You might not consider wrangling your pooch for a bath to be a terribly artful process. But Sophie Gamand’s Wet Dog project will make you see things differently.  

The New York-based photographer created the series in a groomer’s shop. It’s part of a larger photographic exploration of dogs and how they can help us better understand humans, Gamand explains.

Grooming is an important part of dog health … but dogs hate bath time,” she writes in an email. “The wide range of expressions they are able to display is another example of how close they are to us. I have always photographed dogs as if they were human beings.”











The Wet Dog series won the Portraiture category of the Sony World Photography Awards 2014.

“To be recognized by the Sony Awards in such a traditional category as Portraiture is a wonderful feeling,” Gamand says. “The jury understood what I was trying to achieve. It validates my entire photographic exploration.”

The series will be published in a book in fall 2015 by Grand Central Publishing. When Gamand isn’t busy snapping more photos of soggy dogs for her book, she donates a lot of her time to rescue groups and shelters, taking pictures of dogs who need homes

"I believe dogs are more than animals. They have acquired a status of almost persona," Gamand says. "How we treat them says a lot."

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