26 13 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

CANINE-HUMAN PORTRAITS

ALL PICTURES © GERRARD GETHINGS

T

he old adage goes that

after a certain length of

time, owners will start

to look like their dogs (or

perhaps it’s the other way around).

This simple idea sparked a thought

for Gerrard Gethings, and it would

eventually go on to become a game

sold in shops all over the world. I

spoke to the photographer over the

phone while he was holidaying in

Barbados to find out more about

how the project developed.

Many of us will have vague ideas

for projects kicking around in the

back of our minds that may never

see the light of day. The same was

true for Gerrard who had been

thinking about a canine-human

project for some time. So, when

the publisher Laurence King

approached him with a similar idea,

he took the opportunity to finally

put the wheels into motion. ‘They

gave me this really open brief – and

time. They gave me a year to go off

and do it, and money...’ he tells me.

Originally conceived as a book by

Gerrard, it was the publisher who

wanted to create the memory card

game – the concept being that

humans and dogs could be matched

to each other, with brightly coloured

backgrounds giving a helping hand

just on the off-chance that it wasn’t

obvious who belonged with whom.

The dogs and humans don’t

actually belong to each other in

real life, but instead both were

independently recruited for their

looks. ‘Because I had the time, I

kind of had one eye on it the whole

time it was going – I was looking

Be more

A simple idea

for a canine-

human

project has

turned into a

memory game

sold around the world.

Photographer Gerrard Gethings tells

Amy Davies all about his fantastic,

heart-warming portraits

dog