Image Bank

This image shows a woman, who is a volunteer at a rescue centre, taking one of the dogs out for a walk. This is one of the roles that the volunteers there undertake, and is an important part of socialising and training the dogs to make them more adoptable. Additionally, it is vital that dogs are exercised regularly in order to reduce their stress levels, as being confined in a small kennel and run can be extremely stressful and can lead to behaviour problems which make it difficult to rehome them. The woman is taking a staffie type dog for a walk, this is a common type of dog breed which often make up a large percentage of the dogs found at rescue centres. It is good to see a dog of this breed being shown in a positive way, just calmly going for a walk, as too often they are portrayed as being aggressive. When I look at this image I feel sorry for the dog not having an owner but am glad that there are shelters such as this one that will help find a home for the dog. I also admire the work the volunteers do trying to keep the dogs content while they stay at the centre. Capturing images of dogs being exercised is something that I will be sure to document in my project.

This is a volunteer working at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington; she is cleaning out the cat cages. It is Christmas day. This image shows the constant work that is needed to be done every day of the year, as caring for animals is a 24hrs a day, 365 days a year job. The environment does look quite sterile with all the stainless steel but this is an easily cleaned surface. Any animal coming into the shelter may bring in diseases or viruses and to prevent them spreading it is important to keep everything clean. In addition there will be a lot of daily mess from the animals living there to clean and having easily cleaned surfaces helps to make this work easier.  It does make me sad to see how small the area they have to live in is, but hope the cats will not be there long before they are rehomed, and the black cat that can be seen in the cage looks quite comfortable and content. I intend to photographically capture the long days that are worked at the centre as well as the staff having to work in all weather conditions.

This was taken by Steve Smailes. 

The image is from the Lincoln Pride Parade in 2016. This image documents the support that such events have, by showing a long procession of people in the parade who fill the entire breadth of the street and then disappear out of view as the procession continues down the street. This underlines the numbers of people as the viewers mind will automatically extent the parade of people further than can be seen in the image. Pride is a wonderful event to photograph, as it is full of rainbow colours. This can be seen in the image as some people have dyed their hair or are wearing colourful flower crowns, while others are holding rainbow stripped flags.  The image captures the togetherness of the crowd by showing people walking so closely together and the large range of ages of people present show that everyone is included and illustrates the broad support the parade has. I want my  to reflect the respect I have for all the staff and volunteers that work at the animal shelter. I also want to show that everyone working at the Centre are brought together as they share a common purpose in wanting to help the animals in what ever way they can. I want to show my support for the work that takes place at the centre, as this is very close to my heart.   

This image documents one of the big positives about working in an animal shelter. Which is that you get lots of attention and cuddles from cute (but destructive) puppies. It is from a website encouraging people to get involved with volunteering at their local dog shelter. The image would be quite effective in encouraging people to volunteer, as it shows the fun that can be had from interacting with puppies. You can almost feel the numerous puppies jumping about all over you to get attention. Also puppies are very photogenic and you just want to cuddle and protect them.  The image captures how playful and affectionate the puppies are and how much they want to interact with people, which can be seen by the way they are trying to climb into the young mans lap. Although that might be because he is giving them treats. When I look at this image I want to volunteer at the shelter so I could spend time with the puppies getting jumped upon and licked and also getting to cuddle the puppies as they snuggle into you as they fall asleep. I think this images illustrates the joy that working in a shelter can bring. I would like to capture images of puppies at the shelter but this will be dependent on them being brought in over the period I am doing my project. If any pups are brought in I will ensure I capture images of them looking cute and being played with as this will show a fun aspect of working at a rescue centre.

This image is from a web site that arranges voluntary work exchanges or placements for people who want to spend time travelling the world but doing some worthwhile work at the same time. The image shows how you can get up close and interact with rescued animals such as the donkeys and the sheep shown here being fed by the woman. The image illustrates how you do not need any experience or training to be able to help, and that the animals are friendly and used to people. The image has a relaxed feel to it, with the woman out in the countryside, and not doing any particularly difficult or strenuous work. Rather the work looks enjoyable and positively portrays working at a shelter and this is something I will aim to capture too.

The image shows a woman playing a game with some young dogs at an animal shelter. The woman is throwing a rope toy which the dogs are running to catch and hopefully retrieve and bring back to her. The image has been captured in freeze frame with the rope 'frozen' in mid air and the dogs in various positions with some of their legs off the floor. this gives the image the perception of motion. Both the woman and the three dogs look like they are having fun. The dogs at the shelter are locked up for most of the day in kennels with small runs so this activity gives them the chance to run about and get some exercise, which is important to keep them from getting stressed. It is also important in allowing the dogs to learn how to socialise with other dogs as well as with people, which is vital if they are to be rehomed successfully. This image illustrates the fun the volunteers can have while at the same time undertaking an important task of exercising the animals to keep them happy and unstressed. I will be sure to capture images showing dogs being exercised and having fun with the volunteers.

This image is from the Guernsey Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) web site. In it they provide information about their joint project with the RSPB and the Floral Society in undertaking conservation work on their site in Guernsey. The image shows a middle aged woman and man in the process of installing a bird nesting box near the top of a building just below the roof. They are both up ladders which have been laid against the building, and are reaching over to work together to install the box. This image shows that help is required from everyone whatever their age. It also illustrates that doing charity work can be fulfilling as you can work closely with people of similar interests and do some good in helping wildlife. The image is probably aimed at retired people who have more time on their hands to spend a few hours volunteering. When I look at this image I think it looks like a good opportunity for people to make some new friends and do something useful too. There are a number of tasks the volunteers do at the rescue centre, I will try to capture as many of these as possible to show that all help is useful and there are a range of ways to help.

The image shows the level of cleaning that is undertaken daily at the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League. All of the kennels are jet cleaned like this using the power washing equipment. This takes a lot of time and effort by the staff and must be a fairly physically demanding part of the routine work that goes on there. It illustrates the importance they place on looking after their animal’s health and in keeping them in a clean environment. When I look at this image I can really see the effort that must be put in by the staff to maintain this standard of cleanliness. I do think the environment is a bit sterile and unfriendly looking but this may be because they  have removed bedding and dog toys etc due to the cleaning. The staff put a lot of time and effort into cleaning the kennels and runs so this will be an important part of the work to capture.

The staff member at the animal shelter here has just cleaned out the dog’s kennel and is now providing him with clean drinking water. This is a task which is repeated over and over at rescue centres usually taking place twice a day, every day. I will definitely be taking such images in my documentary project showing the washing and scrubbing out of kennels as well as the meal preparation and water top ups.

This is Ken Nwadike, who went to a Bernie Sanders rally and a Donald Trump rally wearing a free hugs sign on his shirt, to compare how the people around him reacted. As expected, there was a lot of hate from Trump supporters. Ken Nwadike is a black American and racial intolerance in the US had been stirred up by comments made during the presidential campaign, and his slogan may have been seen as a provocative gesture to those already inclined to be racially prejudiced. This image is effective in portraying the photographers message in that it has been taken in black and white which makes it more dramatic and has a man in the foreground with his arm raised as if in anger. The depth of field makes him blurred but this adds to the anonymity of the man, making the viewer feel like it could be anyone. These effects add to the unfriendly atmosphere and intimidation the man must be feeling. Some dogs end up staying in kennels as people are prejudiced against their breed, as they believe they are aggressive. I want to show that there are many different types of dogs in the rescue centre and show photographically that big powerful dogs are not aggressive but can be really cute and gentle. 

In January, Jaipur hosts a kite flying festival- Makar Sankranti. Due to this, many birds are injured and in 2006 Rohit Gangwal decided to start an organisation to rescue these birds every January. They look for fallen birds, and nurse them back to health to be released back into the wild. Now, it is a full time bird and reptile rescue all year. The image shows the group of people including a child releasing a pigeon back into the wild after it has recovered from its injuries. The image shows in freeze frame the moment the bird has started to fly away. It captures the freedom the bird must be longing to get back to after being hurt and so having to be kept in captivity. This image makes me feel like there are many caring people in the world who are willing to give up their time to care for vulnerable injured birds. I hope to convince people that dogs are worth giving up some of your spare time to do as well.

This is Stella, a very nervous dog. These photos were attached to a response to a blog post about how dogs do not choose to be anxious, defiant or dominant, written by a fosterer of Stella. She has managed to be playful with those she becomes familiar with, but still anxious around new people. It looks as though she is hiding behind a banister on a dog bed. This position, especially in the first photograph with only one eye showing, represent how nervous she is/was. The dogs pose shows immediately that she is nervous as she hides herself away from people she has not met before. This image makes me wonder what happened to her to make her so frightened. This image has influenced me in taking images of the work that the centre does in trying to work with dogs to make them less afraid of people.

Rescue bank. These photos show the volunteers and dogs trying to get people to donate food to the shelter, and the food that has been donated. They have tried to make the images funny and captivating to encourage people to look at them and so be more likely to donate food. They have also used an image of a cute puppy which they have personified by giving him a speech bubble, this will touch the hearts of viewers as they will want to  help the vulnerable cute puppy. The image of the Rottweiler offering wet kisses will also grab people attention but may not get too many offers taken up. I will try to use some funny images in my project to illustrate the fun that can be had working at a rescue centre. 

 

This is Naoto Matsumura. After the Japanese earthquake, Tsunami and nuclear disaster, the town of Fukushima was evacuated for what they thought would be a few days. So, they all left their animals behind to come back to later. But the evacuation seemed more permanent than once thought. Naoto went back for his animals to take care of them, and noticed all the other animals that were sick, dead or dying. So, he decided to stay in this radioactive town to take care of them. The first photo shows him feeding milk to a calf. This shows how nurturing he is to the animals, showing his love and how he takes his role as the 'guardian of Fukushima’s animals' seriously. The second photograph shows how much danger he is putting himself in by being there. He is exposing himself to radiation everyday,  but he says that as he's been told that it won't affect him seriously for 30 or 40 years, he doesn't care, as he is 60 years old. This photo shows a radiation level reader next to his head, which displays levels more dangerous than typically found in other towns. This man is an inspiration in putting himself in danger to care for helpless animals in need.

I like the way in this image that a narrow depth of field has been used to focus attention on the in focus worker in the background rather than the one on the foreground of the image who is out of focus. By blurring the worker in the foreground we search through the image to find the in focus subject which is a volunteer cuddling a cat. This gives the moment captured there a more intimate and natural  feel as if he was unaware that he was being photographed, as he is not looking at the camera and is far away from it so may not be aware of the photographers presence. I will make my images as natural as possible to genuinely reflect the work that takes place at the centre.

 

This image shows a volunteer taking a moment to give attention to a dog at a rescue centre. I really like the pose that she is in as it shows she care for and wants to connect and bond with the dog.

 

This image show a volunteer with a dog advertising a rescue centre and that there are dogs waiting to be adopted there. Including the one in the image. At Mutts in Distress they do something similar outside a well known pet shop chain store in Harlow. Usually Tarquin who is a very friendly dog is taken there as an ambassador to show people how lovely the dogs are that are available for adoption.

This image captures a cat activity area a man had just built for a cat rescue centre. There is often some DIY repairs or decorating that is going on at the centre that I can photograph.

 

This image from a daily newspaper documents a moment in the day that a well known celebrity took  time out of her busy schedule to spend  volunteering at an animal shelter. Both the person and the dog are obviously enjoying their time together going walking, as can be seen by the laughing smile on the celebrities face and the dogs eagerness in its posture. This image encourages people to give up some of their time to volunteering as it shows that even busy people can find the time. It also uses the celebrity as a role model conveying the idea that this is how people should be behaving. Additionally it highlights the fun that can be had in volunteering to care for dogs at a shelter can give you. I will ensure I capture images showing the fun side of work at the centre.