the dog days of summer

On September 6, 2011 Columbia Parks and Recreation hosted the 4th annual Pooch Plunge at at Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center.  More than 60 canines and owners registered for the swim.  It was quite a fun event.  Below is my 1-day picture story with numbers 5 and 6 being my alternates.

Bella Mae, a 2.5-year-old German Shepherd mix, returns from a peer over the edge of the diving board during the Pooch Plunge at Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center in Columbia on Tuesday evening, September 6, 2011.  Owner Rachel Richardson, right, thought Bella might jump but in the end the canine seemed to enjoy running around the pool a bit more.

Jack Attack, a 4-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, glides down a kiddie slide during the Pooch Plunge at Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center in Columbia on Tuesday evening, September 6, 2011.  Owner Will Bullard, 9, had to help Jack down the slide the first few times, but by the end of the evening Jack was a pro.

Captain, an 8-month-old Coon Hound mix, retrieves his UFO frisbee during the Pooch Plunge at Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center in Columbia on Tuesday evening, September 6, 2011.

This year was the fourth annual Pooch Plunge hosted by the Columbia Parks and Recreation at the Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.  Labor Day marked the close of the pool season so the following day dogs got a day at the pool, and according the Parks and Rec. Information Officer Tammy Miller more than 60 canines and their owners registered for the swim.  

MoJo and her owner, Cinda Eichler play fetch with a tennis ball in the wading pool during the Pooch Plunge at Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center in Columbia on Tuesday evening, September 6, 2011. MoJo was a year old Great Dane mix and although she was one of the largest dogs at the pool, Eichler said the canine was still growing.

Tucker, a 1-year-old Black Lab, shakes dry after retrieving a squeaky-toy during the Pooch Plunge at Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center in Columbia on Tuesday evening, September 6, 2011.  Owners Rachel, left, and Jason Meystedt, right, shielded themselves form the spray and it was clear Tucker enjoyed the evening at the pool.  

An injured leg didn't keep Aussie, an Australian Terrier, and his owner from enjoying the Pooch Plunge at Albert-Oakland Family Aquatic Center in Columbia on Tuesday evening, September 6, 2011.

    
Self-Evaluation:

Without a doubt, this was a fun event.  I had a good time.  Dogs had a good time, Owners had a good time.  It was fun.  It was also short.  The event really only lasted about 1.5 hours from beginning to end and while I had tried to expand my shooting window by finding someone who was bringing their dog to the plunge, I didn't so I had about 2 hours total of shooting.  This compressed time weighed on my shooting in that I really could not give myself much time to step back and think through what story I was shooting, what shots I needed, and where I was weak.  I ended up with a decent story, but it not because of thought and planning.

Then again, the second story I shot for this was basically a tracker festival where I did have time to think through things, and I would say I over-thought it and ended up with a worse story.  But back to this one - I think my two weakest parts are details and overviews.  I shot a few overviews, but really should have worked it a bit more.  For the one that I included, I climbed the tall slide and shot up there, which was a good location, I just should have stuck with it to get a better moment.  More dogs in the water, perhaps one jumping in, something.  the only reason this image is in, is because it is an overview, and not because it is a good image.  Likewise my detail - there were tones of details there, I just didn't shoot many.  Shame.

I found the editing process the hardest part.  To tell the story, I actually had to give up one of my favorite images.  My favorite image that remains, MoJo, is one of my alternates.  But I do feel like the story works.  I think it works better as 7 images than 5, but it works.  I think what I learned most working through the story visually - until Rita pointed out the slide in the background of the 1st image leads nicely into the 2nd image of Jack in the tube, which I wasn't going to include at all in the beginning.  Now I look at it and think its the best part and it does such a nice job of getting the dogs in the water.  Thanks Rita.  I need to learn to think/see like this.