Mark Peckmezian explains how he fell in love with photographing dogs:
I was on psychedelic mushrooms one night and snapped this photo on a whim. I remember thinking: harsh flash on shiny black surfaces render well, produces rich chiaroscuro…. I had just graduated [from art school] last spring and was sick to my stomach with all the vacuous talk and misguided ideology of art school. I think I was so drawn to the dog photos because they were so earnest, from the heart, not complicated with pretty words, just straight, unselfconscious expression — what attracted me to art in the first place.
A Flickr gallery of Peckmezian's pooches here.
The Dish 