Bring treats and it's a PARTY

Bring treats and it's a PARTY, originally uploaded by phaird.

Between all the new puppies and the summer like weather, Sunday was a pretty great day at the dog park. I really needed it too. I've been flat out, photographing all kinds of events lately. It's good to be busy with my camera and dogs but slowing down and spending quality time at the park and with my family is really important.
For me, it's about making time in my crazy schedule to do the things I want to be doing and move out the things that don't matter.
I invite my boys to come and some times the do but most times they don't. I think that will change when they get older but this is the one time just for me.
Everyone talks about how they bring their dogs so they could run around but that is only part of the story. The community is important too. The ability to slow down and just talk to someone of common interests. These are the things I love about the park and why I started this blog and book idea. The community that builds at dog parks is a unique event. I'm really interested in other peoples stories and I want to know more. I just need to make more time to prepare the book and talk to people.

Busy day at the park

Busy day at the park, originally uploaded by phaird.

It was a gorgeous Sunday at the park. Lots of people were there, hanging out, dogs running everywhere. I brought my boy, Geoffrey who had fun with the dogs, and throwing rocks into the pond. I'm not surprised it was so busy. Today's weather is so nice and everyone is trying to enjoy these nice days because fall isn't far away.

Fun with frisbee

Fun with frisbee, originally uploaded by phaird.

Today was a busy day at the park. After last weeks hurricane Irene, everyone was glad to be back. Some people were there for hours just letting their dogs run or walking the trails. It was also a day for new puppies to show up at the park. There were two golden puppies, a German Shepard puppy, and a few others I forget the breeds. Puppies always get a lot of attention but with the warm weather, the muggy day, everyone was just happy to be taking in the last weekend of the summer.
I know my summer flew by. I had lots of projects to work on and  made it to the park as much as I could and over all had a good summer. Like most, I want it to last longer but the fall offers new projects. I'm doing a fundraiser photo even for a group called Smile for a Cure which raises money for Canine Cancer research. I'm shooting some smaller events in September and will shoot at Woofstock on October 1. I'm really busy.
I'm not giving up on my book project. I've been inspired by a project called Project Dog. They did a kickstarter fundraiser to get a book published. I know if I got my book to a level of completion, that I could totally get a Kickstarter project funded. I've talked to more people at the park and know I have a good group to interview. My ideal is to get a good writer to work with. We'll see.
Either way, I'll be back at the park, next week, taking pictures, talking to people and having a good time.

Perfect day for a pano

Pano dog park 1, originally uploaded by phaird.

Sunday was cool and overcast with a threat of rain. A perfect day to photograph. Well, not normally but because I was testing out a panoramic head, it was perfect for me. The way it works is I attach my camera to a special tripod head that allows me to rotate my camera at a central point. I take about 24 photos as I spin the camera around and then I stitch them all together in Photoshop. A lot of the software (and even some cameras) make it really easy to put together photos that aren't centered properly. Because it's overcast, the lighting is the same all the way around me so my exposure is the same all the way around.
The only down side is that the park was kinda quiet and even though I tried to get around everyone with dogs, it still looks like the park ins empty.
I'm going to the Cape this weekend so I am going to bring the pano head again and do more on the beach, if I can get early enough.

Shelby Chasing dragon fly shadows

Shelby Chasing dragon fly shadows, originally uploaded by phaird.

I'm BACK! Our road trip across the east and the south was great. I didn't get to visit any dog parks this trip but I did hear of a great one in Cleveland called the Lakewood Dog Park. It's in a really nice area of Cleveland and can be busy all times of the week. They even have their own website which means there is a lot of support for dog owners. Let me know if you've ever been to it.

This last Sunday was great. The weather was perfect and I got to meet Shelby. A spunky 1.5 year old pointer who will chase any shadow it can find. Today, the dragon flies were out and he was loving it. The funny part of the whole thing was that it really seemed like the dragon flies were playing along. I don't really know the pattern of how dragon flies fly but they seemed to run in circles and stay around the grass where Shelby could find them to let her chase the shadows.
What was really funny was just figuring out what he was doing. I could tell she was chasing something but I couldn't figure out what. When I talked to his owner, he explained her love for the chase. The only thing that could stop her was a belly scratch but you could tell he was looking for the chase.

Only a boarder collie

For all of my Boarder Collie friends at the park.

Another day at the park

Snuggles leads the way, originally uploaded by phaird.

I was at the park early Sunday because I had lots to do at home that day. I brought my boy and dog and we had a good time but my boy, Geoffrey, gets board pretty quickly. The life of a three year old. We were walking out when Becky and Dan were walking in with everyone and it was starting to get busy.

A few weeks ago, I was talking photo stuff with someone at the park and the idea of offering a photo workshop came up. So readers; what do you think would be a good photo workshop? Would you be interested in one? Would you like a beginning or advanced workshop? Would you want a 1 day (4 hour) thing or a multi day process? Let me know.