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This was taken at Meriwether co.. They where cleaning out the puppies pin so they had to put them in a bucket to keep them in one place. Adorable sight. |
As you guys know I am working on an animal shelter documentary. I finally was able to go to the Meriwether County Animal Shelter this Wed. This shelter was recommended to me by one of the ladies at Heard County Animal Shelter. I was a bit nervous at first because I had just gotten rejected by the Upson Co. shelter. I brought my book from last semester and everything to show them so they could understand what I was doing but they wouldn’t even look at it. They claimed since the sheriff wasn’t there and wouldn’t be there for a week they couldn’t let me do anything. Obviously they also just didn’t care much since they wouldn’t even give me a tour of the place to see the animals even with my camera put up. It’s very discouraging to see the lack of care by some of these people that work at animal shelters. Apparently they are too “needle happy” and end up putting down these animals without giving them much of chance. But anyways it was a breath of fresh air to go to the one in Meriwether. It is a large facility that isn’t run by the sheriff’s office and is run by people that see this as a calling and passion not a job. They had over 100 animals there and have named all of them. The people there where unbelievable nice and welcoming to what I was trying to do. I got a tour of the facility and was very pleased that some of the animals were able to roam freely for a while on the property. They had a good many of volunteers helping feed and water the animals as well as cleaning the cages. All were very nice and let me take pictures of them doing what they do. It defiantly gave me back the hope and reassurance that there are good people out there.
On another note I feel like I am struggling with getting the right pictures for this project. Even though I was in a new shelter I still was getting the same shots that I have already gotten. It is making me very discouraged because I really want this to be more than something I am doing for school. I want this to help animals in shelters. Any ideas of things new to shoot? What would make you more interested in the book? More people more animals more rescues more of the sad parts? I just feel a bit stuck. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Here is the link to my book on blurb if you haven’t seen it. Concrete and Cages
It's awesome that you're still working with animal shelters taking photos - and yes, the pic of the pups in the large tub is too adorable! ^_^
ReplyDeleteAs far as moving in a new direction - I would like to see some of the new stuff you're produced; unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see your final project last semester. From what I remember, most of the pics you had were in the shelters; but if you're trying to make photos to sorta motivate people to adopt these animals, then maybe you could lean more towards the advertisement style. Photograph how happy and full of life these animals are and why they'd make a great addition to any family. Maybe have a pretend family with a couple of dogs out at a park on a nice sunny day.
Idk, those are just my first thoughts - give me a call, MSN or AIM (info on facebook) and maybe we could talk a bit about this (:
Best of Luck!
I think I'd like to see maybe some compare and contrast, like the good and the bad scenarios within the shelters.
ReplyDeleteAn idea that just came to mind would be playing with people's idea of what happens in shelters. For example, most people like to think that the pets are well taken care of but we know most of the time that's not the case. You could present the picture in a very bright, "bubbly", almost poppy light, but the image itself is depicting an unfair scenario towards the animals. This way you grab people's attention due to the bright colors but they have to take a second look to understand the content.
I hope that helps. :)
This photo is awesome. I had a dog all my life so here I miss them a lot. It's kind of sad that all this dogs not have a family. I will encourage you to try to find a sad way to show that.
ReplyDeleteTaking pictures of animals is hard because the people have that same effect of: "Ooooohhh, sooo cute!" I will go more for dark places and look for the cruelty of a metal cage.
All of the above offer some definite things to explore. Though it's hard to judge the shelters because as you mentioned some are good, some are not so good.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there is the option of——and it is a bit of a longshot——going along on the journey's to pick up the animals, what were their living conditions before the shelter. People do like to know the history of their pets, where did they come from and "How can I make sure they don't live a crappy/bad life like they used to have to exist in?!"
The shelter is really the middle stage of their story, first part is basically rescue, last part being adopted and in new home. Is there a way to bring it start to finish?
I'm also surprised they managed to actually -keep- the puppies in a bucket long enough to clean, lol
ReplyDelete