Kim Roderiques intertwines her love of photography and dogs seamlessly, contributing her time to support nonprofits—making her a local su-paw-star. 

There is an old joke that goes, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” and the response is, “Practice, practice, practice.” This sums up the formal training in photography that has rendered a passion and career for Kim Roderiques that now spans close to 30 years. 

In this chicken or egg scenario, it was a love for travel that was the catalyst for launching the photographer’s passion, “I would come back from every trip with thousands of photos, and I realized that interesting people were right here in our beautiful landscape. I used to look for beauty everywhere I traveled until I realized, the greatest beauty was right in front of me. I didn’t need to venture far and wide to hone my skills.” 

With her treasured Canon in hand, she began photographing families and found that it brought her infinite amounts of joy—especially when clients brought their dogs along for a shoot. Although famed actor W.C. Fields advised long ago, “Never work with children or animals,” Roderiques wholeheartedly would disagree. She smiles, “Without question, the most rewarding aspect of photography for me is capturing the special moments—the look on someone’s face, the tenderness of expression between a parent and child or a person with their dog, is what brings home the greatest joy for me.”

Her love for dogs has led her (by the nose—pun intended) to spearheading several projects that resulted in her receiving the MSPCA Guardian Angel Award as well as the Champion for Animals Award from the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Roderiques’ work with animals has been showcased in a film documentary titled The Way Home, and books titled Dogs on Cape Cod and Dogs in the Province Lands. Through her gift for capturing the special bond between humans and animals, she is able to share heartfelt stories—many of which are stories of adoption—and help raise valuable funds for organizations that are dear to her. She shares, “Even though I am obsessed with dogs, I photograph people and landscape just as much! In September my latest book will be released, Chatham: A Cape Cod Village. In this coffee table book you will find mostly landscape photography over the span of four seasons. Of course, I had to include some dogs as well—it wouldn’t be the same without them!” All proceeds from the sale of Roderiques’ book will go to WE CAN, a local nonprofit that supports Cape Cod women in their efforts to build pathways to self-sufficiency and stability. Blending her creative talent with her desire to give back to the community is something she’s successfully accomplished before; her work on a recent documentary, Rise Above, shone a light on Cape Wellness Collaborative, and the amazing work they do to help those fighting cancer on Cape Cod through integrative therapies. 

Though her work elicits so many feelings in those who find themselves fortunate enough to view it, equally, it brings the photographer elation as well. “When my beloved Dad was terminally ill, photographing joy—whether it was with families, dogs, or landscapes—was my only escape from a different reality. Those were the moments I could let tragedy go and focus on all things positive and beautiful,” she recalls wistfully.

She believes her process in capturing the innate good nature of dogs is simple: she figures out what they like to do, and she follows their lead. She points out, “Some are exuberant and just want to run and be dogs. Some are inquisitive and want to explore their surroundings. Some want to sit and pose, and I am happy to oblige their wishes. I simply capture them being themselves.” As a result of loving what she does, Roderiques’ only editing comes in the form of elimination, as she takes a plethora of photos of her subjects. 

With Dogs in the Province Lands (the Province Lands being a part of Cape Cod’s National Seashore which stretches from Truro to Provincetown) Roderiques wanted to create a beautiful coffee table book whose profits would benefit the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL), as its Brewster branch means so much to her.  Working alongside Dr. Edward Schettino, DVM, PhD, President and CEO of the ARL and Whitney Tropeano, development officer for ARL, Roderiques worked tirelessly, for free, on the book which features over 200 photographs of our favorite four-legged friends. It took the photographer approximately nine months of visiting Provincetown multiple times a week to capture her subjects in paw-sitively the best lighting and setting. The dogs, whose owners contributed a tax-deductible donation to the ARL in order to be in the (dog-eared) pages, range from mixed-breed to pure-bred, young to old, and certainly come in a variety of sizes. “People came from all over—summer residents, year-rounders, everywhere. It was a win-win because owners got to have their dog memorialized in this beautiful book and it was tax deductible and all the proceeds of the sales go to the Animal Rescue League. It was just special,” Roderiques beams.

She tells a story that during one of her photo shoots the owner professed he had many relationships in his life, but that he hadn’t known love until he met Sky, his sweet Labradoodle. “And this is exactly what I’ve learned,” Roderiques shares, “it’s that kind of reinforcement of the love that people have for their dogs and their shared connection. It’s been the most rewarding project ever.”

For a complete local list of where to purchase Dogs in the Province Lands, email dogbook@arlboston.org or stop by The Trading Company in Chatham or online, visit arlboston.org/province-lands-book. 

Leslie Hatton is the assistant editor at Cape Cod Life Publications.