Lady Gaga Doggie Style

An ode to Lady Gaga’s red lace dress at the 2009 Video Music Awards.

In a world going increasingly digital, photographer Jesse Freidin
dares to buck the trend. A loyal fan of traditional analog photography,
he found himself in a unique position—desiring
to do something to celebrate the unique and disappearing art of
instant photography and in possession of the two of
the last packs of original Polaroid instant film in the
world, thanks to The Impossible Project, a Netherlands based
company dedicated to reviving instant photography
and manufacturing instant film. “I focused on
how I could make something as different and beautiful
as possible,” he says. The result, a series of bright, offbeat,
Polaroid-hazy photographs of dogs dressed in outfits made
famous by Lady Gaga, became an internet phenomenon that no
one, least of all Jesse, could have predicted.

Jesse, a fine art dog photographer who was voted the 2010 Best
Dog Photographer in the San Francisco Bay area in the Beast of
the Bay awards, has, since his Gaga-inspired dog photos became
a sensation, been featured on MTV, Entertainment Weekly, Much
Music, and Live! with Regis and Kelly, just to name
a few. On the phone, he sounds out-of-breath, overwhelmed,
and somewhere on the verge of laughter
or tears, it’s hard to tell. “Though I was aware that
combining cute dogs, a pop-culture icon, and instant
photography was a sure recipe for success, I had no
idea that The Doggie Gaga Project would go completely
viral,” he says, and in his blog, he writes, “The Doggie
Gaga Project is my alter-ego. It is the colourful, fantastic, playful
side-kick to my more refined Fine Art dog portraiture.”

But why Gaga? “I have a great amount of respect for her as
an artist that pushes the limits, and is not afraid to be unique
in her creativity,” he tells us. “She recently became the creative
director for Polaroid, which will hopefully help push instant
photography back into the mainstream. Since I am a hugely
loyal fan of instant photography, it made sense to do a fun and
creative project combining all those things.”

The dogs featured in the famous photos aren’t letting fame
go to their heads. After all, they’re pretty used to attention and
affection. The photographs feature Pitbulls Gunther and Booker,
Shiba Inu Kiku, Xochitl the Mexican Hairless, and Pancake,
Jesse’s own Boston Terrier.

As for what’s next, Jesse’s sudden fame has brought a lot
of attention to his more traditional dog photography, and he’s
booked up months in advance. The second Lady Gaga Project
session is underway, and apparently, there is no slowing of
public interest nor dwindling of items on his “To Do” list. “It’s
a very exciting time for me. And Pancake. Pancake is used to
getting smothered in attention and love at all times, but is particularly
happy that the Doggie Gaga Project is drawing attention
to Boston Terriers as the most superior breed of dog in the
universe, as opposed to the most flatulent.”

To check out more on the Lady Gaga Project, as well as
Jesse’s other work, check out his site at jessefreidin.com.

Freidin says, “The Doggie Gaga Project is my alter-ego.”

This look is a recreation of Lady Gaga’s Kermit the Frog poncho worn during a German television interview in 2009.

This space-age disco look was inspired by the disco ball dress Lady Gaga wore at T in the Park Festival in Kinross, Scotland in 2009.