Lessons

Lesson Info

Theme: Dogs

So in this first photo, it's a young boy. Ah, in Lhasa, Tibet in 1984. So you can see that I started this collection of photos a long time ago, and by the time it becomes ah story in the magazine or indeed a book, I'll have a lot to draw from. And it's interesting to note that as long as man has walked vertical upright, there's been a canine companion there, the first animals we domesticated and throughout cultures. As I've traveled around the world, as you will see in this collection of photos, virtually every culture, whether it's the most remote cultures of the Amazon, in the highest villages in the Himalayas, in the farthest reaches of the Sahara, people have canine companions. They're either workhorses for them, they work with the people or they're just companionship. So I just want to show you Ah, collection of photos I have taken over the years. This is my neighbor, and you can see the neighbor and the dogs are actually kind of similar. I remember the movie best in show, and it ...

was such a great show because it was done with such wit. But it also shows how people are attracted toe animals that are physically very similar to the way they are. You know, you see the goofiest things as you travel, So I might be going off to India to photograph tigers. Or in this particular case, I was on my way to photograph snow macaques in in Japan and in Tokyo. Of course, you see these goofy little dogs in their little net sweater. So people think if you live in America, you kind of take this to extreme. But I think it's it's true of people around the world. We kind of dote on our animals, and people that don't have kids tend to spend a lot more money on their their pets. So just as I I go through here, you'll see just photos that I grab as I'm traveling. So you have pets, but then you have the working animals, you know, the ones have been trained specifically for jobs, and this is Ah, while I was working on the TV, Siri's Travels edge. I was doing a little vignette on the sheep herders of New Zealand because that's one of the most emblematic subjects you can think of when you think of New Zealand, you think of sheep and these dogs air really well trained and hear. This sheep herder is up in the southern Alps of the south island of New Zealand. Kind of looking off over this beautiful landscape with his companions. This was shot just recently Ah, about a month and 1/2 ago, I was traveling through meme are we know it as Burma as well. And this herd of goats were coming down and they're that dog. A goat herding dog is working with the family and he knows his job to keep those dogs. So this is potentially gonna be an interesting book if I get this published because it's going to show how people work with these animals and, uh, how, you know, dogs are a commonality. The books that I work on, I like to show how people, regardless of where you live around the world, regardless of your faith, whatever you believe in, there's a more common connection with the fellow people on this planet. Then we are diverse, and I like to show that in various ways in most of my books they have international connection, and I think dogs are a really good way of showing that here we have. Ah, man. And ah, maybe his brother. They're coming out of the high valleys in the Himalayas. This is in Western China, is a Muslim area of China and the rich camels and on one camel was probably all his worldly goods. On the second camel was his wife and kids, and he is writing a tiny, tiny donkey that's barely larger than the dogs that are accompanying them. So I think, uh is going to be a interesting book just to show the variety of dogs and how they always are associated with people. They're very fiercely loyal to the people that I encounter, and sometimes they're too loyal. And I run into a couple strange situations where I think the dog's going to bite the flesh off my leg. Most times I approached dogs, as I do with people with a very disarming connection, kind of speaking very softly to the animals, and they kind of respond to this. These are three gauchos are writing across the pompous open grassland in southern Patagonia in the country of Chile. This one is actually shot on the island of Borneo, and they were coming out of the forest on their way down to, ah, local village, where they would probably buy supplies and go back up this remote river. Years ago I was doing a book for Ah, the United Nations entitled Endangered People. And I had a great fortune to spend a week up in the mountains of Papua New Guinea and on the western side, Irian Jaya. And so these air, the Donny people, they work virtually where no clothes and they're roasting a pig. And here's this dog kind of part of the family. So again, how long dogs have been associated with that culture? Who knows? But I would not doubt that it goes back tens of thousands of years. This is one of my favorite shots in Benin, West Africa. These little kids were playing with the puppies, and it's just, you know, baby puppies and baby kids. It's, ah, hard to miss. But they love their pets and just the affection you see and the way the dogs air responding to these kids in the Masai culture. Ah, and in this case, the mercy culture of Ethiopia. You know, it never ceases to amaze me. You come to the very remote cultures in this case, the deserts of Ethiopia. And, ah, the people have, ah hurting culture. They pick up their their little stick huts and they move according to where the green grass is air growing because they will have herds of goats and cows. But they also have their pets. And that dog will go everywhere with that young lady. And you can see the enlarged ear lobe. This is a very emblematic element of their culture. They also these people also where these very large clay lip discs as well you can see that dog is one of the price possessions of that young lady here. This little kids got the death grip on this little puppy. This was just shot last week, literally In Harry oir, India. This is a sadhu. Ah, holy man. That just gonna lives off the streets and, uh, and you can see he's adorned with all sorts of jewelry and he's got his dog. The dog's got his own little necklace, and that dog's got a puppy. And so he's very proud of his little puppy. That man lives on the street as I said, and I will probably be given. Handouts of rice seduce are often supported by the community. This man is in all likely hood living along the tributaries of the Ganges, the spiritual center of the Hindu faith, and that those dogs are all his his companions. They will not have families. They don't have Children. The dogs are very important element for this man. This was also shot last month in Bhutan. Monks had their dogs as well. In fact, if you go to any of the monastery's around the world, dogs air. Just one of the constant companions of the monks again amongst will not have families don't have wives. They don't have Children, but their pets, cats and dogs are very much part of their culture. This was shot in January in North Vietnam, just a little courtyard in the house. There's chickens and pigs running around and, of course, the family dog. So you can see if I do this book, it really wouldn't be about all the different species of dogs. It's really about the cultures and their connections to the dogs. This is in a small town in Japan, on the island of haunt you and also in Japan. A motorcyclist that's got a little, ah, dressed up dog. The dog rides on the motorcycle. I mean again, you think? Well, only in Western culture do we take it to extremes. But again, in Japan, they're just as goofy as we are with her. Doted on pets early on in the mountains of Peru, South America. Young question Indian staying in Peru and Ecuador. A mountain Villager. You know, the dogs are just part of the scene. I remember this, uh this very distinctly. This little boy was crying. Hey, had come up from Ah village below this road in high in the Andes. And I think his parents had told him, You've got to get rid of these puppies. We can't afford to keep him. So he was on the side of the road crying and he was giving out the puppies to people that would take him. So that's kind of a universal theme, too. This is in India. Some of these photos I don't have much of a connection. This is in the Thar desert of Roger Stan, India. So many dogs air on the street in India. They get fed by passer byes. This is in Brazil and this dog and this, uh I think it's Ah, Meal is watching these dogs running around through its legs. They're chasing each other, and the the meal was very patient. This was a goofy dog in Brazil. The owner of this dog would be throwing this stone and the dog would chase it just like a ball. And if the stone was still rolling or bouncing, the dog would try to grab in his teeth. Now I can't imagine this dog's gonna have much of many teeth at the end of this very long. But it was just amazing how possessive he was of that. Stone Dogs really exhibit play behavior so clearly. I remember there was an article in National Geographic 20 years ago which debated whether animals have the emotion of joy or play, and it's pretty evident in the photos I taken from elephants to snow. But taxed primates all around the world are always playing in dogs, obviously as well. This is, ah, shot of to Maori Children. I was actually photographing their father and all his body tattoos when I was working in New Zealand and here. You know, these kids were wrapped up along the this windswept beach in New Zealand. And of course, the dog is being protected from the elements of the ocean with this blanket as well. So it's just great to have these projects where I can be shooting not only dogs I could be doing, as you'll see in a couple of minutes that ah, hair. Now what is hair? You'll see what I'm talking about. In a couple of seconds, this kid was on a hillside above Kito, Ecuador, and kicking the ball around that dog would just kind of kick the ball as well. So there, during their rest stop during their soccer game, funny dogs often take on the shape. This was taken last couple of weeks ago in Bhutan, and prayer flags are ubiquitous throughout the country of Bhutan. There, it's a beautiful cultural element. Prayers. Buddhist prayers are inscribed on very delicate fabric, which are affixed to prayer polls or, in this case, a suspension bridge over a river. And as the winds come down this river canyon and the batter the fabric, the prayers that are inscribed will be, uh, shredded and cast to the heavens. There's a great tradition. And ah, these These bridges are frequently used by horses and dogs and people as a means of crossing these turbulent rivers that come out of the higher mountains. And if I didn't have this as an idea or a project, I might have just concentrated on the prayer flex. But with the idea of the dogs, you know, gives virtually anywhere I point my camera. I've got a collection of photos I'm adding to This is on ah floating village in North Vietnam. There's a great ah ah geographical region called How Long Bay was literally a protected giant bay on the east coast of Vietnam. Thousands of islands and the islands air karst, meaning their limestone islands, and they rate rise right out of the the oceans. And so there's entire villages that are really anchored in these protected base. There's no beach. There's no ah ah, really flat land to speak of. So they build these entire floating villages out of docks, and houses and dogs that live in the village may never really run on land. Their whole, uh um, culture is on these floating villages. So this is a dog. That's, you know, warning me not to come on that boat. These are other dogs. So there will be maybe 100 dogs in a tiny little village in how Long Bay, North Vietnam. And here's a dog on one of those floating rafts and, ah, he's kind of watching me. We get really close and in our boat, and then he starts to bite this this rope that's holding up, Ah, pull just a displaced aggression. And this one is telling me not to come on their their land. So, you know, people use dogs as protection and warning. There's nothing protecting their houses from intruders. That's an interesting dog. Is this so peaceful? And these kids just, you know, where the dog couldn't go anywhere without the kids gonna pick him up and carrying him? This is one of my favorite shots of this Ah, Dhani tribesmen having his face washed by the dog. And this is in Havana, Cuba, and I just love the way the kid is kind of emulating his Dalmatian with a big old tongue. This is a sand dog, the dog, just like running in the ocean and rolling in the sand This is also in Cuba. In Mexico we have the dog that's kind of controlling. The donkeys come through the mountain villages. This is one of my favorite shots, and this is really is one of those shots that was defining this whole collection. This is a Yanomami tribesman in the deepest recesses of the Amazon in southern Venezuela, and the Yanomamo are almost a Stone Age culture. There is a little bit of metal. They have machetes, but other than that, there's nothing overtly obvious in their village that would speak of modern times. Ah, they hunt from the forest. They move their villages according to the supply of bush meat. They hunt with poison arrows and blow guns. They adorn themselves with charcoal from the fire. And as you look closely, you can see that this dog also has patterns from charcoal. So they adorn themselves. And when I was in this village, there was about eight or nine hunting dogs and the dogs. You could step over him. I'm a total visitor from a different culture, and the dogs would not even acknowledge my presence so chilled out, which is amazing to state. But when they're out in the forest hunting those dogs air very integral in helping them catch food. They will maybe corral a wild deer and have him run the deer towards them. So they're very much a working element of this tribe. This was photographed last month in Myanmar. Little kid, just adoring. It's puppy, so you can just see how these shots are unfolding. I'm shooting with wide angles. This is a 14 millimeter wide angle. Puppy was sleeping. I got up within a couple of inches and I'm bringing in kind of boots in these house in the distance and staying in Bhutan. Thes air. Ah, dump talks thes air dogs that just live on the street that have become somewhat Farrell. Nobody really owns them. They live off the dumps, and this is part of the story I want to tell us. Well, when there's no curbing their population, growth eyes inevitable. You could have just hundreds of dogs that are, ah, rum running around aimlessly on the streets, surviving off. There's skills, unlike a dog like this that is within Ah monastery in Bhutan. So here's the dog that's very much at peace with himself and fed by the monks and is a very gentle life stone. So consequently, if you photographed these dogs, you can come right up to him. They'll come up with the come right up to you and just be very affectionate to you because that's the way they're treated. And last week in India, here's a so do that's got his dog, Cuba. It's amazing how I remember these locations. For the most part, I am accurate on my recollection. This is in a small town along the Cuban coast, the mangy little dog protecting the entrance to the house. But after I talked Teoh and moved in slow, I'm shooting with a wide angle. I'm just a few inches away. I've never been bitten by the dog, so I must be doing something right and just various shots taken in India and other places around the world. So collections and I have no doubt. Someday this will become a book Dogs of the world or international dog or something like that. So I'm just closing this body of work with just some. The poor traits of some of the more interesting dogs have photographed over the years. It's nice portrayed, too relaxed, so You see, the way I'm working is not only type portrays but, uh, giving context, you know, wide angle shots that put the animal in the landscape very similar to the way I've worked with wild animals over the years. Depending on the subject of the book Ah, play behavior. Relaxed behavior portray its is all is part of the way. I use the cameras to convey a subject and much of this the way I've approached people. I'm approaching wildlife as well, Always remaining relaxed and calm and speaking to the subject, You can have very, very good results. Now I have a way of pursing my lips and making high pitch whistle, which means those ears are coming forward. So I've photographed a lot of wild animals this way. There's a beautiful symmetry in the way those ears air coming forward, and that dog is definitely responding. Teoh High pitch whistle that I'm giving him, um, Husky pops up in Churchill, Manitoba. It's interesting to note, although I had never photographed it, I've saw several of my colleagues that have photos of a polar bear that would come into these, um, sled dog camps and play with the dogs. Now, polar bear is, you know, 75 times larger than a little husky and has the power to kill these dogs. But the way the dogs were responding to this polar bear, the polar bear was very playful with these animals. And among the most stunning, uh, scenes I've ever saw. Two different animals reacting in a very playful way and just a few more poor trades. This is a dog that had one of those callers on it. Apparently he had a little bit of ah ah, biting behavior. Or maybe it was, you know, had some sort of disease in is pulling his hair out. So now he's in a caller so he can't turn around and bite himself. This is in the streets of New York. These dogs are kind of looking into a little dog pet shop that was closed. But they know that store. And I would imagine virtually every day those the owner would walk these dogs by and maybe the owner of the store would give him a little kibbles. And bids are a little doggy cookie. But on this day, early in the morning, the store wasn't open yet and just the way those dogs were looking in. Reminds me of a little kid looking in a candy store. This dog had a lot of style. This was in this Ah, in a park in San Francisco. It just looked like, you know, some sort of elegant, you know, drag dog. And there was a parade in Berkeley, California. And this dog was front and center being kind of held out in the front car. Okay, so that's dogs.