Room to Spare!

Vicky's Parson Russel has room to spare on this triple at the Agility Club of Chatham VA trials last weekend. Boy was it hot! Still a great trial and thanks to Peter for inviting us to shoot.

Patience

Now that's patience! A young golden waiting patiently at the line to retrieve a duck during the hunt test last month in Carlise, PA.

Two Down, Two To Go!

Karen and I were off to Carlisle in Pennsylvania for Spinner's first two senior hunt tests. Karen and Spinner (a great team) qualified in both so my ride home today was quiet and peaceful:-) Here is Spinner taking the cast from Karen on her water double on day two.

Narcosis

Too deep, too much nitrogen, too many colors. Check out the turtles shell:-)

Black and White Sketch

Ah finally a day off. Time to play around with some image retouching algorithms. Here is a black and white sketch I did from a color original. All work done in Photoshop.

Turtles, turtles turtles!

Another one from our Little Cayman Trip. Little Cayman has an abundance of Hawksbill Turtles. This is a shot of one out in the blue. Their were several nesting as well when we visited the islands a couple of weeks ago.

Little Cayman

Just back from a great diving trip to Little Cayman. Photo opportunities galore! Here is one of a Caribbean Reef Squid. We saw a ton of these little guys on this trip. Miss Karen did a terrific job with this closeup.

Movers and Shakers

Thanks to the Movers and Shakers for putting on a great Portuguese Water Dog trial this weekend and inviting us to shoot. Lots of great performances - this says it all!

Huck-A-Buck

A busy weekend of shooting. Some gardens for our favourite landscaper Natural Designs on Friday, a shoot at the Yadkin Valley Retreiver Club on Saturday and the Huck-A-Buck Mountain Bike Races in Cary on Sunday. Here is one from the Sunday races.

Speed

For the most part I shoot agility with a very fast shutter speed to stop all the action. Unfortunately you get great detail but lose the sense of just how fast the sport actually is. Here is a shot from the DOTC trials last weekend done with a really slow shutter speed - less detail but a real sense of the action.

Day Lilies

Well, its a hot and dry summer so far in Raleigh. I miss being in the Caymans close to the water this time of year. That said, our day lilies are fabulous right now. Here is quick peek at a couple. See you all in Lynchburg.

Something New!

Something new for us. Covered the cycling races for the North Carolina State Games this weekend. Boy I got a workout just cycling back and forth with the camera memory cards! Got to hand it to them, these guys and gals are in great shape! Had a blast.

Summer Cool Off

Well, now ain't that the best way to cool off in the summer heat!

Vanilla

Well, a picture from the espresso theme today. This is one I'm working on for the syrup industry. You know that sweet stuff that goes into your macchiato something or other. I have been trying to do some more coffee related beverage shots. Now back to dogs and will see you in Roanoke this weekend.

Garden Work

Our wildflower garden has been great this year. Here's one from this morning of a bee working on the flowers.

Zoom zoom zoom!

Another great weekend at the Gloucester Kennel Club trials. Here's a shot of Billy taking the poles! I think this was for her second Q of the day!

Unique Photo Shoot

Your chance to get those multi-exposure shots you always wanted. Join us on May 26th for a custom photo shoot. Email us ahead of time to reserve your spot!

Spinner Portrait

Well Spinner and Karen had a great trial in Lynchburg. Got both their Open Standard and Novice JWW titles. Onto Excellent Standard and Open JWW. I've posted a portrait of our little girl. See you at Gloucester this weekend.

E61 Grouphead

This espresso machine grouphead was introduced by Faema in 1961 on the E61 machine. The E61 group head set the standard for espresso machines then and is still found on many machines today. This head brought a new level of temperature stability to the industry.

High Flyer

Well the FAST class at the Dog Owners Training Club of Lynchburg sure was exciting this weekend. The weather was terrific, the venue was great and the dogs, well they just had a BIG!!! time.

High Jump

Finally, the weather cooperates! A great weekend at the DKC trials in Durham, NC. Here is a bit of a brag - our pup Spinner in Novice JWW. She is a wonderful jumper - Mom just needs to slow down a bit :-)

HRDTC Water Dog Trials

Well, looking at the first picture it can only end one way ... yep straight into the drink. The dogs didn't seem to mind the rain and the HRDTC crew got things off even with a ton of rain. Hopefully this weekend at DKC we'll get to see a bit more sunshine!

Neither Rain Nor Snow Nor ...

Who cares about a little snow. It sure didn't dampen the dogs fun. Myself, I'm hoping for less snow at HROTC this weekend. See you there.

Spring Has Sprung - Not!

Well, spring is finally here and our agility trial season is off and running. How about this shot from our Merrimac Dog Training Club trials last weekend. Kudos to the club for getting the trials off even with the "light dusting" that the weather man forecast.

Light As A Feather

Someone from the herding fraturnity once told me that when the sheep are very "frisky" they are called "light" as in "the sheep are pretty light today". Well they sure were light on their feet last weekend. Here is a picture of another flyer from the CAA Nationals.

Up Up and Away

Not sure the herding folks look at this as a great picture but I sure like the action. Sheep up, sheep down and dog going at full speed. Thanks to the Collie Club of America for inviting us to shoot the herding and agility trials for the 2007 Nationals. We had great weather, great dogs and some exciting competition!

Rooster Tail

Don't often see a rooster tail behind a couple of dogs unless it's wet and they are going faaassssttt! This shot of a couple of whippets from the SHOT lure coursing trials we were at in Virginia last weekend. Thanks to SHOT for organizing the trials and inviting us to do the photography.

Sheba Inu

Although pretty popular in Japan I haven't seen too many Sheba Inu in agility trials that we have shot. This little pup was having a great time at the Tidelands Poodle Club trials last weekend in Gloucester Virginia. Thanks to the club for a super weekend and Nelson and Emily for being such great hosts.

Press Pot at 3Cups - Oh Yeh!

Had a chance to shoot some product shots over at 3Cups cafe in Chapel Hill last weekend. If you want to get great coffee in a location with super atmosphere then this is the place. They get there coffees from my favorite roaster Counter Culture Coffee. Try the Koakaka co-op of Karaba, Rwanda it is to die for!

Altitude with Attitude

Wow! Talk about clearing the jump. Thanks to Teamworks Dog Training for a great trial last weekend.

That's What I'm Talking About!

Think we got something to say?

Go Gidem Tiger!

Thanks to the Savannah Dog Training Club for a most enjoyable weekend! Don't you wish you had this much energy!

Better Late Than Never

One from last spring at Sarah Duke gardens. Boy am I behind!

How Sweet It Is!

A shot from Counter Culture's Toscano espresso coffee. It was as good as it looks!

Good Nose - Good Day!

Karen and I had the opportunity to shoot a tracking training day at Winston Salem last weekend. The weather was great (much better than a snowy day today) and the dogs put on a great show. Here is one of a Bassett Hound coming up a trail after a goodly scamper through the woods.

The Watcher

Karen is heading off to Cayman Brac later in the month. I'm anxious to see how our underwater city is doing. Here is a shot of one of the "Watchers".

Lights Out For Another Year

Well it's lights out for another year on our street. No snow again this year - horray! Although the lights look better, I sure don't miss the snow. A shot of our house on "the night before Christmas".

Santa Has Arrived!

Well, I'm not so sure it was because I was a good boy or not this year but Santa delivered a new set of coffee digs for me. The picture shows a La Spaziale Vivaldi S1/VII Espresso machine and a Macap M4 grinder. I am now in espresso heaven. I am also way over cafineated, having had several as I tune up the grinder and the machine. Happy holidays!

The Lights Are On!

One of the things I always look forward to at Christmas is the luminaries. That was a pretty new thing to me when Karen and I first moved down to Raleigh from up north. Somehow the dark snowless backgrounds make the lights stand out even more. I think they would lose something in the snow. Tonight was our neigbourhood light-up. Here's one looking down the road to Julie and Howard's place.

Big Things In A Small Package

Karen and I had the deluxe pleasure of covering the DKC Rally and Obedience trials last weekend. We had alot of fun even with the long days and late evenings. Some great obedience and rally runs - here is one of my favourites. A very enthusiastic Daschund.

Rocking On!

Well, I am back in Cayman Brac again. Finally getting around to doing a little rock raking. If you haven't done it yet it is a very religious experience - sort of. These rocks are the ones that came up on our beach during Ivan. That's how far behind I am on my raking. Anyways if you are ever up for a little R&R for you mind and spirit - we have plenty of rocks a rake and a shovel!

Christmas - What A Wonderful Time Of Year!

On my way to Cayman Brac today. Had a long layover in the Miami airport. It was made considerably more pleasant by a local school choir doing some caroling in the airport lobby. I do love Christmas!

Would You Like To Live Forever

Well, maybe not forever but at least a hundred years or so. These guys do. The Galapagos Tortoise. Not too much stress - just lay around and eat grass all day. Don't think Karen would let me do that:-)

A Keeshond MACH!

Oh do I love a nice cool sunny weekend at the trials. Had some terrific weather at the Agility Club of Chatham trials last weekend. Also saw some stellar runs including a MACH run by this great looking Keeshond.

Looking For Waldo

I love herding. Even though I own three golden retrievers. I am always amazed at the talent herding dogs display for keeping the sheep under control. That said there is always a few moments of uncertainty in terms of who is in control. Can you find the border collie in this picture? Thanks to the Piedmont Border Collie Association for a terrific herding weekend. Some terrific action and some great dogs!

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

Well, Sunday was a bit wet - read very wet! That said we had great weather Friday and Saturday. Thanks to Teamworks for hosting the Youngsville trial. Always a great venue and terrific people.

Big Things In A Little Package

I love these little guys - full of "*iss and vinegar", all fired up and ready to go. Imagine a border terrior that was as big as a golden - wow! Thanks to CVAC for a great weekend. See you at Teamworks this weekend!

More Sharks

OK dog people I just have to get one more post in from our Galapagos trip before it's back to dogs. This one is from Darwin Island in the Galapagos. It is a picture of an 8 foot hammerhead with a lot more in the background. The female shows signs of mating scars from male sharks. I'm the one that normally gets the scars :-)

A Whale of A Shark

We have just gotten back from the Galapagos Islands and are getting packed up for the Central Virginia trial this weekend. Lots of great shots and a wonderful trip. This one is the head of a whale shark about 40 feet long. What a beast! I'll post a few more as we get time.