. But there was something missing. I had no sense of fulfillment. Yes we were selling toys and it’s a happy place, but the job morphed into a machine. It churned me and spit me out. I didn’t have the heart and gusto that I had for it years before. Monty had passed away while I was working there, and I had a big hole that needed filling.

So I left my career and started working at an art gallery/print shop. I reached out to local rescues and volunteered my photography services. My parents had adopted a dog because my mom had seen his photo and fallen in love. I realized that photography is a powerful tool and that it can help these rescues. I spent my birthday in a pile of puppies. This was it – this was what I was going to do in my spare time. Since starting the volunteer work I’ve photographed over 300 adoptable dogs and cats. I’ve driven countless miles to do so. Do I really have the time and money to do this? No. But it helps fill in that hole. And when people come up to me and tell me that they adopted a dog because they saw that one silly photo I took – I don’t hesitate to keep doing it. These dogs are my new Monty. I do it in his memory.

I also do sessions for clients because of Monty. When he passed away I kept looking for more photos of him. I cherish every one. To be able to capture the personality and love of each dog is my goal. I am so humbled to be able to do that for people. I juggle two jobs on top of my photography business, so it’s my clients and their appreciation of what I do that pulls me through it all!

So long story short – I’m an animal freak. I’ve always been this way. I was destined to fall into a life of photographing animals. I’m sure childhood Marlee thinks this is the most rad job ever. I’m so thankful to have the clients I have, I’m so grateful for the rescues and fosters I work with, and I’m so excited for each new adventure I face and dog I get to meet.

Please allow me to introduce myself.