I found this Valentine’s card in my files recently; I used to receive them every year from my old friend Larry Sultan. Larry passed away in 2009 and it rocked me. The last time I spoke to him, we shared stories of our cancers and the Indian nurse that he saw in New York. I miss that dear man, so I wanted to share this with you all - a bit belated, Valentine-wise, but close enough!

Kelly Sultan, Larry's wife, was sweet enough to correspond with me about the card, hers sons, Max and Will, and the dog pictured here. Zel was a half Bluetick Coonhound, 1/4 Lab, 1/4 Springer Spaniel mix. As Kelly says, "in our awkward attempt to replace Zel, we ended up with two dogs, Steve and Dee Dee Taylor. Though great dogs, each one put together might have come closer: Steve is a Pointer Border Collie cross and Dee Dee, now 13, is a Bluetick Coonhound."

Steve and Dee Dee Taylor by Kelly Sulton

Larry's first major retrospective (with over 200 photographs spanning his work from the 70's through to his most recent bodies of work) is up at LACMA from now until July 19, 2015.