What struck me most about
Erwitt’s dog image was the humanisation of the two animals; the smaller dog
dressed in a hat and coat and the larger having legs that greatly resembled the
booted woman’s. The forward facing angle of the boots takes away the L shape we
associate with human feet, giving her an animal like quality. I wonder if the
photographer is a dog lover; many people profess to prefer spending time with
their canine companions than other humans, such is the bond we build.
Although the small dog is
the only face we see in this image, the eye is initially drawn to the four long
legs, partly due to the blown out background making this an area of high
contrast. The legs tower above the smaller dog, making appear even smaller than
he is.
The frame is split into
three vertically, each being taking its own third; the central placement of the
smaller dog also divides the image into thirds horizontally.
Erwitt’s collection shows
that he has a great fondness for dogs. Many of his images show humour, be it in
the placement of the dog, or the perspective, highlighting some of the minute
dogs that can be found in the city. The bulldog sitting in front of the
fireplace has a human, almost regal air. Erwitt’s love of dogs is clear in the
way he shows the relationships between other people and their pooches, in some
of the images shown below, Erwitt shows this relationship without including the
human in the image.
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