With a squeaky toy in one hand, a camera in the other, and a pair of knee pads for ultimate protection, Elias Weiss Friedman has taken to the New York City streets photographing portraits of dogs. He has an eye for capturing the distinct personalities of canines in his images, and documents them in an Instagram profile called @TheDogist, with almost 2 million followers and 500 likes per minute. “I don’t work with people in the same way most people do and I sometimes feel that sort of loneliness. I come home and I’m like talking to my rug,” says Friedman. “But I do connect with people through their dogs. Even though I don’t have a dog, dogs have opened up a whole world for me that’s made me less lonely.”

Since starting the series, Friedman has photographed dogs in over 30 places around the world, including China, Italy, Norway, and Alaska, and he released a book in 2015 under the same name.

Watch more videos from filmmaker E.J. McLeavey-Fisher on his website.