I’ve always wanted to try photography with live animals. Last week I had the pleasure of working with an exotic animal handler in Toronto. My friend Nick and I teamed up on this photoshoot, as he had been wanting to shoot a model with a giant python. I like snakes, but my personal request was for them to bring a gorgeous Eurasian eagle owl named Ruby to our shoot.
Eurasian eagle owls are one of the largest owls, and could kill a small deer. Ruby literally took my breath away when I saw her. Firstly, she’s huge. Secondly, I’ve never seen an owl up close before, and it was pretty amazing. She sat on my arm and I was able to pet her. It was a really cool experience.
Here are some portraits I took of Ruby, as well as Ruby with a model, Camille. The makeup artist for this shoot was the amazingly talented Nikkie Gatto.
Stay tuned for future shoots with live animals!