When Marissa De La Torre was in high school, her teacher asked her to write down two things she enjoyed that might help her think of a career. Only two things immediately came to mind: photography and dogs.
Over a decade and hundreds of thousands of photos later, De La Torre is returning to her roots to bring a celebration of canines to the Long Beach community with her photography book “Dawgs of LBC.”
“It’s a great way for me as a photographer to basically blend street photography and dog photography,” De La Torre said. “It’s just such a fun project that gives me a creative outlet because I love dogs so much!”
De La Torre is releasing her second ode to street photos of dogs: a coffee table photography book filled with candid photos of over 80 of Long Beach’s furry friends. The book will take viewers on a tour through iconic Long Beach locations—a walk down The Pike with a group of gorgeous huskies, a cruise down Pacific Coast Highway with a sassy chihuahua or a scenic view of Shoreline Village with a slobbery, sweet Saint Bernard flashing his gums.
The puppy paparazzo took over a year break after her first book—honoring Downtown Los Angeles and its furry friends—to start working on the LBC iteration. She said the easy part of the Long Beach issue was getting people involved.
“People love their dogs so they’re excited, especially if their dog is in the book they’re excited to see their babies in a published, local book,” De La Torre said. “I think it’s really cool just to have this moment and piece of history.”
“Dawgs of LBC” will be celebrated at a book launch and signing “pawty” at the Ashtanga Yoga studio in Long Beach on Dec. 4. Dogs are welcome to join in on the celebration.
De La Torre announced free photoshoots for dogs of all kinds through various Facebook groups, and dog lovers flocked to her for the chance to see their pups shine. Beloved pets make up a bulk of the book, though the unpredictable nature of the photos don’t give a staged sense.
“It’s a city so you have so many factors with traffic and street stuff, you don’t know what’s going to be going on…the dogs are universal so they don’t pay attention to you anyway, they don’t know what’s going on,” De La Torre laughed.
De La Torre began her photography journey in Oakland, where she fell in love with street photography while observing the surreal, chaotic mess of humans running through the bustling streets. She moved to an even busier city in 2010, when she found herself in the middle of Los Angeles, living above a PetCo.
She offered to take photos of the animals available for adoption, and found herself shooting portraits of loveable animals in need of a home for the next nine years. De La Torre worked with shelters and rescue foundations in Los Angeles to provide them with pictures while also running her own dog-walking business.
“I love celebrating people who love their dogs,” De La Torre said. “Dogs don’t know that we’re taking their photos, they’re just quirky, and they are who they are. And Long Beach is such a dope city, so to see that in print and to celebrate people and their pets is just a cool moment in time.”
“Dawgs of LBC” is more than a bright, beautiful book to adorn a coffee table. A portion of the proceeds will go towards Live Love Animal Rescue, a foster-based rescue in Long Beach specializing in dogs with medical and behavioral issues.
Rescue pups are close to De La Torre’s heart, as she has two chihuahuas, Odetta and Little Richard, adopted from rescue shelters.
“I really want people to adopt dogs,” De La Torre said. “Some dogs in the book are from breeders and that’s fine but L.A. is so populated. The big takeaway from all of that is to go adopt a shelter dog. We love our pets no matter where they come from, but it’s important to take care of the community we have.”
Dogs and their humans can celebrate the release of “Dawgs of LBC” on Dec. 4 at 3700 E Anaheim St. from noon to 3 p.m at the Ashtanga Yoga studio in Long Beach.
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