It has often been said that people and their pets tend to look
alike. Recent studies even show, that some of this can be traced
back to
when the pet owners first acquire their animals. It seems that
people out shopping for the next addition to their family,
tend to buy pets
with features somewhat similar to their own. Whether true or not,
the ongoing photographic project of BC Baggett, M. Photog., M.
Artist, MEI, Cr., CPP, takes this phenomenon to the next level. He
photographs the pet and their master, separately, then blends, or morphs
the
two images together to create the final print. He calls it his
Pet Project.
BC and his wife Susan are great lovers of animals themselves.
When they packed their bags in 1979 and left Virginia Beach
to open
a studio in
Indiana, they took off with their three dogs and cat. Together, they
have owned pets for amost thirty years. They have shared their
lives with a half dozen Golden Retrievers and raised sixty three
Golden pups.
During that same time they have shared their home with four wonderful
cats, and countless outdoor farm cats. Like many true pet lovers, their
animals are like their children. “They really become a part of
us.” says BC.
Back in 1998, BC had a photographic vision. Like many photographers,
sometimes these visions just pop into our heads. Whether waking up
late at night with an idea that won’t go away, or consciously trying
to expand on a creative spark, sometimes great ideas are born in strange
ways. His idea was to take a photograph of Tanya Schaick, a close friend
of the Baggett’s, and her dog Aspen. Then, through the use of Photoshop
and the computer, attempt to blend the two images of the master and her
pet together into one. “I think it must have been Aspen’s
clear, piercing blue eyes” that gave me that original spark of
creative energy.” he says.
Malamutation, the final image created from that first Pet Project
session, was an image that almost didn’t happen. BC had the
inspiration and shot the subjects for the image several years prior
to actually creating
it. When time came to start thinking about what he would do for print
competition that year, BC sent seventeen images—the original
negatives and transparencies—to the lab to be scanned. On the
way back from the lab, the worst thing that could happen, did. The
truck that the overnight
shipment was in caught fire and every image was completely destroyed.
BC was devastated. All of what he considered to be his best work
for that year was lost—not just the prints—the original
film. He didn’t enter print competition that year, but the
image of Malamutation was never completely lost from his mind. Several
years went by, but he
finally went back to the negative files and pulled some of the reject
negatives with renewed interest in the project. Since he had recently
purchased his own high quality film scanner – an Imacon Flextight
Precision II – this time around, the negatives never had to leave
the studio.
Malamutation went on to earn several top awards for BC. It was part
of his print case that earned him the Indiana Photographer of the
Year Award
and the Fuji
Masterpiece Award. It was accepted into PPA’s Loan Collection and earned
BC the Golden Medallion Award at the 2001 Imaging USA Convention and International
Print Competition in Chicago, Illinois. The award is presented to the top
image in the international exhibit.
Soon after BC completed Malamutation, Tom Schaick, husband of Aspen’s master
Tanya, acquired a beautiful Chocolate Labrador Retriever. Of course, BC wanted
to create a companion image to go along with his first creation. For this image
of Tom and his buddy, Quincy, BC decided he wanted to include some element in
the image that would distinguish it somehow, or add a bit of “personality” to
the image. “It was only natural that we include the cigar” says BC. “Tom
always has one in his hand when he’s relaxing, lit or not. I also went
to the trouble of digitally removing Tom’s glasses and placing them
on Quincy. The glasses are so much a part of how we know Tom.”
So, the second image in the Pet Project, Afidonado, was created. That image
fared quite well in competition the next year as well. It too, helped earn
BC the Indiana
Photographer of the Year Award that year. In addition, the image won him
another Fuji Masterpiece Award, was also accepted into the PPA Loan Collection
and
chosen for the ASP 100. The image was also recently featured in a marketing
campaign
by Burrell Pro Labs.
Somewhere along the way, about the time Afidonado began to take shape, he
thought about the possibility of creating other images of pets and their
masters. And
so, the idea of the Pet Project was born. “I’ve had the idea for
a long time, and have been trying to decide where to go with it. A book sounds
interesting, after I have enough material, but that’s a pretty lofty
goal. Who knows? If I can put together enough images and it seems interesting
enough
as a whole, then maybe.”
It’s been a slow, steady, work-in-progress so far. The third image,
Tribute to the Heroes, was a PPA merit print for BC last year, and the fourth,
Black Beauty, also merited at the national competition and like Malamutation
and Afidonado, went on to be selected for the Loan Collection and the ASP
Traveling 100. He has
another
half dozen or so potential Pet Project sessions already photographed,
but the morphing
process
has not been completed. As of now, BC plans to offer some of the images for
sale, both in open and limited edition series. He plans to have Burrell Colour
produce
the open edition 16x20 prints and in conjuction with Masterworks Imaging,
he will print the limited edition fine art images himself on archival, museum
quality
paper
and pigment
inks.
Some
have
already expressed an interest in the prints.” says the artist. “But
it’s been slow to develop. I have been trying to get all my ducks in
a row with finding the right fine art media for the limited edition run,
and with
getting my web site up and running. I’d like to have it all come together
before I turn it loose. Initially, it was an idea for just one image, then
two. Now, it has slowly grown into what I hope to be an ongoing project.
I’ve
just got to get all the pieces put together. I hope to give each image in
the Pet Project series a unique character all it’s own. Each is
a one-of-a-kind work of art, that says a little bit about the master
and their pet.”
BC and his wife Susan, own and operate Picture Perfect Photography Studio,
Inc., in the small, Southern Indiana town of Jasper. The majority of
their work is
produced for portrait clients but they also take on various types of
commercial assignments and specialize in electronic imaging. They also
operate a full-service
custom mat & frame shop and more recently developed MasterWorks Imaging,
specializing in digital fine art printing on specialty art papers.
UPDATE
BC's
fifth image in the Pet Project Series "goes Loan". Mrs. Blue Blood
was accepted into PPA's Loan Collection and will be on exhibit in
January at Imaging USA 2007 in San Antonio. It also earned BC yet
another PPI and PPA Photographer of the Year awards.
Check
back for more details on this project. For more information about
BC and his wife Susan, take a look at their bio. For
current infomation and availability of his Pet Project
images, contact him by email or
at 812-482-6099.
