You Eat With The Eyes First started when I had the opportunity to walk my friend Barry Ratoff's dog, Max. Barry left Max's food in the refrigerator for me to feed him. I really appreciated the way he arranged his food. I liked it so much I took a photo of it. That inspired me to arrange other companion animal's food to be as visually appealing as possible. At first I thought I would have limitations with this-surely I couldn't do that for someone who is feeding their pet a bowl of kibble. But now I've added that challenge to myself, to plate even the least uninteresting looking food to the best of my ability. You Eat With The Eyes First is to serve merely as an image rich documentary without any type of advice, judgement, or personal moral commentary. As a vegan, some of my fellow vegans dislike photos of meat. As a pet care professional, some food is remarked anywhere on the scale from junk to obsessive. I'm not asking questions or putting my own thoughts on these images. If someone cooks for their dog, I'm going to document it. If someone is feeding their dog store brand food, I'm going to document it. If someone if feeding their mouse a bowl of cereal and veggies, I'll photograph that. & if someone is feeding their snake frozen mice, I'll take pictures of that too. If I get to travel I'll look for what people feed their companion animals 'round the world. As I've been on this journey I've also been inspired to photograph the entire setting where the animal(s) is eating. Or they themselves in mid chew!

I also love every opportunity to do my little part of good in this world. So for every 5th You Eat With The Eyes First post I will share a fundraiser for an animal that could use our help.

So thank you to so many people enjoying this new project of mine as much as I am. Here's to more pictures & more pet food.

Enjoy Your Meal! ¡Buen Provecho! Bon Appétit!