Dog & Pup
For dog lovers, DOG and Pup is a collection of portraits that celebrate the beauty and spirit of humankind’s most devoted companion.
Focusing on different breeds within different breed groups, photographer Deborah Samuel has captured their ever-changing moods and eccentricities.
Through her closely observed photographs we come to understand the vitality of a German Shorthaired Pointer, the roguish humor of a Jack Russell Terrier, the diffident elegance of a Greyhound.
Ultimately, each photograph reveals not just the character of the breed but the heart and soul of a beloved pet.
Photograph after stunning photograph, from Afghan Hound to Yorkshire Terrier, the photographs in this canine collection are tender reminders of why we love our dogs.
“The resulting collection [dog] will melt the heart of even the most die-hard feline fanatic…”
- Applied Arts, Canada
“It's impossible not to smile at the cover of this delightful collection of duotone photographs… This engaging vision invites you to explore further.”
- Connie Ogle / Miami Herald, USA
“Dog holds its own against the best fine-art books… 'Her printing is extraordinary,' says Andrew Wilkes, contributing editor at Aperture. 'She is in a league of her own.'”
- Jane Gottlieb / PDN, USA
“If you are not canine dependent this book will turn you into an instant addict. The brilliant pictures capture the character of each breed...”
- New Zealand Herald
“A photograph stops me in my tracks. It is full of textures and sexy shapes…And so it goes, page after page of exquisitely printed black-and-white photos…The images become symphonic, enveloping me in joie de vivre from man’s best friend.”
- Connie Bloom / The Beacon Journal, USA
“Her fascination with the characteristics of different breeds, her instinctual eye and her innate ability to move with each animal into a moment of photographic clarity have never faltered.”
- Lauren Carter / Bark Magazine, USA
“Just one glance at Deborah Samuel’s pictures reveals that she has a unique inside dog track. Even within each breed, each dog shows its own character.”
- Herbert Keppler / Popular Photography, USA
“Samuel’s own relation with dogs keeps getting better. Dog, her first book of pooch photography…has had worldwide sales since being published last year. It is also short-listed for the third Roloff Beny $60,000 Photographic Book Award, along with the likes of Yousuf Karsh and Geoffrey James.”
- Peter Goddard / Toronto Star, Canada
“Canadian photographer Deborah Samuel gives us two extraordinary photographic collections, Dog and Pup (Raincoast). Her photos brilliantly impart the engaging spirit of each breed, allowing each to speak in its own distinct voice.”
- Hilary Iriam-Kelley / Flare, Canada
“Line, form, texture and light-these terms may seem more suited to a canvas than a canine, but Deborah Samuel’s photograph collection, simply titled Dog, accomplishes an elegant communion between art and arf.”
- Jason Stipp / DogWorld, US
“In elegant photo after elegant photo, each dog’s special character, and the beautiful line formed by the body…is delivered in this book.”
- Dog & Kennel Magazine, USA
“The author of two elegant photography books, Dog and Pup, Samuel says she has long been ‘obsessed’ with dogs, particularly with their inner lives, whether they tend toward boldness, integrity, guilt, flightiness, belligerence, or even elan.”
- Peter Smith / O, The Oprah Magazine, USA
The Extraordinary Beauty of Birds
"What you read in the title is what you see. Inside the pages of this book: extraordinary photographs of feathers, eggs, nests and skins of birds from around the world but collected together in the Royal Ontario Museum.
The images are astonishing because without the book’s title and captions it would be hard to believe that some of them were not computer generated.
This is Nature imitating exquisite geometries and colors from the world of art and the result looks like some virtual reality created by digital technology until the box of text that accompanies each photograph is read.
The text is meticulously empirical, making the image even more magical because the pattern and the colours are out there in the natural world."
- Irish Left Review / Ireland
"We are accustomed to seeing representations of nature mediated through the hand of man in books and museums, yet natural elements can stand alone as art.
The intimate photographs in The Extraordinary Beauty of Birds: Designs, Patterns and Details offer eloquent examples from the avian world.
The photographer Deborah Samuel states that the images in this book are a meditation on what it means to be alive and also serves as “portraits” of abstract ideas.
The images were photographed from specimens in the Royal Ontario Museum’s ornithology collection and include details of feathers, eggs, and nests shot against a black background, which accentuates the elegance of the forms and the brilliance of the colors.
Attributions and brief descriptions of the objects are provided. This volume will please the 48 million birders and may attract others to bird watching, if not in the field, then through the gifted eye of this photographer."
- Jackie M / THE Magazine, USA
“Scientists can derive knowledge which is then shared with the museum’s visitors. Artists can achieve something else — they can, in a sense, bring a specimen back to life. Through their vision, the wonder and beauty of a bird that may have been dead for 150 years, is revived.”
- Mark Peck / Royal Ontario Museum, Canada
“Admiring these images gave rise to a new thought. When we try to create music, weave words, or capture visions with paint or lens, we are trying to make something as beautiful as nature. Deborah’s eye takes mine to the splendor of a feather, an egg, an intricately woven nest. We may have seen these objects before, but we have not seen them with this level of insight.”
- Neil Peart / RUSH
"Most of the photos show a distinct detail standing out against a black background. On some pages, the iridescent black feathers nearly blend into the backdrop, save for the well-captured textures. On other pages, the colors pop so brightly, it’s surprising to think they’re from the natural world. A few full-body images possess a haunting stillness from creatures typically so full of movement and life."
- Elise Chen / Audubon California, USA
"For her new book, Samuel focused on finding what she considered the most important aspects of each individual bird. For some it may be strength, for others patterns, or just pure beauty, she says. According to Peck, Samuel’s photographs reveal an entirely new dimension of the museum’s ornithology collection. “Deborah’s work has brought back a certain life to the specimens,” he says. “It has given the specimens even greater value and, I believe, will inspire people to see the extraordinary beauty of the natural world.”
- Nicole Wetsman / Science Friday, USA
"PHOTOGRAPHY can allow us to see things differently, offering a new perspective on a familiar subject. So it is with this new book. A particular favourite of mine is (Common) Pheasant. Ubiquitous in Britain, it’s easy to overlook this species, but the close-up image of the bird’s neck (from which it gets its alternative name of Ring-necked Pheasant) is stunning. With its iridescent blues and greens, splash of white and wave-like pattern, it’s reminiscent of the ocean."
- Rebecca Armstrong / Birdwatch Magazine, UK
"Birds serve as a poignant reminder of another sphere we cannot reach—so much so that their connection to heaven and earth has inspired folklore and myths in cultures across the world. "Part of the fascination," reflects Samuel, "is their freedom in flight. How often would we like to have that freedom in our own lives?"The book is an optic tour de force that challenges the viewer to reevaluate the inherent beauty in nature and the aviary world."
- Nicole Haddad / New York Spaces Magazine, USA