Photographer Robert Bahou has always wanted pierce through the cuteness and capture what’s really going on in an animal’s mind. “The idea for this project has been to capture close and telling portraits of the animals we are most familiar with, in an attempt to cast a fresh but honest gaze their way,” the photographer tells us in an email. “I’ve avoided all distraction by limiting the photographs to medium shots with a black background, and I have purposely avoided humor as a selling point. Despite all the cameras we point at cats and dogs (and sometimes horses), we rarely attempt to capture an intimate moment of character, or personality. We generally direct our attention towards (funny/cute) actions, behavior, and so forth.”
This fascination with animals on a deeper level was what led Bahou to create Animal Soul, a series devoted to capturing the many quirks and personalities of dogs, cats, and horses, in a visual form. “I want people to look at animals in a way that they don’t normally do. I want to show the animals they’re so familiar with in a way they haven’t seen them before,” states the photographer. “By looking at my own photos, I often end up seeing them in a different way.” With his expressive models before him, Bahou knew he wanted to transform his love for animals into a coffee table book, and we’re happy to say that he has just recently fully funded his dream on Kickstarter.
Robert Bahou: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Kickstarter
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Robert Bahou.