The Project
1000 Pugs is the ultimate expression of pug love by San Francisco pet photographer, Amanda Bradshaw. Her goal is equal parts genius, ridiculous and insane: to artfully photograph 1000 pugs… in a single year.
The goal of the, uh, goal is three-fold:
- use 1000 Pugs as a vehicle to raise money for pug rescue ($10k, to be exact)
- create the ultimate celebration of all things pug
- showcase the largest single collection of pug cuteness this world has ever seen (in both on-line and printed form)
And will be split into two distinct phases:
2012 / Phase 1: the shooting of the pugs
The first phase of 1000 Pugs begins January 2012 and will continue for one year (or until the pug count reaches 1000 – whichever comes first). Shooting of the pugs will take place throughout California and select US locations (and one special place in Canada). No pugs will be harmed during the shooting, Amanda and her Nikon love pugs!
Photoshoots will focus on capturing and celebrating the irresistibly freaky uniqueness that makes a pug a pug. Each pug photographed will appear in the 1000 Pugs online gallery and $10 per pug will be donated to participating pug rescues.
2013 / Phase 2: the book
Will begin shortly after pug #1000 is photographed. The book will be a full-color, hardcover collection of all 1000 Pugs, divided into sections that highlight different pug ‘features’ and experiences from the 1000 Pugs tour. We anticipate an early 2013 release for the book.
WHY 1000 PUGS?
Like a lot of great ideas, 1000 Pugs started as a completely random, fleeting moment. It all started when a very bored 6-month old foster pug gnawed on the corner of a book.
The book was a collection of dog photography titled A Thousand Dogs. Someone had given it to the little pug’s foster-human (a lifelong lover of dogs and photography) who was too busy working on a client’s website to notice the book-chewing going on under her chair. It wasn’t until the little pug dragged the giant book of A Thousand Dogs into the middle of the room that she finally noticed.
Instead of getting mad, the foster-human laughed. Like most things the pug did, it was just… funny. Her first thought was: imagine how much fun it would be to photograph 1000 pugs.
Three years later, and a lot has changed. That little foster-pug is a now a permanent resident and his foster-human is a successful dog photographer. But the fleeting thought that started it all has remained the same: imagine how much fun it would be to photograph 1000 pugs…
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