John Lund and the Art of the Pet

John Lund has made photos of some astonishing animal antics. Dogs using a hula hoop. Doing the tango. Visiting a beauty parlour. Driving a car. Amazing, right? It turns out, though, that there’s more here than meets the eyes.

In an article in Animal Fair, Lund describes his technique:

So how does this animal artist work his magic? Through the wonders of digital imaging, Lund creates humorous scenarios of animals indulging in unusual behaviors. While Lund is the creator of these fanciful images, he is quick to confess that the original ideas are a group effort.

“Our inspiration comes from many areas, life experiences, other photo shoots and just plain hard thinking,” Lund said. “The images are very much a group effort. The ideas are generated by Portal Publications’ Senior Art Director Collette Carter, Peter Stein, and myself.”

Lund has four books that capture the hearts of pet-lovers and elicit more than just a few hearty chuckles. Animal Antics, Animal Wisdom, Animal Talk and Life According to Maude all feature an array of animals hamming it up at the hands of a masterful artist who has an eye for knowing what tickles our funny bones.

On his web site, Lund talks about how much he enjoys making these images:

As much delight as the Animal Antics pictures bring to others, I think I still get as much enjoyment as anyone from actually creating the images. We always work with the same crew including our animal trainers. The animals, though difficult to photograph, are always fun to interact with. I never cease to be amazed at the athleticism of cats, the eagerness of the dogs to please us, and the special qualities of almost every animal. In particular, I appreciate the sensual muscularity of lions, the seemly gentle yet massive power of elephants, and the almost eerie intelligence of primates.

Visit Lund’s web site to view and buy prints and cards of Lund’s fantastic work.