Isa Leshko, a photographer who’s very scared of getting old as she had confronted her own mortality while caring for her mom who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s. And in order to face her fear, she had started to visit farm sanctuaries in the US and capture the animals in her camera. And after a time of about 10 years now it had become activism to her rather than the way to face her fear. And now she uses the images captured in order to speak for the animals.
Allowed to Grow Old is a series of black and white images that she had captured. And through them, you can see the tough life the animals had lived before being rescued. Almost all the animals had to face a tough life, a 28-year-old horse named Buddy is blind suffers from arthritis. Isa had written that almost every animal she met in the project had suffered a lot before rescue. And that it’s nothing short of a miracle to be in the presence of a farm animal who had managed to get old.
She had also said that often the rescued animals wary from strangers and that it could take days to be comfortable with them and capture them on camera. She had said that she often lies down on the ground near the animal before clicking them. And that she does so because it would help the animal to acclimate her presence and allow her to fully present her. The series Allowed to Grow Old is out as a book and you can grab your own through Amazon.
#1 Phyllis- Southdown sheep, 13 years old
#2 Abe- Alpine goat, 21 years old
#3 Violet- Potbellied pig, 12 years old
#4 Forest- Santa Cruz sheep, 16 years old
#5 Bessie- Holstein cow, 20 years old
#6 Handsome One- thoroughbred horse, 33 years old
#7 Babs- donkey, 24 years old
#8 Rooster- age unknown
#9 Tessa- Yorkshire pig, 13 years old
#10 Buddy- Appaloosa horse, 28 years old
#11 Blue- Australian Kelpie, 19 years old
#12 Zebulon- Finnsheep, 12 years old
#13 Zebulon and Isaiah- Finnsheep, both are 12 years old
#14 Ash- domestic white turkey, 8 years old
#15 Kelly- Irish Wolfhound, 11 years old
Tell us what you think about these animals and photos.
I have been into reading, creative writing, learning different languages from my young age. Also, I’m really fond of calligraphy which I have participated in competitions and won. I was an athlete while I was schooling and I have excelled in the events I did. I have passed my O/levels and did my A/levels in the Physical science stream. Even though my passion for reading and writing never ended. Keep Reading! Keep Learning!
