The Pringles specialize in humorous, whimsical photographs with their “dog people” — dogs with humanlike bodies. Their work can be seen in two books, “Happy Tails: The Call of Nature” (2008) and “Happy Tails: Earl and Pearl on the Farm” (2006). Click “Our Books” navigation link for more information. They are currently working on their third “Happy Tails” book, due for release in 2012.
The husband-and-wife team have worked together as photographers for 21 years and own Dogtown Artworks, located in Tuscola, Illinois, about 25 miles south of Champaign-Urbana. Cindy Pringle is an acclaimed photographer and past winner of the prestigious Ernst Haas Award as one of the nation’s top 100 photographers. Her husband, Kirby, is an award-winning journalist and photographer. Their work has been seen on everything from greeting cards to books to billboards — even an independent film. The couple have recently opened a studio and gallery in Tuscola that features their dog art. They will be happy to take a photograph of your dog and turn it into a custom “dog person.”
“We’ve always taken photographs of our dogs and we decided nine years ago to focus on ‘dog people,’” Cindy Pringle says. “We have a lot of fun coming up with the ideas and then watching them come to life.”
Cindy Pringle is a University of Illinois graduate and grew up in a small town in Central Illinois. Kirby Pringle, who was also raised in small-town Illinois, is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and was a feature writer for The News-Gazette in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., for 23 years.
The two decided to specialize in creating “dog people” in 2002, using their own dogs as their models. The Pringles made photography, design and freelance writing their full-time occupation in 2008.
“This all started because Cindy likes to make her own birthday cards. She took a photo of me standing in the woods in a bathrobe and then took a photo of our boxer wearing the same bathrobe. Cindy blended the images together and replaced my head with our boxer’s head,” Kirby Pringle says. “I actually looked better with a dog head, so we just kept it up. We couldn’t stop once we got going with the ‘dog people’ because they’re so much fun to do and people really enjoy them.
“Although our focus is on ‘dog people,’ we’ve branched into other areas — from design work on things like business cards and brochures to e-newsletters,” he adds. “You have to stay versatile when you have a small business and we truly appreciate our customers.”
As photographers, they are represented by Corbis (search for Cynthia Pringle) and Next Day Art.
