Barbie – Portrait of a Camel wearing a hat.

Rachael met Barbie when she was working with the animals owned by the Bullen Family in Australia; an ex-circus family that still had a menagerie of animals which they now kept as part of their family at their home near the Blue Mountains. Barbie was one of about 8 camels that roamed the paddocks surrounding the home, she was the most friendly when Rachael went to meet them. Rachael had set up a background in the enclosed courtyard at the Bullens residence, there were an array of animals hanging out, waiting for their turn to have a portrait. Barbie was being extremely well behaved, she had no objection to wearing the hat, but she was proving challenging to get to strike a pose; so when Arjuna the 6-month-old Lion Cub decided to start chasing a donkey around the swimming pool adjacent to where Rachael was working, Barbie was fascinated, turning her head to watch the commotion and posing in perfect profile for long enough for Rachael to capture this timeless classic.

This image was published in Rachael’s book It’s a Zoo Out There.

Barbie was photographed on Rachael’s 4x5 inch Toyo View Camera with Polaroid Pos/Neg B/W film using Natural Light.

Rachael recommends this image to be framed using a Black, White, or Whitewashed Frame, with or without a white border.