Because Dogs Deserve Art, Too.

Yesterday I told you about that dishonest offer I got through my mailbox. I found it pretty funny (and lame, it gos without saying), though if I keep on receiving offers like this I'm going to find someone to help me make my blog pro and figure out how to put advertisement on it, that old-fashioned way of promoting content without having to write about it.
I found it funny because so far FBC! isn't a lifestyles blog, it's my little amateurish take on the world, where I link to things I find interesting, things I want to talk about without any prompting or solicitation.
Such as my friend Matthew Betcher new venture, "Chienchien" (en endearing word French people use on their four-legged canine friends. "toutou" is another one). Matt never asked to be promoted on FBC! so it's my pleasure to introduce his work without feeling pressured to do so.

In a few sentences, Matt's new business is about taking beautiful, luxurious photographs of man's best friend for their owners to proudly frame and hang in the place of honor in their homes.
When he first told me of his project, I was a bit skeptical: for one thing, as you may know, I'm strictly a cat person, and secondly I was wondering how his studio portraits of dogs could attract clients. Because what I had in mind were those cheesy pet portraits advertised on craigslist, not the quality, old-fashioned, large format silver-gelatin prints Matt was taking. One glance at his website convinced me: I'd hang one of his B&W above my desk in a jiffy, especially Ella and Ned (look at this tooth!), even though I don't own dogs and don't like them that much.

If you need a bit of convincing, click on the link and have a look at the portfolio). The prices may seem expensive, but are in fact cheap if you consider you are getting several hours of studio time and high quality prints, and are a bargain if you realize the end result is an art piece, not a simple picture of your doggie.

In passing I'd consider the whole endeavor (starting the business, focusing on dogs, etc.) a conceptual art piece if I were Matt. Who is a talented photographer, and I'd love to be able to show you some of his non-canine work: he made a beautiful artist book about the Arroyo Secco with prints on transparencies and gold leaf backing, and some larger-than-large-scale pictures of empty lit billboards in the desert that are beautiful. But I don't know where to link, so I'll let you check his website and contact him to either have a beautiful artwork made about your dog, or have a studio visit with him.
It's too bad my own little Pomme is so skittish, because I'd love for Matt to make a beautiful picture of her.