Taking a film camera to Rancho Burro

A rescue for donkeys - they're gentle and beautiful!

I interviewed for my job last spring, and that was an in and out. Enough to see the area, go to a farmer’s market, and meet a LOT of people at work. When I came back to move in, we took the slow back roads from the airport to my house. And the variety was just incredible - wineries, ranches, farms, hills, and of course the beach. I had been living in relatively flat cities for the past seven years. Also great in their own way, but totally different.

After I started shooting more, I decided to try to see as many of these places as possible, both to meet people and practice film. The first of these places was a donkey sanctuary called Rancho Burro. I had been looking for an equine rescue, as I think the animals are so beautiful.

You can tell how much love the owners put into this rescue. It’s a wonderfully maintained stable and grounds. For instance, the stable has a special padded floor for the joints of older animals.

I learned some of the differences between donkeys and horses - for example, horses can be trained to follow their humans in some very dangerous situations, but donkeys need to feel comfortable first.

There are also two sweet senior dogs and a barn cat here (no photos of them unfortunately). And there’s a large medical area. It takes so much work to keep up an animal rescue.

These were taken with my Canon AE-1 and Ilford Delta 400 film. I developed them in a film photography class (more on that later) and this is one of the dark room prints. I love how it turned out!