Sit, stay, smile at Little Guild

CORNWALL — A bull in a china shop, as the idiom goes, spells disaster. But what about dogs in an antiques gallery? In Litchfield County, that spells: fundraiser. 

RT Facts Design & Antiques in Kent is an open, sunlit barn-like space housing a small museum’s worth of 1920s French stone sculpture and George Nakashima-inspired dining sets. On Mothers Day, May 14, the shop celebrated a very specific kind of parental bond: that between owner and dog. 

Playing host to the Little Guild of Saint Francis Animal Shelter and Rescue, black Lab after black Lab after black Lab walked through the doors of RT Facts, where photographer Jesse Freidin was ready to capture their best side. 

As part of a tour for his new photography book, “Finding Shelter,” Freidin donated all funds from the copies sold that Sunday to the Little Guild. Even better still, he offered his skills behind the camera, setting up a portraiture “photo booth,” where those who had bought tickets ahead of time could pose for instant Polaroid portraits with their pooch. 

New to the Berkshires by way of San Francisco, Freidin spent the last year traveling across the country taking portraits of animal shelter volunteers and collecting their unique stories for his book. The Little Guild in West Cornwall was one of his last stops (he photographed Wayne Douglas and Sarah Thames). 

“I wanted to find a new way of looking at shelter animals,” Freidin explained, “examining how the dogs give back more to us than the volunteers give to them.” 

It was not uncommon, he said, to find stories of pain or loss motivating those who seek to help animals. 

“Shelters are a place of mutual healing and comfort. I really found that across the country.”

Pet photography is a full-time career for Freidin, whose approach is devoid of gimmicks or elaborate setups. He meets the dog in its home and simply waits and watches for the revealing moment. 

“I started seeing if I could photograph dogs with a more fine arts approach. The results have been outstanding, so I’ve been doing that for about 10 years. I shoot exclusively in black and white, on film, producing everything in my studio. I want these portraits to be objects that people cherish. It’s not quick-and-dirty digital snapshots. When I do portraits I don’t use toys or tricks; I’m just there observing these animals, and letting this image of a dog articulate its own relationship. It tells me a lot about who the clients are, too, and not just their pets.”

The key to a good dog photo, Freidin said, is “a lot of patience, and an understanding of what’s going to happen before it happens.” 

That was true of the party photo booth as well, which he often sets up for fundraisers. It’s also a step outside of his normal style. With dogs lined up and no time to linger, Freidin employed treats, commands and quick reflexes in snapping the perfect moment before the dog looked away. 

Still, even in those lingering seconds, with no Polaroid film to waste, Freiden would wait and find his moment, and the photo souvenirs were uniformly spot-on and charming, a mix of candid Christmas card and J. Crew ad. 

“These photo-booths are a really fun madhouse and a very specific, crazy, energetic challenge. But it always works out.” 

With all the biscuits and commands needed, are dogs harder to photograph than people? Without needing a second to think, Freidin replied, “Dogs are easier to photograph than people. They’re really simple. Dogs want to interact, even if they’re shy. People are tricky.”