To be trustworthy, we right here at ISRAEL21c want only a few excuses to share with you lovely canine images. But it so occurs that the world is ready to rejoice International Dog Day on August 26, giving us ample cause to do exactly that.
In honor of the special day, we spoke with Sary Hayon, the canine lover and pet photographer behind all of the fantastic images all through this text.
“I’m a new immigrant from Colombia, although I’m here almost seven years so perhaps not so new anymore,” she says. “I didn’t know much about photography beforehand, but I took a photography course here and really loved it. That’s how it all started.”
“A little over a year ago, I wanted to do something different and decided I want to help a person or an organization aiding animals. I wrote to a few dog adoption centers around Israel, saying that I want to do something that could benefit them or help them raise funds, and I also spoke with a friend who’s a dog trainer and he suggested that I speak with Yuval,” she explains.
“Yuval Mandelovitzch runs a really special non-profit organization. They usually work with pit bulls and other dogs in really difficult situations. They rescue dogs, whether from dog fights or from wandering the streets, and they have a large place up north that’s home to around 200 dogs.”
“They rehabilitate these dogs and once the dogs are ready, they look for a home for them. But if they see that a dog isn’t suitable for adoption or for city life, they keep them there.”
All the pit bulls featured right here had been photographed by Hayon for a calendar that the non-profit is promoting to boost funds for its actions, and options dogs that had been rescued and adopted.
“It was really fun. The owners were really nice and sweet, while some of the dogs were very calm and others very energetic. A day’s photoshoot with dogs is always great fun,” she says. “It’s really nice, because they’re very much themselves in the photos – you can see their character.”
And for these questioning tips on how to get wonderful photographs of their beloved pets, Hayon has a couple of prime ideas.
“First of all, get down low to their eye level,” she recommends. “Usually, it’s not so natural for dogs to look into a phone or a camera, so have something with you that they really love – it could be a ball, or a snack, for example.”
“If your dog enjoys doing tricks with snacks, then it can be nice to photograph them doing these, for example them giving out their hand or standing still, it comes out very cute in the photo,” she suggests.
“And have lots and lots of patience,” she concludes. “They want to move the whole time, so just be very patient.”
