Virginia Anderson (10) from Dallas, Oregon stands with her bunny Romeo (6 months). He is a "Black Otter Rex" breed and was just bought at the show. Virginia has been raising rabbits for 3 years and now has 34 rabbits of 5 breeds. "I have a rabbit called Minerva. She is my favorite because when I get sick, I get her and cuddle and she makes me feel better." For one of the shows, she spent at least 20 minutes on stage in a mask of the Phantom of the Opera. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Bill Nelson (66) from Burbank, South Dakota with his rabbit, a Polish breed. Bill has raised rabbits since 1983. He now has about 60 animals. This is too many for him to give them each names. The number of this one is DL11. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Marcus Rhoden (34) from Chesaning, Michigan with his bunny Felicia (9,5 months). She is an "English Angora" breed. Marcus has raised rabbits for 17 years. He now owns 10 rabbits. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Calvin Dow (13) from Orting, Washington with his bunny. Calvin has been raising rabbits for 3 years. He doesn't give names to his animals. There are now 60 rabbits in the family. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Kaytlyn Starmer (18) from Fresno, California with her bunny Henry (5 months), who is a "Holland Lop" breed. Kaytlyn got a pet rabbit in 2012 and started raising more since then. She now has 15 animals. "At one of the shows, the cage got opened and all 4 rabbits ran out. I started to cry because I was sure I would never be able to catch them. And as I'm crying and going to get my mother, all four rabbits just started to follow me. They followed me like I was their mom." © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Rob Fender (64) from Julian, California with "Californian" breed rabbits. Rabbit breeding was Rob's hobby in high school and then he started doing it again some years ago. He now has about 60 rabbits, who he names with numbers. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Amber Read (11) from Goldendale, Washington with her bunny Doe (10 months). Doe is an "American Sable." Amber has too many rabbits to count the exact number. She doesn't give names to most of them, only the best, who come to the show. Others, the unnamed, can be eaten. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Tommy Bentley from Camas, Washington with his bunny Ozwald, a "Dwarf Hotot" breed. Tommy got his first rabbit in an auction. He paid $2. He called him Ozzy Osbourne and he won the show. Tommy has 12 rabbits now. He has loved animals his whole life and is a vegetarian. "I always give names to my rabbits. Some people don't think about them like pets. But for me, they are like family. And I know they always love you back." © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Molly Donley-Robbitaille (37) from Kahlotus, Washington with her bunny Cobalt (5 months), a "Satin Angora" breed. Molly started breeding when she was 10 years old. She now has about 50 rabbits of 5 breeds. She participates in shows up to 20 times a year.
Her favorite rabbit was Mick. He liked pizza, popsicles and playing dress-up. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Daniel Hathaway (54) and Susan Hathaway (58) from Bandon, Oregon with their rabbits Defiance and Enterprise. They are of the distinctive "Flemish giant" breed. Daniel and Susan have been married for 34 years. They now own 26 Flemish giants. Each rabbit weighs about 16 pounds (7,5 kg). To name their rabbits, they choose one letter of the alphabet and theme for each year. The letter for 2015 was "E" and the theme was ships. © Katya Rezvaya, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
his funny and intriguing series of portraits was selected as a finalist in the LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016. Discover more inspiring work from all 39 of the winners and finalists.
