I have been photographing dogs that trail run with their humans for the past couple of years. This weekend on Orcas Island, we attended a 25K and 50K run that doesn't officially include dogs, but they are always there. Many of the dogs ran the races and were only slowed down by their human's slower paces than their own. First dog that I photographed is Jack. He is a grand Aussie and at 11 years old, is now officially retired. In his day, he could run 100K without much effort and now holds court over all of the other dogs in the races. Even though it is controversial, I prefer to crop my dog portraits close to the faces with emphasis on the area around the eyes and nose. Ears are good if I can fit them into the photo. I'm still working on where to crop when taking the photos as my first impulse is to move right into the eyes and therefore, the ears sometimes take a bit of a hit.
This little Red Heeler is just beginning to run. She is only 5 months old, so is still learning the ropes of long trail runs. So well behaved! For the photo, I went with a slight sepia wash and cropped square to emphasize her beautiful features.
This 6 year old Aussie mix dog has been running for years. He could not wait for his human to begin the race and was right there in front at the end of the 25k. I ran into a problem photographing him as the day was very dark and so was he. I didn't want to blast the photo out on his white spots, so instead I got a very dark photo. I'm still thinking about how to lighten some parts of it.
Ferdinand is not a runner. He was a companion for a spouse of a runner. However, from the way that this Chihuahua/Pommie mix strutted his way around the much bigger running dogs, you would not have guessed that he was not a running star himself. Instead, I was told that he is a water droplet chaser. I can only guess what this means.
At the ferry terminal, on our way home, I saw this beautiful sail boat and caught it from the Ferry car deck as we were leaving Orcas.
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It was an amazing date in the history of our country. Our first black President being sworn in.
After everyone was finished, the food was eaten (I was the cook for 350 people), and it was getting dark outside, a local bluegrass band from Olympia played for us. I loved the hat on this performer and the joyful way that she has about presenting her music to us.
This is a shot from the Shaw Island Ferry Terminal as we were waiting to load cars. I love the moss everywhere. This was a shot that I took with the idea of dividing a photo into threes in my mind. 
This little Red Heeler is just beginning to run. She is only 5 months old, so is still learning the ropes of long trail runs. So well behaved! For the photo, I went with a slight sepia wash and cropped square to emphasize her beautiful features.
This 6 year old Aussie mix dog has been running for years. He could not wait for his human to begin the race and was right there in front at the end of the 25k. I ran into a problem photographing him as the day was very dark and so was he. I didn't want to blast the photo out on his white spots, so instead I got a very dark photo. I'm still thinking about how to lighten some parts of it.
As we drove to the ferry, the sun was beginning to set. I saw this eagle just sitting in a field, slowly stretching it's wings to catch the last rays.
Cascade Lake in Moran State Park was very still. This photo was taken in the late afternoon. 
Mid afternoon and the light was very flat on the lake.
Ducks on the lake swimming towards the other shore. I waited for the ducks to catch the low afternoon sunlight and then pushed the photo to create more contrast.
Someone built this covered bridge on a small pond midway across the island. I drove by several times looking for just the right time to take a photo. I wanted the sun to be hitting the bridge and trees. Luckily in the mid afternoon, the sun did just what I wanted and for several minutes I had the lighting that I wanted. Five minutes later, it was gone and the scenery was flat again.
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