Thankfully (for the breed) Rhodesian Ridgebacks are still unusual enough that it's a special day when I come across one out in public. Even more unusual is the chance discovery of a fellow creative who also considers a Ridgeback among the world's best artistic muses. I stumbled onto the fine work of Connecticut photographer, Ty Foster, through a flickr album of his handsome and humorous RR, Tech. One enthusiastic photo comment led to an email conversation, and this fall Ty was able to swing by the studio in between client shoots to grab an impromptu session with the Beast and I. It was an honor and a treat, and the proof of Ty's dedication to his craft is clear in the resulting images...
I'm not a real fan of the camera (as if it weren't painfully obvious), but Oscar - in true Ridgeback fashion - looked like a cool million dollars in every frame... once again... as usual. From the inside of the studio, to the afternoon sun of the loading dock, this dog just doesn't take a bad photo... And the combination of clear skies and great venue made for a thoroughly successful event. *If you peruse Ty's online portfolio, you'll see he has a real fascination with weathered, worn and otherwise distressed industrial objects and architecture - thus the Fringe facade made for a stellar backdrop...
To see more of Ty's beautiful dog portraits, check out his online portfolio at TyFoster.com, or have a peek at his blog of current projects (he's working on a pretty crazy-cool series right now called "Dogs Ink" - I won't ruin the surprise by describing the theme!). And if you want to meet the infamous Tech - he's got his very own (almost) flickr album...
And in the spirit of collaboration and shared inspiration, today, dear readers, you can find a sister post, featuring an illustrated feature by yours truly over on Ty's blog! Having used Oscar for his own photographic inspiration last month, Ty gave me the green light to use Tech as the subject of an inked portrait of my own design... I wasn't able to meet the smooth criminal himself this time around, but I had AMPLE amazing reference to work from - a sneak peek is below - to see the rest, rock on over to TyFoster.com!
I just LOVE Oscar! handsome boy
Posted by: mandy | October 23, 2012 at 09:57 AM
GREAT pictures! Especially love seeing you and The Beast together in some of these shots.
Posted by: Notes from the Pack | October 23, 2012 at 04:54 PM
Thanks guys! We had a blast with the shoot - Ty is a real pro! And while I may not like getting my picture taken, I sure do love the images of Oscar and I together...
Posted by: Natalya | October 23, 2012 at 11:27 PM