Jess Bell Photography This talented photographer

Brilliantly lit and floating across a jet black background, Jess Bell’s 4-legged subjects are frozen in time and space as they hurdle through the air trailing a cloud of vivid color in their wake. Captured with a sharp focus and shallow depth of field, the powder helps to define the burst of graceful energy and poetic flight of her canine subjects. For her client's these photos make for beautiful wall prints and amazing memories and for the viewing public, further awe and appreciation for the beauty and magic that dogs bring to us. Here is our recent interview with this very skilled and creative photographer.

Your powder action photos are amazing! Do your photo shoots take place in a large studio?

Thanks! My powder photographs started out being taken outdoors in natural light, but I quickly learned that capturing these photos indoors in a studio environment is significantly more effective and means that I don't have to worry about the weather forecast. Wind, water and powder don't mix very well. I have a mobile studio that I bring with me and set up in covered agility arenas, etc so we have lots of space.

How long have you been doing

photography? And when did you start doing your powder action series and what inspired you? I've always enjoyed photography, but only really started doing it professionally ~4 years ago or so. I started my powder photography approximately 1.5 years ago after seeing beautiful work done with dancers, horses, etc, which I wanted to try to incorporate it into my own canine photography.

How do you encourage the dogs

into such graceful flight? Do you make use of agility equipment? Most of my subjects are trained in agility and/ or disc. Most of the time I use a basic agility jump to prompt the explosive movement that prompts the powder to start flying. I can use a variety of other prompts to cue movement, but I like the predictable nature of dogs' motion while performing agility equipment because it's a bit easier to capture under the studio lights.

Being behind the camera to get these beautiful action shots, do you work with a trainer or an assistant? Do your clients help assist during a session?

My powder sessions are a lot of work, so I've learned to arrange for as much help as I can to keep things running smoothly. At my group sessions, I do ask my clients to be prepared to help with each others' dogs

since each shot normally involves at least two people. Part of the fun of these events is the camaraderie that forms between everyone: it's as much an experience for my clients as it is a way to get some awesome photos. For my larger events, I will arrange for an assistant or apprentice to help out behing the scenes as well.

What is your mindset going into a photoshoot with a dog you haven’t

met? For my private client photo sessions, I do try to meet with everyone ahead of time to plan things out and build a rapport before a shoot. However, sometimes it's not possible to meet beforehand. When working with a dog I've not met before, I always have a couple key ideas for particular shots I'd like to capture, and then a series of back up plans that pare down the complexity of the ideas to meet a dog's individual skillset and needs. I have a background in dog training and have a lot of patience, so I feel as if I'm well-versed in identifying what's working and what might not be for each dog and then finding a pet-friendly solution for each issue.

The dogs seem ultra focused on moving forward, does it help if your clients dogs are

motivated agility dogs? I tend to feel that the more training a dog has, the better the potential there is from a photo shoot. It certainly helps to work with dogs that love to work and are focused on their handlers. For my powder shoots, I do require a certain degree of fluency and confidence

in my subjects ahead of time, but am always prepared to dial down the requirements if need be. When working with animals, it's always important to be flexible.

In general I imagine the best dogs for these photos are Aussies and Border collies who can achieve big air time. Have you tried to capture powder shots with other

breeds and mixes? I have photographed a lot of Border Collies and Aussies! But I've also photographed quite a few "off" breeds and mixes. My gallery consists of some fun and unusual subjects like Ibizan Hounds, Whippets, Huskies, English Setters, Schnauzers, Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians, Jack Russells, lots of mixes and more.

I read that you use a non toxic powder and take great care to safeguard your subjects, can you elaborate on this? Yes! Safety is something that I take very seriously, and stress it repeatedly with my clients. Not all powder is created equal, and I have worked hard to find powder made nearby by a company that usess FD&C/D&C approved ingredients. On top of that, I take great care to keep powder well away from my subjects' faces as it can irritate eyes & airways if we're not careful.

Tell us about your own dogs and if they are featured in your photographs?

Photographing my own dog is what started me on this journey. I own an Australian Shepherd named Cohen who is now 10 years old. She's done quite a few interesting things

THE WORLD-RENOWNED PET-FRIENDLY CYPRESS INN

Invites you and your four-leggers to visit Carmel. Pets are welcome throughout the hotel, in the cozy living room or in the charming courtyard for lunch or evening appetizers. over the years like performing in commericals, at live events, competition, and is featured prominently in my photography work. She's happy to work in exchange for anything remotely edible, and with 200+ tricks & behaviours in her repertoire she's frequently asked to be my guinea pig for some of my more bizarre ideas. I also have a 15-year old Chihuahua named Megatron who came with my husband! She's not featured as strongly as Cohen and is more a cheerleader and lap warmer as of late, but she does appear from time to time as well.

Your photography also includes people and pet portraiture as well as incredible shots of wild animals, tell us about some of these other animals and how you have been able

to get such intimate images of them? One of my personal goals for 2020 is to get more undomesticated species in front of my camera in studio! I'm hoping to leverage some of my

local animal training connections to make this happen. Some of my undomesticated animal photographs are due to working with local trainers, and others are taken at the amazing Toronto Zoo.

Do you have any formal art training? I went to university for graphic design and have always had a bit of a flare for art and visual communication.

LINCOLN ST. CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA (800) 443-7443 WWW.CYPRESS-INN.COM Co-Owned by Doris Day and Dennis LeVett

Which camera body and lenses do you use and what kind of lighting do you work

with on your powder shoots? I use a Nikon D5 & 300mm f2.8 lens and a few Godox flashes (AD600Pro + AD200) for my powder photography.

It seems that your skill set has advanced really quickly, what do you attribute this

to? I'm not too sure, but thank you for saying

as much! I think it boils down to me enjoying learning new things when it comes to photography, and being really crtical of my work! I'm always looking at ways to improve each image I produce. My photography has always been more about creating things that I'm proud of rather than earning income. If I'm not happy with what I'm producing, I don't want to do it!

I see that you have a young daughter, has it been difficult to advance you career while being a mom and caring for your

dogs? Yep! It's not been particularly easy to balance my family, dogs, photography and life in general. However, I have a fantastic, ultrasupportive husband who understands that photography is a creative

outlet for me as well as a small business and he helps lighten the load as my work ebbs and flows.

Do you have a dream project you would like to

do in the future? I have a lot of dream projects! I think the biggest one at the moment is that I would love to work more closely with zoos, conservatories and private handlers to photography exotic, undomesticated species in studio settings.

Thanks for doing this interview for helping the world to see the beauty of dogs in motion. Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you? There is nothing more that I can think of at the moment. Thanks for your interest!