Peter Thorpe - Bark! The Herald Angels Sing: The Dogs of Christmas

Copyright 2016 by Peter Thorpe

All rights reserved

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DEDICATION

With special thanks to Paddy, Raggle, Julie, Joe, Cal, and Toby
for their patience and participation each Christmas.

Also to the friends, family and clients whose encouragement
has inspired me to make this series.

CONTENTS

N early 30 years ago, we fostered a terrier mix named Paddy. He was quite a character. His behavior was certainly challenginghe greeted people with a wagging tail and a look of interest that would quickly turn into a snarl if they attempted to stroke himbut we loved him, and soon enough, he became our full-time adopted pet. Rather than leave him home, I would bring Paddy to the photography studio each day. He would usually choose a spot to sit close to the action, near the camera where the lights and all the attention were focused. Occasionally he made his way into a test shot or two. This was how I discovered that Paddy was a terrific model... which was sort of surprising, based on his cranky demeanor.

When I moved to a new studio, as a promotional piece, I sent out cards with a staged photograph of me appearing to hold stacks of packing cases, set up in positions as if about to tumble over. I placed Paddy in one of these boxes, his paws draped over the side, ears pricked up looking sweet and attentiveagain, he proved to be a perfect, calm, and relaxed model.

My moving card photo a success, I transitioned to Christmas cards. I started with something straightforwardPaddy resembled Nipper, the famous phonograph-listening dog from the 1898 painting His Masters Voice. (That painting eventually became the trademark for the Victor and HMV record labels.) I set Paddy up in a similar shot and added a red border for the holiday card.

Paddy continued to featureor else had cameo rolesin a number of further shots...

These photos with Paddy turned out to be popular, so I began to shoot a new one each Christmas.

Regarding Christmas themes, there is so much material on which to draw for inspiration, but the pressure is always on each year to come up with original, practical, and affordable concepts. When the winter months would approach, Id brainstorm with family and friends for new ideas. These were the pre-Internet days, mind you, before people had Pinterest boards and every resource available at the touch of a key. Instead, Post-It notes would bookmark the many pages to photocopy at the library.

In the early years before Photoshop, and even once it had become the standard editing software, I continued to enjoy the process of making all my own sets and props by hand. Later I would be encouraged to document this process, as it seemed to be as fun and popular to the viewer as the image itself.

I wanted every card to be original, and I referenced literary and art influences as well as more traditional Christmas imagery. As a youngster, I loved cartoons and comics, and I based each photograph on this simple visual medium. The cards are always intended to work without the need for text. Whatever the theme, when sketching and planning out my early ideas, it is consistently based on the dog being completely comfortable in their natural sitting or standing position. However elaborate and silly the set or costume may be, all the other elements in the shot just fit around the dog waiting patiently in anticipation for their well-deserved treats.

All together, Paddy starred in 12 Christmas cards before he passed away. Our family had grown by this time, with the addition of twin boys and later their younger brother, who had also begun to feature in some earlier cards. We all really missed having a pet around, so after a few visits to the dog shelter, we soon adopted another terrier mix. This dog had a very gentle nature, and we named her Raggle.

After a time, I started to photograph Raggle in the studio, and she soon became my new muse. It was quite a shock to see Raggle with her first haircut, so I took a photograph making notes on the lighting and camera set up. Then I created the exact same shot six months later. That turned out to be the first Raggle Christmas card, and the rest, as they say, is history.

C h oirbo y

On the twelfth day of Christmas

My true love sent to me:

Twelve Drummers Drumming

Eleven Pipers Piping

Ten Lords a-Leaping

Nine Ladies Dancing

Eight Maids a-Milking

Seven Swans a-Swimming

Six Geese a-Laying

Five Golden Rings

Four Calling Birds

Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Heavenly
Cherubs

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild