He’s gone to the dogs.
Fine art photographer Gray Malin is known for shooting idyllic destinations such as Capri and Palm Beach, but his new book is less beachy and more furry.
“Gray Malin: Dogs” (out Tuesday) sees nearly two dozen posh pets — including Dalmatians, poodles, Bernese mountain dogs, Australian shepherds and beagles — sitting pretty in iconic locales in Beverly Hills, London, Paris and New York.
“We were trying to create a world where the dogs were different sizes, different colors or a variety of breeds that felt harmonious in the setting or location,” Malin, who dedicated the book to his late rescue dog Stella, told The Post.
In Manhattan, he shot pups at the Plaza Hotel, the Top of the Rock, Central Park and Bergdorf Goodman.
His models, he said, were consummate professionals.
“They had to hold a pose for sometimes 10 seconds — it’s very difficult and takes a lot of time,” Malin said.
Handily, it was the summer of 2021, so the city was relatively quiet.
“Midtown was completely empty — foreigners weren’t allowed to come to the US then [because of the pandemic],” he said. “It was like a ghost town in comparison to what it normally is … It really allowed us to create these very, very special images.
Have a look.
Uptown express
Malin staged six dogs, including a poodle clad in a Pucci scarf and pink pillbox hat, in various scenes outside of the The Plaza. He got the perfect shot by pitching his tripod in a bus lane.
“We worked around buses flying by with scaffolding towering above [the Plaza] — all the typical New York hectic components,” Malin said. “It was all about good timing.”
Central Bark
“The dogs were sniffing everything, we had to take away the cheese,” quipped Malin.”They didn’t mind the fruit [and] we added rosé.”
Gray Malin
Getting eight dogs to sit and stay while surrounded by a beautiful array of foods in Central Park was no picnic.
“The dogs were sniffing everything, we had to take away the cheese,” quipped Malin.“[But] they didn’t mind the fruit [and] we added rosé.”
Then they got lucky.
“We were truly about to get the shot and the owner of the Border Collie dog was like, ‘My dog can hold that baguette in its mouth if we want,’ We were like, ‘We don’t believe you.’ She was like, ‘No, watch this.’ And we got the shot.”
Fido on Fifth Avenue
Eight Dalmatians dazzled in front of New York’s most iconic luxury department store.
“That day was really special. I spent months getting permission from Bergdorf Goodman to take that photograph,” Malin said.
High pressure
Malin had a strict 45-minute time limit for shooting nine pups at the Top of the Rock observation deck.
“It was so stressful,” he said.
Not helping matters were the neon folding beach chairs the dogs had to lie on — while wearing vintage sunglasses.
“The chairs are very flimsy. We had to hold them still until the dogs were sitting,” he said. “It was chaos.”
Center of it all
One of the most notable shots features several pups frolicking in a small pool at Rockefeller Center.
“It’s totally fun and timeless,” Malin said. “A photographer could have been taken this in 2021 or 1987 –that’s the magic of New York.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
