Richard Alton is a freelance photographer based in London and Zambia. He shoots on film, and has remained loyal to the same equipment for nearly twenty years: ’35mm film cameras, a few lenses and lots of black & white film – Kodak Tri-X 400 in the UK and Ilford FP4 (ISO 125) in Zambia.’ His Town Dogs project combines his love of dogs with his liking for quirky subject matter…

As a project Town Dogs developed out of my daily life. Sometimes when I went out shopping or met friends, I would bump into dogs – and I came to realise that they have become part of the very fabric of town life.

First there was Bruno the Mastiff, who supervised the workshop at Etty & Tyler’s, the motor cycle dealers in Forest Gate, east London. He would only pose for me if I remembered to take digestive biscuits for him. As I took more pictures, the project took on a life of its own. Almost by chance, I’d stumbled on a subject that I enjoyed exploring.

As shop or gallery dogs, sometimes as local celebrities, Bruno and the other dogs I photographed have made themselves fully at home in town. And this is their story.