Wendy Domanski

My love for animals began early. When I was still in diapers you’d never see me without one of my stuffed animals. Who had time for dolls? I only wanted a Barbie so that I had something to ride my plastic horses. Every year for Christmas I asked for a dog, and every year my parents would get me another remote-control dog that did some sort of trick. Those toy dogs were my most cherished possessions until I was about 10 years old when my parents relented and we got our first dog Muffin. I finally experienced how much better dogs that don’t require batteries are! Little did I know I was officially on my way to becoming a crazy dog lady.

Photography has always been another passion of mine and over the years I’ve pointed my camera at any person, pet or thing that stays put long enough for me to take a picture. I’m happiest when I can freeze a moment in time that immediately recalls an emotion, an intense memory or a feeling of joy. My two passions of animals and photography naturally led me to led me to long career in pharmaceutical and medical device sales. Confused yet? Yeah, I was too.

It took me several years and a lot of courage to finally walk away from a successful sales career to follow my dream. There were so many uncertainties. What I did know was that my heart knew that I wanted to use my photography to help animals. I wanted to tell their stories through my lens. I wanted to take powerful images that capture the spirit of shelter animals to help them find their forever homes. I wanted to immortalize that special bond between pets and their owners.

I was ready to make a change.

Bear & Wink

So, in 2015 I took a leap of faith, quit my sales job and attended an intensive summer photography program in Montana. I continued my photography education back in Chicago at Richard Stomberg’s Photography Classes. Since then I’ve photographed thousands of family pets and shelter animals. My work has been on the covers of magazines and calendars. It’s also been featured in various media outlets including Tails Magazine, The Anti-Cruelty Society Magazine, The Animal Planet network, Hallmark Channel’s “Home and Family” and “The Ellen Show”. I can happily say I make my living using my camera to capture the personalities and tell the stories of our best friends. I would be honored to tell your animal’s story through beautiful artwork you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

I am a recent transplant from Chicago to Santa Barbara. When I’m not taking photographs, I’m typically spending time with my husband Kyle out on our back deck drinking a glass of wine and listening to music with our two rescue dogs Bear and Wink. And yes, you probably just guessed how I came up with the name WinkFace Photography!