The 2022 Pet Calendar Project - Second Session

Jake and Hayley

A photo session in a wonderfully cool and shaded stream on a steaming hot July afternoon - yes please!  We left our cell phones (and car keys) on the bank otherwise you'd see a photo of me clutching my camera in a death grip standing in knee deep water.  

Before the project started I sent a questionnaire to all the 2022 Pet Calendar winners so I would have a basic understanding of their dog's personality and also what they might be reactive to.  I didn't want to put a shy or fearful dog right outside Lancaster Farmer's Market or an equally busy location. One of the questions was about water and I asked the owners to rate their dog's reaction to it on a scale of 1 (doesn't like it) to 10 (loves it). Hayley scored on the high end of it so I selected this location just for her. 

Chasing the ball was her thing so I used that to get her to run the direction I wanted and that worked great until she didn't see where the ball landed and we all watched as it floated downstream!  OOPS. When she showed a lot of interest in going after it we put her on a leash (safety first) and kept shooting.  We got a nice mix of action shots and beautiful portrait images like the one above.  Incidentally, that was the very first frame so yeah, Hayley killed it.  The lighting was subdued but dramatic and I will absolutely be using this location again for water-loving dogs.