A few weeks ago, I started taking a series of photos called “Talking to us.” The photos try and capture something of the idea that we are having a conversation with the animals we love, but not in words. This is a difficult thing for many people to accept or grasp, and our tendency to put words into their heads is powerful. I think the communication is pure feeling, emotion, and instinct. Some animals have a deep connection to people, an ancient one – dogs do, and donkeys do – and when they see us, and we are open to them, an exchange of feelings begings. Comfort. Affection. Attention. Some animals drink up attention, like food.

This can be with smell, sight or sound. Or feeling. But it is a tangible connection. I see this all the time in the donkeys and the donkeys. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.