Читать книгу Canines of New York - Heather Weston - Страница 6

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I spent my childhood with dogs—my parents are crazy dog people. Ilke was a

German Shepherd who had been with my dad since he joined the Marine Corps.

She was very protective when I was a little girl, and she wouldn’t let anyone get

near me: my own private nanny watchdog. Then there was Daisy, an Old English

Sheepdog. We called her “crazy Daisy.” She loved riding in cars, and once she

even jumped into our neighbors’ car as they were getting ready to go somewhere.

Later there was Tri, a German Shorthaired Pointer. Tri went to a summer training

camp to hone his natural hunting skills. He was good at pointing . . . but not so

good at retrieving. He was a real family dog. My sister and I had a great time

dressing him up in our pajamas. To our dad’s dismay, we even let Tri sleep in our

beds—maybe we snuggled the retrieving instinct right out of him.

I don’t have a dog anymore because I live in a tiny Brooklyn apartment. Still, I love

dogs so much that when the opportunity to photograph New York dogs came up, I

said, “Yes! Let me at them!” Dachshunds and Pit bulls and Pugs and mutts: I wanted

to meet them and pet them and feed them treats. Oh yes, and make them mine by

taking pictures of them.

I didn’t know how much I needed to learn about photographing dogs, though.

As a photographer, I have spent much of my life getting to know people

through my camera. That’s what I do. Now I would apply all that knowledge to

photographing dogs.

But you know what? Unlike dogs, people sit when you tell them to sit. They smile

when you tell them to smile. They don’t bark at the camera, don’t try to eat lens

caps, and (most of the time) don’t lick the photographer.

Dogs are a completely different story.

My first subject was Lottie, a rescue from Tennessee. I met Lottie and her person,

Heidi, one morning at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Goodness, it was early. Lesson one:

Dogs go out early. Like, 6 a.m. early. Most dog people in the city don’t have yards,

so they need to take their dogs out somewhere to get a little exercise before they

go to work.

For my first shot, I wanted a photo with Manhattan in the background. Heidi told

me that Lottie, a Whippet–hound mix, is “surely part seal,” meaning that she’s

exceptionally talented at jumping and catching balls. So we let her off the leash

and tossed balls until we got our shot. What a beautiful way to spend an early

New York morning!