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Last week's image feature on Tim Flach's action portrait of an English Springer Spaniel was so striking that it would be a shame not to feature more from the photographer. With a new publication that's about to come out, it's quite timely to have Tim Flach on this blog again, this time on his upcoming book, "More Than Human".


Tim Flach has already been featured twice on this blog for his two previous projects, Dogs Gods and Equus. With Dogs, Flach showed how thousands of years of human interaction have produced hundreds of different dog breeds, from the small Chihuahua to the large Great Dane. In Equus, the photographer again illustrated how humans have shaped these four-legged animals, from the wildest Icelandic horses to the fastest thoroughbreds.

With his latest book, More than Human, Flach expands his horizon and looks around at the thousands of other species of animals on the planet,  pointing out what makes them both different and similar to Homo sapiens. The collection contains images he took many years ago, as well as newer images he took specifically for this project.


In many of these animal portraits, Flach focuses on one action or inaction that makes these creatures similar to humans. A mother bonobo lovingly clutching on to her sleeping baby, or a great ape looking directly at the camera with soulful eyes evoke feelings of fraternity when looking at the images. These portraits are not unlike James Mollison's "James & Other Apes" which almost humanizes these animals, although Flach approaches the subject from a different point of view.

In other images, these comparisons are thrown out the window, and an objective portrait is shown. Here, the simple form of the animal, whether in movement or at rest, is highlighted. A dove taking wing shows the wondrous geometry of organic flight, while a genetically-engineered featherless chicken evokes questions of human interference in the natural world. Thus, the beauty of these portraits derive from the beauty of the animals themselves.

"What do we see when we look at creatures other than our own species? How do we interpret them? What do we want from this looking?" These are some of the questions that Flach wants to provoke in viewers. In some images, he uses the eerie human-like features of these animals to ask these unnerving inquiries. In others the animal's simply form honed from thousands of years of evolution are by themselves worthy of a portrait without questions.

While these portraits might ask the viewer, "What does it mean to be an animal?", amidst such beautiful biodiversity, it also leaves a more profound query, "What does it mean to be human?"


More images from "More Than Human" can be found on Tim Flach's website. Check out Flach's other work on Dogs and Horses featured on this blog. You can pre-order the soon-to-be released More than Human. His older publications Dogs and Equus are still available online.

It's been a while since the last post featuring animal portraits, so while everyone else is enjoying their weekend, here's a picture of man's best friend hard at work. This outstanding action photo is just one of the images in the previously featured book "Dogs" by the talented Tim Flach.

Here's the image description from the PDN Photo of the Day website:

“Suddenly there’s a clattering flutter of wings, the pheasants wheel up into the sky and the hunter can get his gun to work. And who can make that happen to order? The springer spaniel, that’s who—springer by name and by nature, the dog ‘springs’ or ‘flushes’ the birds out of the undergrowth.... 

...This picture was taken on the Elveden Estate in Norfolk, England which was developed into a great shooting property in the nineteenth century by the Maharaja Dalip Singh who, in exile from his homeland in the Punjab, became passionate about raising pheasants.” -  Lewis Blackwell, text from Flach’s book, Dogs Gods.

More dogs and other furry creatures on Tim Flach's website. Be sure to check out the Reel Foto's feature on Flach's two projects: Dogs and Horses, both of which are available in the books Dogs and Equus respectively. There's also a Dogs 2013 Wall Calendar for avid dog lovers everywhere.

The last two posts have been focused on the horsemen of the Americas, but not enough has been said about the horses themselves. Portrait photographer Tim Flach is no stranger to photographing pets and animals, but in his series Equus, he not only captures images of different breed and colors of these domesticated mounts, he shows the beauty of the horse in all its wild and noble ways.


Tim Flach is no stranger to this blog; he's already been featured here for his sometimes amusing but always thought-provoking images of dogs. It's no surprise then that he is highly sought-after for his ability to capture animals in unorthodox styles for different purposes, from advertising shots to family photos. For him, an engagement with an animal subject doesn't merely mean another photo shoot, but a chance to create an animal portrait.

Over the years, he has honed his ability in trying to coax out emotion out of animals. Whether it's knowing when to take a break from the photo shoot, or allowing the handler or owner to be a few steps away, Flach understands what's needed to create the animal portrait his client wants.


Flach spent two years on this project, traveling around the world in order to capture different horse breeds, environments and behaviors. Aside from the obvious physical beauty of these creatures, Flach also wanted to capture something more abstract, looking at how people would react to something familiar presented in a new way. To illustrate his point, in the shot of the horses' necks and backs above, a viewer might liken them to the face of a mountain, but still be able to tell that they're part of a horse.

Thus, Flach is able to create something new out of something familiar. This may explain why he focused on animals in the first place as it allows him to evoke new imagery in the anthropomorphic manner that humans relate to other living things.



Indeed, in almost every photograph, the photographer is able to draw out different imagery not necessarily related to the original subject. For example, with his shot of a horse embryo, Flach feels that it's evocative of a tiny planet while the horse with an eye surgery mask looks more like a boxer.

Of course, it's not just the suggestive imagery that drew Flach to these animals, it's also the shared history between man and horse. Throughout man's history, the horse has been a subject of fascination and folklore; some of the earliest cave paintings depict equine creatures and Western civilization wouldn't have been possible without the domestication of the horse. Even now, horses are still used for work, sports and entertainment.


The Equus series not just about horses; it's also reflective of their human handlers. While in many of Flach's images the horses are left in their natural habitat, there are also studio shots of thoroughbred horses fitted with different protective gear and devices. Photographing these animals also meant photographic their current state in relation to humans.

Even in the wild, some photographs depict the romantic image of the horse, whether it's an Arabian horse rearing on golden dunes or Mustangs racing across the range or a Camarigue horses galloping through the French wetlands, the photographs are always rooted in the human perception of all things.


Tim Flach's website is here, with more photographs from his Equus series. For a complete catalog of images, go for the book Equus. There's also a website dedicated solely to limited editions of the Equus book for those who are interested not only in the beauty of the horse but also on the book itself, aptly titled Equus Limited Edition. Don't forget about Flach's other photo book, Dogs, which is still also available.