Andy Seliverstoff is a 58-year-old professional photographer from
St. Petersburg, Russia.
A few years ago some of Seliverstoff’s friends asked him to take
photos of their daughter Alice in a park. They had their gigantic
Great Dane, Sean, with them, so they decided to incorporate him
into the photos. After seeing the results, he knew he was on to
something special.
Seliverstoff did another shoot with a child featuring big dogs, and
told BuzzFeed News that he was “deeply touched” by the work.
That was four years ago and he’s been a dog photographer ever since.
The project has become his passion, which he chronicles in a book
called “Little Kids and Their Big Dogs.“
All of the photos are taken in St. Petersburg. Its extensive parks
and colder climate help create some spectacular shots.
He also tries to ensure that the photos are taken where the dogs
commonly walk and play with children in familiar surroundings so
they are as natural as possible.
Seliverstoff says that most of the subjects in his photos are either
children or grandchildren of people in his friend circle. He said that
it’s rare that people acquire big dogs while they have young kids,
so most of these dogs were with the families before they had the
children.
The photos depict the interactions between cute kids and these very gentle giants.
Seliverstoff said the goal of the series wasn’t just to create beautiful
pictures, but to capture the interaction between the children and the
animals.
The overall message he’s trying to get across, he said, is simple:
“Love for dogs and children makes people kinder.”
Martin Rutte
