Apr 2, 2012
Having just returned from Jordan last week, we, at Posh Pets, are finally adjusting to the Toronto time zone. Getting over jetlag can be so brutal!
Jordan was truly wonderful! My husband and I love traveling because it gives us an opportunity to see new things and experience exotic places. And, of course, I always love to photograph the little furry creatures that live overseas. In Part 1, I was able to share the images of the cats and dogs we met during our travels across Jordan. In this post, I am happy to showcase some more unusual animals – ones we rarely come in contact with in Toronto.
This little guy with the blue eyes was part of a flock with his shepherd near Mount Nebo. He looks alone here, but I can assure you that he had many other family members with him.
On the other side of the same road was this young donkey with his momma, who was working. The little colt or foal was so cute and it was sweet how he stuck so closely to her. I love his white and grey coat!
Transportation within Petra consists of the following options: a donkey, a camel, a horse or…your feet! The animals are affectionately called Petra taxis, and the guides will call out, “Taxi available – air conditioned!”.
This is *my* iconic image of Petra. It is how I will always remember it!
Lastly, I just fell in love with this young foal who we met in Jerash. Layla, as I heard she had been named, had been born just 20 days previously and was learning to take her first steps.
Thanks for taking this little trip with us! Happy travels!
Mar 27, 2012
It feels good to be home! The Posh Pets family just returned from visiting Jordan (yes, the country in amongst Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran in case you were wondering…) and while travelling is a lot of fun, there is nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed. One of the highlights was the opportunity to walk through the famed Petra, now a “Wonder of the World”. It was truly incredible!
However, as a pet photographer, I am always drawn to photographing the animals I meet in my travels. Some are working animals owned by their employer, some are pets, and some are strays, but the place animals hold within a people does give you insight into a country and its culture. I believe it was Gandhi who said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”, and in my personal experience that is true.
I am happy to say that Jordan does not have nearly as many strays as other countries I have had the pleasure to visit. Those that were, were generally cats who did not look thin and emaciated like so many other animals who live on the street. So, kudos to Jordan!
There is a funny thing about the cats that live in Petra and, for the most part, the rest of Jordan – they are all orange tabbies! In Petra, you can see that they could potentially all be related, but everywhere in the country? We did meet the occasional brown tabby (3, I think), but the rest were all orange. Even stranger is that I have heard that orange tabbies are predominantly male, so who is the busy mom of this brood? I don’t think we will ever know…
The good thing is that in Petra, I believe they are all taken care of by the tourists. They are friendly, used to strangers and have come to learn that these visiting humans cannot resist a cute face and give them food. One orange guy we met walking around a castle ruin in the middle of the wilderness is fed by the staff who work there. So, it seems that the Jordanian kitties have found their place in the tourism industry.
We did meet these two adorable puppies in Petra. I nearly took this little guy home – he literally sat in my arms like this for 10 minutes and looked into my eyes as I talked to him. It was soooo hard to put him down and walk away.
I was somewhat comforted by the fact that he had this little friend to spend his days with. And the fact that the Bedouin who work there seemed to know them and petted them nicely when they approached.
Well, that is it for this instalment! Stay tuned as I will post some images of working animals in Part 2.
Mar 23, 2012
Sorry to have missed last week with Project 52, but this week Posh Pets will make it up with an image from a more exotic locale. This week’s theme was to take an image and then process it in such a way that it would look more vintage and/or retro. My take on that is that the image should look like it came from any other era than our own and that it should involve an animal.
We were actually travelling overseas earlier this week when I took this image of two resting camels. To me, it looks like an image from another time and definitely from another place! I would love to hear your guesses as to where!
Next in the blog circle is San Diego pet photographer Peggy Mundell of DogBreedz. Please check out her blog and keep going around until you end up back here with these two handsome dudes!
