Sophie Gamand is hoping her new photo series will help people see pit bulls as dogs who embody the "power of love and the softness of flowers."

"They are always photographed, it seems, in very urban settings or visual styles: harsh light, sharp images, hard, gritty," she says. "I wanted to explore the other side of the spectrum and portray pit bulls in an unexpected way."

pit bull
This is Sweetheart, who is available for adoption through Second Chance Rescue. Photo credit: Sophie Gamand



Gamand is the France-born, Brooklyn-based photographer whose series on wet dogs perfectly captures the adorable miseries of bath time.

With "Flower Power," she put handmade floral headpieces on blocky-headed rescue dogs -- treats and lots of petting helped keep her models still -- in order to "challenge the way people view pit bulls," she says.

But the aim here is not just pretty, pretty photos (that remind us, in a really good way, of renaissance fairs). An estimated 1 million pit bulls are euthanized in shelters across the country every year, and so the bigger goal here is for the changed perspective to lead to more adoptions -- like of these sweet babies here, who are all looking for families to love them, with or without the fancy hats:


Jellybean is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Cali is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Athena is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Baby is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Rex is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Erica is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Fancy is available for adoption through Second Chance Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Minnie is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)



Regina is available for adoption through Sean Casey Animal Rescue. (Photo: Sophie Gamand)


"I believe it is important that we should remember we created and manipulated dogs to make them what they are today," says Gamand. "We subdued an entire specie to fulfill our needs. That should give us a responsibility towards them."



See more of Gamand's work on her website -- Flower Power prints are available for purchase here; proceeds benefit Second Chance Rescue and Sean Casey Animal Rescue -- and get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you've got an animal story to share! Source: [url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/05/sophie-gamand-pit-bulls_n_5652006.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird+News]These Photos Will Turn Everything You Think About Pit Bulls Upside Down[/url]