Border Agility

From Photo of the day (2009)

From Photo of the day (2009)

From Photo of the day (2009)

So I went out last week to watch my friends dog agility lesson. I've seen the competitions on TV but never really seen someone at work. Learned lots of stuff - apparently the courses are never the same, and a competition course is checked over by lots of people to make sure it hasn't been used in competition before. Not only does your dog have to know all the tricks of the trade and be able to do them quickly, it has to pay attention to you so it knows which bit to take next!

I figured shooting these guys would be relatively easy compared to say, a lure flown falcon which follows an unpredictable path - I couldn't have been more wrong. I think it would have been easier had I been more versed in how things were run - I have some ideas how a falcon will fly - but those border collies sure are fast! Then there's the obstacles to contend with - other equipment, the handler, and of course lighting. The dogs being a combination of jet black and pure white really doesn't help that situation on a cloudless frosty morning!

Anyways, here are three shots from the lesson, the first two are my friends dog, Jess, the last is the instructor's dog, and of course I've forgotten its name.

I have played with the fill light, highlights and shadows, and cropped in Picasa 3 for all shots, I've also sharpened Jess coming off the ramp.