feel-good story
My Pet
Project
Trevor Samson
From documenting South Africa’ s historic transition to democracy, Cape Town photographer Trevor Samson has turned his lens toward other bonds that make life brighter.
Cape Town-based photographer Trevor Samson has merged his two lifelong passions: photography and pets.“ I grew up always having animals around from as far back as I can remember,” he recalls.“ Around the age of 10, I was given a cheap plastic camera as a birthday gift, and that’ s where my interest in photography began. Naturally, my pets became my first subjects.”
Trevor cut his teeth at the now-defunct Rand Daily Mail and The Star before leading photographic coverage for AFP in South Africa, documenting the nation’ s historic transition from apartheid to democracy between 1985 and 1992. His award-winning work from this period was published globally in titles including Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. Today, Trevor devotes his time to a new project – capturing the unique bond between animals and their owners.
Inspiration in lockdown
Like many others, Trevor found new direction during lockdown.“ I had a lot of time to reflect on what I had photographed
throughout my career and, given the choice, what I would like to photograph going forward.”
In 2021, he and his friend Sharon would meet for regular walks – she was always accompanied by her loyal Labradors.“ The older one, Sassie, was nearing the end of her life, and I offered to make a video of their walks as something for Sharon to keep.”
Sassie passed away a few months later, but the video became a treasured keepsake. Sharon told Trevor she had watched it at least 60 times, which helped her tremendously during the grieving process.
And so, My Pet Project was born.
16 www. petpals. co. za