Canadian animal photographer Jess Bell made this series by dusting dogs with brightly coloured powder and photographing them mid-leap, so that each jump leaves a cloud of colour behind it. The trails are real: PetaPixel reported that the pictures were shot with real dogs and real powder rather than built in Photoshop. The result looks like a cross between a sports photo and a comet.
Below is how the series was made, how the dogs were kept safe, and a short note on each dog and breed in the gallery.
Who Jess Bell is
Bell is a Toronto-based photographer who specialises in animals, especially dogs in action. For this project she turned to people she already trained and competed with. As she told PetaPixel: "I gathered together some talented dog-training friends and their awesome dogs for the project." Most of the dogs in the gallery are herding and working breeds, the kind often seen in agility and disc sports, which explains the height and stretch of the jumps.
She has been open about where the idea came from. Bell credited equine photographer Andrea Zachrau, who had used coloured powder with horses, as the inspiration. Bell's version adapts that look to smaller, faster animals.
How the colour trails were made
The method is simple to describe and hard to get right. Powder is applied to the dog's coat, the dog performs a jump or a run on cue, and the camera catches the moment the powder lifts off the fur. Because the dog moves forward faster than the powder can fall, the colour hangs in the air behind the body and traces the path of the movement.
SLR Lounge reported that Bell shot with a Nikon D5 and a Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 lens, a fast sports setup that lets the photographer stand well back and freeze motion. The dark backgrounds make the colour glow and hide everything except the dog and the cloud. Bell also picked colours to match or contrast with each coat; she said black, white and red was "a killer colour combination" for her own Border Collie, Rush.
No two frames can be repeated exactly. The amount of powder, the dog's speed and the angle of the jump all change the shape of the trail, which is why the series shows so much variety even among dogs of the same breed.
Was it safe for the dogs?
This is the first question many readers ask. According to SLR Lounge, Bell used a non-toxic powder made with FD&C/D&C certified colours, worked in well-ventilated spaces and kept the powder away from the dogs' noses and mouths so it would not be inhaled. She said the animals' safety was a priority throughout.
That said, the gallery is an art project, not a how-to guide. Fine powder in the eyes or airways can irritate any animal, so if you are tempted to try something similar with your own dog, talk to your vet first, use only products made for this purpose and keep sessions short.
The dogs in the series
Rush | Border Collie
Rush, Bell's own dog and her favourite subject, leaps through a burst of red powder. She told SLR Lounge she loves "how powerful his jump is." Border Collies were bred for herding sheep in the border country between England and Scotland and are known for speed and focus.
Gemma And Lyric | Mix & Coolie
The only frame with two dogs: Gemma and Lyric jump side by side, one trailing violet and the other orange. Timing two dogs in one leap is much harder than one, which makes this one of the trickiest shots in the set.
Nyero | Mudi
Nyero, a dark-coated Mudi, almost disappears into a long blue cloud. The Mudi is a rare Hungarian herding breed related to the Puli and Pumi; it was first described as a breed in 1936 and recognised by the American Kennel Club only in 2022.
Lottie | Border Collie
Lottie catches a pink disc inside a cloud of matching pink powder. Here the powder fills the whole frame instead of forming a trail, giving a softer, dreamier picture than the rest of the series.
Style | Border Collie
Style, a brown-and-white Border Collie, stretches out flat in a teal trail that curls down toward the ground. The curve of the cloud shows the arc of the jump almost like a long-exposure photo.
Slice | Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Slice's orange powder nearly matches the breed's red coat. The toller is the smallest retriever breed and comes from Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia; its name comes from "tolling", playing at the water's edge to lure curious ducks within range of hidden hunters.
True | Australian Shepherd
True, a blue merle Australian Shepherd, flies through a lavender cloud that echoes the grey tones of the coat. Despite the name, the breed was developed in California in the 19th century, named after sheepdogs that arrived with flocks from Australia.
Lyric | German Coolie
Lyric, also seen in the lead photo, leaves a warm orange trail. The "German Coolie" is the Koolie, an Australian working dog descended from British collie types; the word "German" is a historic misnomer, as early writers already pointed out in 1903.
Tenacity | Mudi
Tenacity, a second Mudi, is wrapped in purple powder against a dark grey backdrop. Mudis are compact, at roughly 38 to 47 cm at the shoulder, but very athletic and common in agility and flyball.
Gnash | Malinois
Gnash, a Belgian Malinois, drives forward through a sea-green trail. The breed's muscular build shows clearly in the frame, which matches Bell's aim of showing each dog's individual movement and structure.
Cohen | Australian Shepherd
Cohen, a tricolour Australian Shepherd, races through bright magenta. The pink against the white chest and black coat is a good example of Bell choosing a colour that contrasts with the dog rather than matching it.
Gemma | Mix
Gemma returns on her own in a cool blue-violet cloud. Her outstretched legs and lifted ears show the full extension of a flat-out leap.
Lottie | Border Collie, Second Photo
A second shot of Lottie, this time with a pink disc in her mouth and an indoor arena visible behind her. The lighter background shows how much the black backdrops in the other frames help the colour stand out.
What the series shows about dogs in motion
A still photo usually freezes one instant and loses everything before it. The powder trail keeps a little of that history: you can see where the dog took off, the line of the body through the air and, in some frames, the turn of the head. Herding breeds like Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Koolies and Mudis dominate the series for a reason. They are bred to run, turn and jump all day, and their owners train them for sports that ask exactly that.
Bell has continued to photograph working and sporting dogs, and more of her work is on her website, Instagram and Facebook.
Sources: PetaPixel, January 2019; SLR Lounge; Wikipedia: Mudi; Wikipedia: Koolie; Wikipedia: Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever; Wikipedia: Australian Shepherd. All photos: Jess Bell Photography.
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