May 07 Press Release
AP launches its new web site.
Designers looking for fresh image ideas can now access a specialist resource created with their needs in mind. Animal Photography, a well established source for animal breed images, has been relaunched by design studio Heat Design with a web site that will instantly appeal to their colleagues.
Images shot over a span of fifty years by well known animal photographer Sally Anne Thompson are available on a new web site created by Heat Design and Mew Media.
The library has the largest and best documented collection of dog breeds in the world, as well as a stunning collection of cats, and a variety of horse breeds from around the world. Thompson’s informed and critical eye is well known to lovers of dogs and horses. What is less known is the potential these images have for the wider market.
Stephen Taylor, MD of Heat design discovered the images when sharing a Victorian photographers’ studio in Marylebone with the original owner of the library, Sally Anne’s late brother, John de Forest Thompson. Taylor spotted the potential for the material, most of which was shot on medium format, and is re-launching the library in digital format.
'I was very excited when I looked through the collection for the first time' says Taylor. 'The animals are always top of breed, and that gives the images a purity and quality you don’t find elsewhere. As well as showing all the relevant features of a particular breed of dog or horse, Sally Anne also has the ability to get really close to the essence of the animal. It’s surprising how timeless these pictures are, and how well they work for design briefs.’
280 of the major world dog breeds are represented in the library. Thompson has travelled as far north as Iceland, east to Samarkand, west from California to Peru and the Galapagos Islands and south through Africa to Cape of Good Hope. She has photographed horse breeds in Europe Scandinavia, eastern Europe and the USA. Her cat images range from white long haired cats on satin pillows to tabbys in trees, and encompass a all areas of cat behaviour.
Taylor has sought out images which will delight designers, but has also worked hard to digitise the priceless collection of accurately captioned animal breed shots. 'The images have been used for years by specialist publishers' he says. 'Now it will be easier for a wider audience to access the pictures. We have the best of all worlds: the eye of the specialist photographer and Heat’s understanding of the needs of publishing and design.'
The collection has been newly keyworded to help image users find the shot they need in the minimum time. Subjects also include farm animals, small pets and wild animals. There will be updates with more work by other photographers.