Finally: Back To Work

This week I finally got back into the swing of things with the camera, finishing up the two Collie Specialties I shot last weekend, taking photos of our new home which we start moving into this week and taking ring candids of dogs now showing on the Florida Circuit of Dog Shows. So, I thought I'd post a few to see if I've still "got it" when it comes to my bread & butter shooting.

Here's the Best Of Breed Collie from the second weekend show. I already mentioned in a prior post that the show photographer for the All Breed shows loaned me his setup for the Specialty formals. My thanks to Tom Digiacomo.



Last Thursday, we visited the property we're moving into and introduced Cassidy -- The Queen -- to her new domain. She promptly walked the entire property and marked every corner to claim it as hers. Here are two shots from the back yard looking back at the house.





The kids will have over an acre to run compared to the 1/3 of an acre we have had for the past 22 years. They will be very happy.

On Friday, I took a number of photos of dogs in the Rottweiler ring. It was 32 degrees up on the hill in Brooksville and people were using hand-warmers -- in their shoes -- to stay somewhat warm. My specialty is moving shots and I managed to get a few. Here's Junior, a 9-month old puppy who is actually Sundance's half-brother out of his daddy, Sonny. He was Best Puppy and went on to take a Puppy Group 2.



Here's Berte showing in Best Of Breed. Berte won BOB in yesterday's show over some of the top dogs in the country.



And my favorite shots were of Bridget, Ch Falcon Crest's Bridget Bardot RN CD, now 7 years young, showing again to get her Grand Championship. Bridget was the number one Rottie girl in the country 5 years ago and she's just as beautiful today.





Overall, I shot more this week than I have in several months and the left arm, while better, is feeling the effects of it. Wait until we're moving. I'm going to have to be very careful.

Cheers,

Jim

Hey Jim,

It is awesome to hear that you are getting back into the swing of things. It was cool that your colleague was willing to share his set-up with you.

BTW, the Collie photo is really beautiful.

James

Thanks, James. The Collie is a gorgeous girl and she's done very well so far on the Circuit. Normally, I don't shoot them with their head turned totally toward me but the judge insisted and I'm actually pretty happy with the result.

Jim

Really nice images Jim! I can't wait until Spring for some outdoor shows here in PA. I currently have dog show withdrawal! :-) Is it standard procedure for the handler to look at the dog in the posed win shots? It seems most do.

Nice to get back at it, I'm sure. Looks like the new digs are sweet.

The handlers really don't know when the photo will be taken so they look somewhere that doesn't make them look totally stupid! The best option is to look at the dog. As a photographer, I'm waiting for the dog's head to be in the proper position so it might not be when the handler/judge is looking at me and looking good. Looking at the dog eliminates a lot of dumb-looking handlers and/or judges .

Jim

Lovely shot of the Collie! Your new home is pretty cool too. LOTS of room to romp and play.

Penny,
we've lived on 1/3 of an acre for 22 years after living on 2 acres in CT before we left. I've walked a lot of dogs a lot of times so having a yard which we can cross-fence, set up areas for Agility Training and Conformation Training and areas to just run and play is going to be so cool!

The trade-off is a much smaller house. Great back porch but 1970's lower-middle-class ranch in a neighborhood that is getting revitalized. In time, it will be a great home but for a while, we'll have to shoe-horn everything in. The good news is that it will benefit from any improvements we can make and we do some pretty decent renovations. There will be room for both of our offices but probably not enough room for a studio. So, I'm going to have to work out a solution for that.

But the yard has room for training, room for fun and room for outdoor portraits so it's really worth all the other sacrifices. Our lives are so much about the dogs right now that giving them the proper environment is very important to us. I'll be able to take in more rescues. Take in more borders. Take in dogs for training. We are really looking forward to the change. And, yes, even at our advanced ages we can still look forward to embracing changes in our lives.

Life is an adventure,

Jim

Nice photos Jim, and congrats on the new place. Change is (usually) a good thing, keeps you on your toes.

Diana

Well, it keeps the blood moving for sure . Linda and I actually enjoy some adventure in our lives. But this move is really about living in a place this fits our lifestyle and the makeup of our "family" right now. We've lived in a very nice community right off of the 2nd hole of the golf course. Pretty and comfortable but really not ideal for the dogs. So, now we'll be in a place with less room for us; more room for them and more room for what we do with them. Which should keep me more physically active -- and that's a good thing! More pics once we're in.

Jim