These shots were taken this weekend at, what is quickly becoming, our annual camping trip at Fisherman’s Island. The dogs absolutely love it!
The better shots were taken with the Canon 5D MkII and the so so shots were taken with the Canon PowerShot D10, a waterproof camera I purchased after I dropped my previous point and shoot (ish) camera in the lake on the same trip last year. Obviously I had not got to grips with the settings by the time of the trip, but despite my almost obsessional addiction to taking the best shots I can, I refuse to take the ‘good camera’ anywhere near sand and/or waves.
“Where’s that Wubba?”
“Hey what you doin’ Niro? I swam out to get it!”
“OK, I’ll stand guard over the Floppy Disc then”
Major sun flare on this one but you get the idea.
This one’s a little dark but it was quite tricky getting the settings anywhere near correct for the darker foreground and brighter background without the help of a graduated neutral density filter.
Andrea, beautiful pictures! The first one of Niro is perfect. The beach pictures of Kora and Niro are very fun. So Niro lost the Wubba to Kora? He must have been playing the gentleman. The sunset pictures are simply wonderful, you can get lost in them….which iI think is a definition of a good picture.
Thanks Julie – I seem to be getting to grips with the settings on the 5D Mk II now (of course with a little help from my friends on this blog, albeit Nikon friends!). As for the Wet Wubba – this is the first time Kora has ventured out of her depth forcing her to swim (she would always panic like crazy whenever she went in too deep), it was always Niro who would swim out to do the retrieving. This time it was the other way round – Niro would wait for Kora to bring back the toy and snatch it from her just as she got to the shore. This went on for ages. Even when I would throw both the Wubba and the Floppy Disc, Niro would lose interest in whatever he originally went after, if Kora chased after the other toy. That is why, on one photo he has his neck stretched out looking to see what Kora was chasing!
That first picture is perfect. The lighting, the atmosphere, and of course the subject.
Thanks Lies – compliments from the photographers on this blog really mean something!
PS. What kind of tent do you have? Do you like it? I’m kind of looking for a new one (well, I really want a Scamp but that’s out of the budget). I like the taller/dome style (don’t need all the various “rooms”) and the one in your picture looks like it has a more full coverage rain fly. The problem with our current one is that the rain fly only covers the very tip-top of the tent so if it’s raining we have to close the windows which creates a sauna.
I’m a huge REI fan, but this particular tent came from LL Bean. It is the 6 person King Pine Dome (about $350 plus the footprint) – an absolutely fabulous tent for dogs, unless you were planning on back packing, in which case it would be way too heavy. We like it because there is only one room plus the front airy part for sitting in if the bugs get too much, and leaving shoes/boots/general gear in, so you don’t get the inside of the tent too dirty/sandy. It is marketed as a 6 person tent but if you like quite a bit of space, or if you use cots rather than just a sleeping bag and rollup mat, you will definitely find that anything smaller just won’t cut it. We’ve had the dogs in their crates both in the body of the tent with us at night and also in the front part. Both ways worked well. The front part can be opened up on either side so that it is just mesh or zipped up if you need extra protection. The front part is always just mesh, but we have attached an additional tarp to the front if rain is imminent. This weekend we had quite heavy rain at night and it did not let a drop through. I had used waterproof sealer on all the seems three or four years ago just as a little extra protection and everything is still holding strong. To stop the sauna effect, the front and rear can be opened up exposing just the mesh to let air circulate plus I make sure the fly is pulled well off the tent so that air can circulate around the outside also. I hope this helps. Let me know what you end up getting.
Thanks for the review! Sounds like what I want. We don’t backpack, I sold my backpack in college. We have been using one air mattress but might get our own. Phil is very tall and about twice as heavy as me which means he’s usually on the ground and then when he gets up I hit the ground or when he lays down I am catapulted. So we need something that he can stand up in plus enough space for mattresses or cots and gear, and hopefully a dog or two.
This is our current tent (the icky colored one) which actually has worked well considering it is older and I bought it used, but not big enough for two beds and/or dogs as well. I like the shape/style though:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1231/4721033255_ebf1f6bf0d.jpg
I would imagine the tent we have is more suitable in size and features for you, Phil and the dogs than the one in the photograph. The peak height is 6ft 3in so should work pretty well for Phil. I bought the same tent complete with footprint for my brother in law and his family a couple of years ago but they only used it twice. His wife and daughter, aren’t that keen on “roughing it”. If you like, I could ask them if they would be interested in selling it to you. Just let me know if you’d like me to ask them.
One more thing….how is that park? I’ve never taken dogs camping and we like Platte River Campground which allows dogs, but none of the beaches do so you are confined to the campground or hikes unless you can leave your dog at your site (which I don’t really want to do unless I have a trailer). We went to Platte River a few weekends ago and everywhere I looked was a German Shepherd but I had to leave my dogs home 🙁
I absolutely love Fisherman’s Island although it certainly wouldn’t be for everyone. It is a very basic/rustic campground with only pit toilets and water pumps but that of course discourages the huge RV families who wouldn’t dream of leaving home without their roll out fake grass, strings of fairy lights, refrigerators and tvs. There are 6 or so very private sites right on the edge of Lake Michigan but if you weren’t able to snag one of those (they book up quickly), the sites slightly further inland are still well secluded from each other and just a short walk from the lake. You just have to keep your dogs on a 6ft leash and obviously you can’t leave them unattended. We have ours on 10ft tie outs at the site and then keep them on Flexi leads (they actually go to 16ft, but nobody has ever complained) when we have them with us by the lake. Some people let their dogs run free, but I’d rather keep them leashed so we don’t lose the privilege. The beach on the photographs is actually a Charlevoix Park beach. If you intend to go up there, let me know and I will give you directions. Matt’s grandparents came from Charlevoix so he used to go their as a child. There are no signs to it so it would be really difficult for you to find unless you knew it was there. It appears that only locals use it and often we are the only ones there. Even if other people are walking the beach with their dogs, they are very respectful of your space.
I should have said “the beach on the photographs SHOWING THE DOGS PLAYING is actually a Charlevoix Park beach” because the two sunset photos were taken at the edge of our camp site at Fisherman’s Island.
Wonderful pictures, Sabree says Hi Bro! Looks like you had a great vacation.
Thanks Karen, we had a great time – very relaxing. The dogs loved it – they were able to roll in the dirt and sand to their hearts content! I have been keeping abreast with Sabree’s Schutzhund training and of course Al’s new found hobby! He looks like an old pro! Very impressive!
Gorgeous photos, Andrea!
Thanks Carole – as I mentioned above, compliments from the photographers on this blog really mean something!
It looks like you and the dogs had a great time camping. What a beautiful place.
We did! I love this campsite – not for everyone, but very “back to natureish” without having to backpack to get to it.
sounds perfect to me, but I like the beach where they can be off-leash.
Mine always have a leash on, but I may or may not be holding the other end. 😉