pamperedpuppy // luxury lifestyles for dogs

Dog Photo Books

Pawfiles by Kim Levin

January's frigid temperatures cause many of us to think of hibernating until spring. But alas, there's work to be done and dogs to be walked. If you can't afford a time-share in Florida to lift your spirits, you may want to consider a less costly option, a duo of new books from pet photographers Mark Asher and Kim Levin.

Pawfiles is the fourteenth book from the prolific canine portrait artist Kim Levin. Most photos come from Levin's New Jersey based Bark & Smile pet photography business. According to Levin, it took four to five years to cull her vast collection of canine portraits to assemble the shots seen in Pawfiles.

The photographer says the selection process was painstaking, since she wanted to represent a variety of breeds and portrait styles. Each of the works selected for the book had to speak to Levin's artistic predilection, from formal full-length portraits to whimsical close-ups.

In Pawfiles, you'll find everything from a ten-dog group portrait of the dog act The Amazing Mongrels, to solo shots of purebreds. With Levin, you never know on what her keen eye will focus: a bulldog's under bite, a German shepherd's wet nose, or a Newfoundland's enormous raised paw. Levin says, "What's special about this book is that you get a sense of who the dog is…the character behind the picture."

from Pawfiles, © Kim Levin

Once Levin's picked her favorite pictures for he book, she set about penning humorous bios to accompany each canine's photo. Levin interviewed each dog owner for the book to come up with an amusing vignette. Rather than blandly recanted a particular dog's likes and dislikes, Levin thought up Myspace-worthy bios. For instance the bio of Hunter, a 7-year-old German shorthaired pointer, reads as follows:

"A true gentleman. Recently married his sweetheart, Bailey. In love with his hammock. Constantly searching for missing tennis balls. Loves the outdoors, belly rubs, and hugs. Patient, loyal, and funny."

When it comes to capturing her one-of-a-kind portraits, the New Jersey photographer describes her technique as "bare bones." Shunning the studio, Levin instead opts for photo sessions on the furry subject's home turf. Feeling the animals will be more comfortable and thus more photogenic in natural settings, Levin likes to take her subjects to parks, beaches and backyards. Usually Levin simply totes her two Nikon cameras, one digital and one traditional, and then leaves it to the dog to inspire her. Levin says she looks for lively shots that are, "a little rough around the edges."

Besides giving Levin the chance to showcase her prized photos from her decade-long career, working on Pawfiles finally gave her the opportunity to work in color. Witness Anita, a perky Chihuahua mix, in her full-color glory atop a scale at a Manhattan fruit stand — the vendor's vibrant lemons, peaches and melons make for a lovely backdrop.

Mixed with the color shots are more traditional black and white portraits. Wally, an aging pug, has to be counted among the more adorable subjects in the book. Gray-chested and proud, wee Wally gives the camera a steady gaze as if to say, "Adore me!" George Clooney's got nothing on this dashing leading man!

Levin's dog-loving audience will enjoy curling up by the fire with this whimsical take on doggy profiling (for Levin's full collection of works, and to order signed copies of Pawfiles, visit her Web site www.barkandsmile.com).

Bark & Ride by Mark Asher

Last year when we checked in with Oregon photographer, Mark Asher, he had a book out about the magic bond between children and their pets (Barking Up the Family Tree: Kids and Their Animal Kinships, reviewed in our February 2006 issue).

This year Asher's got new book to promote. This time around, the resourceful photographer has taken aim at capturing dogs behind the wheel. Titled, Bark & Ride: A Tail-Wagging Adventure, this auto-centric work will appeal to any dog lover who's ever taken their canine companion on the road, or simply had a "Smokey and the Bandit" fantasy.

From vintage cruisers to modern sedans, Asher's represented a vast collection of cars. But the assortment of dogs is even more interesting: great Danes, Dalmatians, mixed breeds and blood hounds can all be found in this charming collection.

According to Asher, the idea for Bark & Ride struck him while working on his first book Old Friends. For one particular shot in Old Friends, Asher positioned his furry subject inside a truck. After he snapped the shot, a light bulb went off. After all, aren't most dogs infatuated with the feel of wind in their face and the prospect of discovering, and marking, new territory?

from Bark & Ride, © Mark Asher

Once he had the idea, Asher brainstormed for unique settings — antique cars, trolleys, and limousines—any eye-catching mode of transportation was fair game. Once he had a mental list of "wish photos," Asher traveled up and down the West Coast in search of the perfect photos.

He involved many of his local community members in the effort to shoot Bark & Ride. Maggie, the bloodhound sporting a policeman's cap, belongs to a member of the Ashland, Oregon Police Department. Apparently Maggie served on the force and reportedly had a "paw" in cracking a few investigations.

Asher also decided there's nothing wrong with a little canine nepotism. When in need of a subject for a preconceived portrait idea, he found his muse literally at his feet. Peyton, Asher's mixed-breed dog, gets his fifteen minutes of fame in the book photographed reading the paper while behind the wheel.

Hoping to go beyond the predictable, Asher tapped into his creativity to match a dashing Dalmatian with a cherry-red vintage car, rather than the expected fire engine (though ironically, the retired fire chief owns both the red car and the Dalmatian).

When the photos were finished, Asher paired them with sparse, yet witty, text. Each photo is teamed with an accompanying road sign. For example, the photo of a Labrador hitching a ride from a taxi has a sign that says "Lab in cab."

The result of all this effort is a delightful book of color portraits and eye-catching graphics that you'll want to flip through again and again. Asher can be proud of this breezy little book that will elicit many smiles. Fans can order autographed books directly from Asher's Web site — www.markjasher.com.

Stock your library with these sunny dog-themed photography books; they could be just the thing to induce warm smiles and cozy feelings this winter.