[frogoutofwater]

For the past 3+ years I've been working on a special project about rescued chickens and their caregivers. The fine art book publisher Kehrer is going to be releasing Nest: Rescued Chickens at Home soon, and I'm running a Kickstarter to fund a portion of the publication costs. All of the portraits were made with my Pentax K-1, and mostly with the 24-70 (sometimes with a teleconverter).

Nest: Rescued Chickens at Home by Janet Holmes ? Kickstarter

Of course, pledges to support the campaign are most welcome, but I'm sharing the link here because I think people might enjoy the campaign video (full of images) and the story behind the project.

If you know someone who you think would be interested in looking at the project, please feel free to share the campaign link. (If you know anyone involved with animal rescue groups who would benefit from my instructional eBook on Better Animal Portraits, this CAD $25 reward is something that you can donate to them or to their shelter.)

Thanks!

[normhead]

Way to go froggy. That's awesome.

[pschlute]

Fabulous images. I am sure the book will be success

[Unregistered User 8]

Congratulations...............................super images.

[Mikesul]

Humbling. Thanks for sharing.

[ffking]

Very nice photography - top class!

[Deesquared]

A beautiful and moving project and fantastic images!!

---------- Post added 06-06-20 at 09:21 AM ----------

I think you should add prints of Jon Snow and Dualla to your rewards. Any possibility of that? I’m also curious as to what kind of lighting you used. These are all so wonderful.

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Last edited by Deesquared; 06-06-2020 at 07:22 AM.

[frogoutofwater]

A beautiful and moving project and fantastic images!!

---------- Post added 06-06-20 at 09:21 AM ----------

I think you should add prints of Jon Snow and Dualla to your rewards. Any possibility of that? I’m also curious as to what kind of lighting you used. These are all so wonderful.

Hi there, Thank you for having a look at the campaign!

Jon Snow is available as a Medium print reward, and Dualla is available as a limited edition 16" x 20" print.

For most of the indoor photographs, I used bounced flash (the AF540). Actually, after the first two sessions, where I wasn't using flash, I realized I really needed to get better at working with flash. So I practiced with bounce flash a lot and did a one-on-one session with Neil van Niekerk.

When photographing animals, it can be quite challenging to work with flash. It can disturb them if the light is too strong. I found that the bounce flash was less disturbing for them. And that simple set-up for me worked well because I was often crawling around on the floor, stuck in cramped corners of rooms, even lying on my stomach or back to get a good photo. And the chickens would move, so setting up a light on a pole, using an umbrella etc just wasn't practical.

[frogoutofwater]

Bree, one of my portrait subjects, wanted to second-guess my settings.

(We were doing a Christmas card photo shoot in June. Hence, the Christmas tree on the porch. There was another one where my camera was pointing and Bree would stand in front of it for a few minutes, peck at the ornaments and then come over to check me out.)

[Wingincamera]

These are great. When I asked my wife to be for a second date, she explained we would have to go forty miles to pick up a rescued chicken (Red Island Rooster). We got lost, but eventually found the chicken.

[pcrichmond]

Great work for a wonderful project. Thanks for sharing.

[Madaboutpix]

Quite a story to tell, and you tell it ably and touchingly, I must say.

[acoufap]

Wonderful video, images and story - thanks for sharing!

[frogoutofwater]

These are great. When I asked my wife to be for a second date, she explained we would have to go forty miles to pick up a rescued chicken (Red Island Rooster). We got lost, but eventually found the chicken.

Oh, please show her the video!

---------- Post added 06-07-20 at 12:23 PM ----------

Quite a story to tell, and you tell it ably and touchingly, I must say.

Thank you! Making the video was one of the hardest parts of the project. I did hire a recent grad to produce it (i.e. compile audio, images and music) but I had to record that audio myself. On the advice of some audio professionals I know, I went into our smallest walk-in closet, lined it with duvets and blankets (door, floors and the dresser where I set up my laptop and speaker), and recorded take after take. It took hours!

[bkpix]

Great work!