Born in December of 1943 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, William Wegman is a photographer who is most well-known for his compositions involving his Weimaraner dogs. Though he originally studied to be a painter, his shift to photography started in the ’70s with his surreal black and white photographs. He would occasionally involve his Weimaraner at the time, Man Ray, in his compositions.

Wegman began to work with Polaroids and chromogenic prints in the ‘80s. By then, Man Ray had passed, and Wegman was working with another Weimaraner whom he’d named Fay Ray. In 1989, Wegman’s photography subjects grew with the birth of Fay’s litter – Battina, Crooky, and Chundo. Wegman would continue to work with the descendants of these dogs (Battina’s son Chip in 1995, Chip’s son Bobbin in 1999, and Candy and Bobbin’s daughter Penny in 2004). Currently, Wegman’s assistants are two dogs whom he’d named Flo and Topper, though their exact relation to any of Wegman’s previous dogs in unknown to this author.

If you’d like a preview of some of Wegman’s photography, including his black & white photos, polaroids, chromogenic and pigment prints, click here.