BUY A PRINT, CANVAS OR GIFT CARDS

I know you’ve seen Taj Dog before…he is on the front page after all. I do believe he deserves a post all of his own. I guess there is no need to tell you where this photo was taken, but the story behind how I managed to get this shot is worth telling.

Imagine you are in a foreign country and you are undertaking a project in which you are attempting to photograph dogs in their environment. At the same time you want to capture the essence of the country you are in.  After spending two weeks in India in early 2007 I can say that no photographic essay on India is complete without the inclusion of the Taj Mahal. In what is mostly a poor and dirty country, the Taj Mahal is truly a thing of beauty. Until you have stood in front of it, I don’t think any photograph can describe to you the sense of magic in this place. Anyway, the point I’m making is that when I decided to undertake a photographic essay of dogs in India it was my dream to be able to capture a dog in front of the Taj Mahal.

It was no easy feat I can assure you. While there are plenty of dogs on the grounds, there are also plenty of people. The crowds made it extremely difficult to get a clear shot of a dog in front of the monument itself. As my friend and dog spotter extraordinaire, Adriyana and I  were wandering back to the entrance late in the afternoon, we finally found a dog who was eager to model for me. He was a little difficult to pose because he didn’t understand English and we couldn’t speak Hindi, but Adriyana’s perseverance paid off. At just the right moment, the crowds thinned and Taj Dog sat and gave me that look. I’m sure he’s saying, “Ok, this is what you want, now give me some damn food.”