Here it is, September 1st now and I haven’t updated this blog since JUNE! Bad dog mommy! So here is a quick catch up post.

As far as photography, I have been using other things besides Dazzle as the subject, so not too many Dazzle photos to catch up on. I do have a BUNCH of non-dog photos to post on the other blog though!

This one was taken for the 12 Months for Dogs- Ambassador Challenge: Use the song “I hope you dance” and negative space.

Tossed his ball up and he jumped up to catch it. Then I edited out the ball 🙂

For the Assignment 52 group- Motion Blur challenge:

Only had a few shots at getting this because it was so hot! I didn’t want to overheat Dazzle. I had to play around a bit with shutter speed and I’m really surprised at the level of focus with such a slow shutter! So I learned that focus/detail IS possible on a moving subject at slower shutter speeds by using panning. Makes me wonder what would happen at a river or creek or waterfall if the photographer panned the water 🙂 Don’t have any around here for me to try it.

I spent years working a video camera for a pro company at three-day eventing trials (horse jumping) and I think that really helped me with this assignment. Lots of prior practice at following and keeping a fast moving subject in the frame 🙂

I was too busy at the July camp to take many photos. It was in the 90’s, no A/C, big camp and some issues to deal with that had me rather stressed. But it’s in the past now, thankfully! This was one of the only photos I took:

After camp, I went on the kayak/canoe trip and tried a canoe with Dazzle on the beautiful Au Sable river in MI. I was surprised at how “tipsy”the canoe was compared to the kayak, but Dazzle did great! It’s such clear water on this river, even when the bottom is really deep it is still visible. I enjoy watching all the little (& not so little) fish as well as other wildlife. We saw a mink carrying her baby on the shore, ducks, lots of different kinds of birds, etc.

Dazzle was a bit excited at first and had a hard time sitting still, then he settled in and laid down to relax and watch the world float by. While I know my back can’t handle kayaking anymore, it was well worth the discomfort to try the canoe and be able to enjoy this river again (& to get Dazzle the canoeing badge) 🙂

Taken for a 12 month’s challenge. The challenge required black & white, but I like this color version much better.

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
No I won’t be afraid
Oh, I won’t be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

Taken for the 12 Months for Dogs monthly challenge. This month the challenge was to incorporate the song “Stand by me” and use a high ISO.

I should have held the flashlight so it was more visible, but I liked the beam of it in this position. I also like how the exposure captured some of the stars in the sky and what looked like a totally black sky came out with a hint of rust that highlights the distant trees. Taken on my driveway with a tripod and timer.

3 shots taken for an Assignment 52 challenge.

For the Assignment 52 group challenge- depict this common saying: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. Meaning: that it is better to stick with something you already have, rather than pursuing something you may never get. Or in dog speak- Keep the ball you have because the others might just be a tease 🙂

HEY! That’s not a dog!

Yes, I can add “chicken trainer” to my resume 🙂 The purpose of this seminar was to improve the training skills of the humans. Chickens are FAST, so the human’s reactions and timing also has to be fast. They don’t tolerate “sloppy” mechanics. If you leave the treat cup accessible, they will take advantage. If you try to get too much from them too fast, they fly away. We named our chicken ‘Harvard” because she was a star!! In a very short amount of time, she learned to discriminate between 2 targets. She knew that only pecking the red target would pay off and to ignore the blue one, even if it was closer.

I got a kick out of some of the names people had for their chickens: Patty, Nugget, Kung Pow and Popcorn are a few I remember 🙂

It’s not just dog trainers who take this course. Anyone who has to do any kind of training can benefit from this seminar! It is frequently attended around the world by groups like the FBI and even the types of fishermen you see on the reality TV show “Deadliest Catch”.
I took several videos, but haven’t yet had the time or energy to compile them and get them uploaded. Standard phrase these days seems to be “maybe tomorrow”.

That’s all I have for now. Like I said, I haven’t taken many photos of him these past few months.