Bull terrier digging in a dirt yard with the sun flaring across a row of shelter kennels

photography

Finding Light
in the Shadows

Four years at California Paws Rescue, photographing more than 400 bull terriers. Roughly half of them found homes. A shelter is not a flattering place to shoot, which is exactly why it matters that somebody shoots it well.

Client
California Paws Rescue
Scope
Documentary photography and campaign film
Duration
Four years
Result
400+ dogs photographed, roughly half adopted

01

The Yard

Chain link, dirt, corrugated roofing, and a lot of sun. This is where the dogs actually are, and dressing it up does not help them. Everything here was shot in the runs and yards at California Paws rather than moved somewhere prettier.

Bull terrier standing on a concrete curb beside a chain link kennel run
White bull terrier in a red collar standing on concrete outside the kennels
Black and white photograph of a bull terrier walking through a covered kennel corridor
Bull terrier standing in a grass yard under an open blue sky
Bull terrier walking toward the camera across a dirt yard with a tennis ball
Bull terrier standing alert with sunlight through its ears in front of a red building

02

The Light

The reason for the title. Stay long enough in a place like this and the light turns, and the same dirt yard from the section above becomes worth photographing. None of these are a different location. They are the same yard, later.

Two bull terriers with an orange ball in a dirt yard, kennel roofs and mountains behind
Two bull terriers playing on grass, backlit against distant hills
Bull terrier running toward the camera through golden backlit grass
Bull terrier charging through a spray of water in the yard
Bull terrier biting at a jet of water on a hot day
Bull terrier rolling on its back in the grass at a volunteer's feet

03

The Portrait

The part that actually moves dogs. Somebody scrolling a listing page is deciding fast, and a dog photographed like it matters gets a second look. Shot close, at their level, with whatever the yard was giving me that day.

Black and white profile portrait of a bull terrier in a studded collar
Red and white bull terrier on a lead standing in dry grass below the hills
Close portrait of a bull terrier in a red collar being held on a lead
Bull terrier sitting on green grass looking up at the camera
Bull terrier looking upward with palm trees and blue sky behind
Bull terrier resting on a blanket in soft indoor light

04

Giving Tuesday

Four years of stills eventually earned the ask to cut a film. Same shelter, same yards, several of the same dogs, made for the one day of the year the rescue actually gets asked for money. Stills tell you a dog exists. Thirty seconds of it moving tells you what living with it would be like.

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