Photographer, animal lover and one-time singer songwriter Rachel Bellinsky releases ‘Tails from the Fishbowl’, a visual diary of local pets, staring out from behind neighbourhood windows.
READ MOREPhotographer, animal lover and one-time singer songwriter Rachel Bellinsky recently released her beautiful photographic book Tails from the Fishbowl, a visual diary of local pets, staring out from behind neighbourhood windows.
On daily walks with her beloved Yorkie x Jack Russell Cooper (who may also possess a little Chihuahua. And gremlin. And even a dash of unicorn.), Bellinsky began to notice and eventually photograph the cats and dogs peering from behind their own ‘fishbowl’-like windows. Curious about our relationships with the pets we share our homes with, and envisioning the animals’ stories or ‘tails’ (tales) if you will, the collection grew, and thus the book was born.
Says Bellinsky “In my neighbourhood, the animals are boss. They’re everywhere, and they make great photographic subjects. This series started with one or two window shots, first an orange tabby, then some kind of terrier mutt, both sitting behind glass. Suddenly I was seeing animals in windows all over the place!”
Taken over two years, the images themselves offer up a romantic, dreamlike quality, with the Southern Californian surroundings casting a dappled sunlight effect upon each photograph. While she admits this is a quality that is already apparent in the charming old neighbourhoods such as her own, Bellinsky also likes to scale back on reality somewhat with tones and editing.
She jokes, ”I used to live in Las Vegas, and I often wonder what kind of images I would have gotten on a daily basis while living there. I’m not sure if I could coax ‘dreamy’ from blocks of desert and concrete.”
If the light was good and the composition appropriate, Bellinsky would photograph each and every adorable subject, and is yet to find a pet who is not photo-worthy.
Indeed you would be hard pressed to hear her say anything less than glowing about all living things, with the staunch animal supporter admitting to worrying about them immensely. Her love and adoration is palpable in her work and to compliment this a portion of the book’s proceeds will go to the Humane Society. Says Bellinsky, “If my book could save a few animals that way, it would make me very happy.”
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Photography by Rachel Bellinsky
To see more of Rachel Bellinsky’s work, visit her site
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