Puppies Galore at the HSO Dog Days of Summer in Fayetteville

Held at Sassafras Springs Vineyard on April 7, 2024

Pets and adoptable dogs were among the attendees at the fundraising event and here are the resulting photographs!

Scroll to see more photographs above.

Another fantastic event that I volunteered my time for this year was the Humane Society of the Ozarks' Dog Days of Summer fundraising event held at Sassafras Springs in which guests could attend for free, bringing their pups and meeting adoptable dogs too, and all food and drink sales offered 10% of profit towards the HSO.

If this is your first time to my blog, welcome! I set a goal of volunteering in Northwest Arkansas for 40 hours this year with my photography skills. I am so honored to provide this very needed service for events and causes close to my heart. This April 7th event was two more hours towards my goal and a whole lot of fun. If you have an event or cause that needs a volunteer photographer, please reach out! My main focuses are helping pets, children, and the homeless/hungry, and will always consider other causes if my calendar allows.

I met SO MANY amazing dogs at this Humane Society of the Ozarks event and I remember the pup's names more than the humans (if I even asked for your names haha). A few of my favorites were Mavis, Lucy, Mabel, & Cooper.

I do focus my photography on pets and their families, so this event was different and fun to stretch my skills to have more casual and snapshot type of interactions instead of my usual pre-planned sessions.

All photographs are downloadable here from my site at a low-resolution digital quality good for sharing online with my watermark, however if you are interested in a non-watermarked printed version, please email me at hello@hannahgoldenphotographs.com. If you want a dedicated session with your pets, I am happy to chat with you about my full services as well.

Scroll to see more photographs above.

Thank you again to the Humane Society of the Ozarks for having me volunteer my time and I look forward to the next event in the Summer.

Hugs and kisses to your puppies!

— Hannah

First Day of Spring at NWA Tulip Field

A family photography session with a purpose at the True Colors Tulip Farm by Perspectability

This family photography session included a $250 charity donation to Perspectability, a local non-profit with a focus on building an inclusive environment for neurodiverse adults in NWA

One of my returning client families jumped at the chance for photographs of their daughter among the tulips at a local NWA field in Bentonville/Centerton, Arkansas. When the farm opened professional photography timeslots, I reserved their date for a session in mid-April and we started planning the family's outfits. Little did we know, the tulips bloomed EARLY this year (by three weeks), so with a day's notice (and the outfits already planned), the family jumped for a session on the first day of Spring on March 19.

Their little girl, a 21 month old who I have photographed twice before (newborns, first birthday cake smash), had just learned how to run and oh my did she love running down each row of the tulips. She loves small rocks and enjoyed sharing her rocks with some of the flowers by placing them gently inside of the petals.

Once she had enough exploration time, mom and dad picked a tulip for her to carry on her adventures and hold for the family photographs. Dad even picked her up and floated her over the tulips (the joy on her face was so cute!).

Family photographs in between two rows were so fun and are going to be great heirloom photographs once printed and hung on their walls.

An adventure mom and dad will never forget, and a memory of happiness, exploration, and love ingrained in the little one's being forever.

Do you love Spring as much as me (and this adorable family)? It is my favorite season to photograph in with the flowers and trees blooming everywhere. Share in the comments your favorite early Spring flowers (I love daffodils).

I Volunteered at the Gown-tastic Formals Drive

Donated dresses were available for free to local NWA teens at this volunteer event put on by Single Mom's Group in Rogers, AR

100% volunteer, over 500 dresses donated, and over 130 teens served

Did you hear about this event that went viral in Rogers, Arkansas? A small group of moms made sure any teen that needed a dress for an upcoming formal could get one for FREE and the Northwest Arkansas community showed up for the cause.

I was honored to volunteer with this fabulous group of ladies who volunteered all of their free time for 5 weeks to put on the event, held on March 9 at the Hyatt House in Rogers, AR. From a single post in their Single Mom's Facebook page about a mom having to tell her child they could not afford a dress for Prom, an idea was born. The Gown-tastic Formals Drive was created to find this teen (and many others in NWA) gowns for FREE, and a bougie event at that with mocktails, petit fours, cupcakes, a photobooth, a bracelet making station, free earrings and formal shoes, giveaway prizes, and so much more!

I donated my time to photograph the donated dresses as they arrived across NWA as marketing before the event. I gave graphic design advice for posters, social media posts, and their website. I photographed at the event itself on March 9 and it was amazing to see the smiles of each teen who was able to find their perfect dress. I also donated a $150 gift certificate for one teen to get Prom photographs, Senior photographs, or Family photographs taken by me.

The event itself was heartwarming. I heard one girl say to her friend "is it possible I found THE dress as the third dress I tried on?!" and it was, and she looked fabulous with a huge smile on her face. I heard moms bringing their daughters saying how they never got to go to Prom and are so excited their daughters get to go to their Prom. Even one of the main organizers said she was homeschooled and wish she could have had the opportunity to go to a school dance so helping others with that dream made her so happy. Volunteers brought their own daughters and got to see the excitement and gleam in their eyes of over 500 dresses to choose from. High School volunteers finished their volunteer shifts and immediately grabbed dresses they had been keeping an eye on all day to try on (and find their Prom dress too!). References were made to "Say Yes to the Dress" and cheering and excited giggles were prevalent.

The volunteers who founded the event promise there are more events to come (with over 300 dresses still available for future teens to find) and I cannot wait to see what they create next. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and on their website too for more information.

Thank you for having me, Gown-tastic team!

Do you have a volunteer or non-profit event coming up in NWA that you need a photographer for?

I have a goal of volunteering 40 hours this year (see my 2023 in recap post) and I am always looking for suggestions (I love helping children, pets, and the food insecure and will jump to help if any of these are served with your event). Comment or email me to let me know!