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The last time we caught up with Seth Casteel, his underwater dog photos had gone viral across the globe and more than 1,000 people had contacted him about shooting their personal K-9s.
Earlier this week his 144-page book Underwater Dogs was released and at one point was the number eight best-seller on Amazon (several previously unreleased photos from that book that were shot after the first viral surge are included in the gallery above).
When we tracked Casteel down on Thursday, he was lounging poolside in Las Vegas and was scheduled to speak at an annual event for the Best Friends Animal Society sometime today.
“Life is good and life is busy,” he says.
Unlike some photographers who’ve been blasted with viral fame but been unable to capitalize in any long-term way, Casteel has been a poster boy for how to turn clicks into jobs, influence and money.
In addition to the book, Casteel says his work has recently been exhibited internationally in Europe and in December he’ll have a show of the underwater photos at the Dillon Gallery in New York City.
He’s shot a marketing piece for a dog movie Walt Disney Studios is making and earlier this year The New York Times Magazine hired him to use his underwater technique to shoot a feature about spawning sockeye salmon in Alaska.
“That was a badass assignment,” he says. “And an amazing life experience.”
He’s also continued to work with his non-profit Second Chance Photos, which aims to increase the quality of animal adoption photos at shelters across the country by providing photo equipment and technical training for shelter staff. Better photos, Casteel says, means increased adoption rates.
While touring Europe he did workshops with shelter staffs in Austria and England and he’s already creating a 2013 schedule for workshops he’ll lead around the world.
Fame, jobs and travel aside, Casteel says he thinks one of the most important parts of the experience has been the way it’s helped him spread a message about the value of dogs. The range of emotions he’s captured in the photos have shown dogs in a new light — no pun intended — and he hopes people have begun to see the animals in a more three-dimensional way.
“I think that by showing their range of emotions I’ve helped people see that they’re not so different from human beings,” he says. “And I hope more people are starting to treat them like family and stand up for their rights.”
All Photos: Seth Casteel
