The internet fell in love with these dog photos — and a ton of love went into them
'I want to create pieces that are going to be remembered long after our dogs are gone'
Toronto photographer Jess Bell knew her new puppy would change her life - but she couldn't have predicted the extent to which that would become true.
Bell describes young Cohen, an Australian Shepherd, as a mass of "teeth and energy" with a voracious appetite for learning tricks (and, of course, earning the resulting snacks). Learning clicker training took the photographer and her dog down many roads, one of which led to the Canadian National Exhibition stage where Cohen performed with the SuperDogs.
Note: many cute dogs can be found within this video
In this video, Bell shares her technique for capturing the frenetic energy of many different dogs in the photographs that have brought her many devoted fans. But Bell isn't the originator of the technique — she was inspired by the work of German photographer Andrea Zachrau, who uses holi powder in her work with horses. Bell notes, "Well, I've seen a lot of photographers use flour and this coloured powder with dancers, but there was one photographer whose work I just fell in love with. She uses the coloured powder with horses. And it just blew me away when I saw it. It looked like they were on fire. And I just really wanted to try my hand on doing it with dogs, since dogs are my passion." Bell introduces you to Cohen, who, by the way, has been decorated with many awards and has performed in movies and commercials (not to mention the fact that she has a Facebook following many humans might dream about). And she opens up about what taking these photos has meant to her — as an artist, a dog mom and the mother to her young daughter.
Follow Jess Bell here (And you can follow Cohen here.)
Stream CBC Arts: Exhibitionists or catch it on CBC Television Friday nights at 11:30pm (12am NT) and Sundays at 3:30pm (4pm NT). Watch more videos here.
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