This playful portrait of Shirley was one in a series of several dairy cows that started my work in animal portraiture. Renowned designer DJ Stout of Pentagram commissioned me to photograph a series of dairy cows in front of bright, poppy backgrounds. Soon after, on a cold, rainy day in November, we traveled to a small dairy farm and built a makeshift studio equipped with bright lights and colorful backgrounds. The end product was a series of cow portraits beaming with personality, play, and charisma. I quickly realized that my work photographing people could be translated to animals as well, in a way that was just as interesting, sincere, and creative. Since then, this series of cows has been collected across the world and remains an inspiration to me as I continue to explore the art and aesthetics of animal portraiture.