Spotlight

Ophthalmic tech lives in a dog's world

In her 33 years in the field of ophthalmology, Karen Elve has dealt with many aspects of the field, including ophthalmic photography. This led her to photographing nature scenes, and, more recently, the decidedly less serene world of dog agility shows.

(Photo by Paul Jaronski, U-M Photo Services)

Elve began working in ophthalmology as a technician working with the retina and cornea. She also worked with glaucoma patients. This paved the way for work in general ophthalmology and in the cornea refractive practice at the Kellogg Eye Center.

She recently relocated to the center's Livonia office.

"It was there that I learned cornea and pathology, and was fortunate enough to be under the wing of an ophthalmologist who taught me eye photography, inside and out," Elve says. "Because of his intense interest in photography, I also started getting interested and purchased my own camera. I would bring my pictures in, and he would critique them and discuss composition and f-stops. I started doing photography for a hobby for myself."

She took photos at her property on Drummond Island, taking in the sunsets, wildlife and Northern Lights to help her learn the basics of photography. She had so many images of family and friends that she started selling her photographs at craft shows. It was at a Pioneer High School craft show in 1999 that Elve first heard about photographing dog agility shows, events at which dogs compete in a variety of obstacle courses.

"I sold a photograph to a judge from the American Kennel Club, who expressed an interest as to whether I would be interested in photographing agility dogs, thus starting my career as a dog agility photographer," Elve says. "Going from still-life to moving targets was quite a change."

Elve quickly adapted to the new form of photography, taking more than 1,000 photos at each show of as many as 250-300 dogs, trying to find the perfect motion shot. She photographs agility shows on the weekends, sometimes working from morning until night.

Elve says she loves working with dogs, including her own cocker spaniels, Lady and Jazz. She has found that bulldogs are fun to photograph because they are expressive and have "wonderful full-face smiles." She also enjoys taking pictures of shaggy dogs, with their fur "flying in all directions."

"I love seeing the interaction between the owners and the animals," she says. "Animal photography has made me realize how much personality the dogs have [and that] they will do anything for their owners."

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