I sure love my job!

I did a shoot last night for Andrew from [URL="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/greatest_american_dog/"]Greatest American Dog[/URL] along with his two brothers Geoffery and Leo.  Geoffery is the tiniest little dog I think I’ve ever seen.  I mean he looks small compared to a tea-cup chihuahua!

He’s got a really big personality though:

An Osprey waits for it's next meal.

I’ve been reading Moose Peterson’s Blog, where he has been posting updates from the ongoing Wildlife Photographer’s Base Camp. Boy does that bring back the memories.

I was on this trip at about the same time last year (they are a little earlier this time around) and let me tell you, the folks out there right now have no idea how lucky they are. They may think they do, but it really won’t sink in until later. I did a review of the trip on my old blog, which I’ll include below the jump for those who haven’t seen it yet.

The folks out there right now are probably tired, muddy and frazzled, but they are smack in the middle of an opportunity of a lifetime. Moose provides so much knowledge on one of these trips that it really takes weeks to sink in and I had many many “ah ha moments” for a long time following the trip.

Check out the old review:

Greetings from the Poorhouse!

When I got the message that there was an opening for one of Moose Peterson’s Wildlife Photographer’s Base Camp trips, I jumped on it without hesitation.

Moose is one of the first photographers that I “discovered” after becoming interested in serious photography myself. I’d read his books, followed his BLOG and tried to learn as much as I could from the man without having actually met him.

I have to say that it was a bit intimidating meeting him. One never really knows what to expect when meeting an Icon , Hero, Mentor, (pick your word) like Moose for the first time. Moose mentioned during the trip that he doesn’t like the word “hero” in reference to himself, so don’t choose that one when he’s around. Once you do meet him, that intimidation quickly fades and the learning starts.

Bottom Line Up Front:

Would I do another trip with Moose? Absolutely!
Would I do another Base Camp? You bet, even if it was the same location.
Will I do a DLWS event? As soon as I save my pennies.
Was the cost worth it? Yes, in fact I think the knowledge and experiences go far beyond the value of the dollars spent. Knowing what I know now, I would have gladly paid double for the experience.

Now on to the trip and Base Camp itself.

On his site, Moose describes Base Camp like this “Base Camp? It’s not a wildlife photography safari. It’s not a week long business classes. It’s not a camera gear feast. Base Camp is like nothing else on this planet! It’s all of this plus a WHOLE LOT MORE!”

I have to say that is a pretty darn accurate description. He goes on to tell you that “You’ll need a long vacation after these five days.” Let me tell you, he’s absolutely right. That said, it is a wonderful sort of tired rather than a haggard and beat down sort. I had another workshop booked for the following week in the same general area, so I thought I’d probably go revisit some of my favorite locations over the weekend in between. All I did was crash for two days straight, that and look at thousands of images from the week.

Take Moose’s advice and stay in the hotel with the rest of the group. I tried to save some money by redeeming my Marriott Points for a free stay. When I checked in and checked the route to the hotel and such, I immediately checked right out and into the hotel Moose recommended. I’m glad I did, as carpooling was enough of a pain as it was; Especially in the beginning when folks hadn’t caught on to the fact that Moose pretty much knows what he’s talking about when he tells you that the best way to get around is to carpool. Let’s face it, he’s been at these locations over and over and knows them in ways even some of the locals don’t. Sleep is a precious commodity on one of these adventures. It was good to be able to crash right up to the last minute, walk out the door and into the truck. Had I been forced to drive from on hotel to another and back every day, that sleep would have been lost.

I arrived a night early and settled in. The next evening I started meeting up with other participants in the lobby and met Josh, Moose’s assistant. What a dream job!
We went out and met Moose and got our goodies. Moose went over some ground rules and laid out some expectations. The next morning, we were off and running! When you go to one of these events, do what Moose tells you to do and you’ll be set for a week of learning like you’ve never had before.

Moose teaches in the same way I do when I teach classes for military and government professionals. Everything is extremely well organized and planned out to the nth degree. That level of planning allows for a degree of flexibility when things change (weather, etc) that just can’t be there if you are “winging it.”

There is a level of formality during the training that has to be there in order to keep things moving on schedule. That isn’t to say that Moose and Josh were not approachable, they were, and very much so. They are busy though doing lots of behind the scenes things that go along with running a course like this.
I could go on and on, but I just can’t do this trip justice in words so I’ll sum up with a few bullets.

- Bring lots of memory. I routinely filled two 16GB cards and started in the third every day except the first morning when I was a little slower on the button. I also filled my Laptop’s HD and nearly filled an external drive as well.
- Bring lots of clothes. I thought I’d wash up during breaks and such. There just isn’t time. When you’re wading in salt water and crawling through mud, re-wearing really isn’t an option.
- Don’t be in such a hurry to go get pictures. When you arrive on location, hang around and listen to what Moose has to say BEFORE you go out to make pictures.
- Keep your mind OPEN. During the week with Moose, I did my level headed best to do everything I could HIS WAY. Then I took what worked for me and kept it, and set aside the things that didn’t really work for me. That said, once things started sinking in even after the trip, some of those things made more sense too.

- What would I change about the trip? Moose’s instructions to bring all your equipment are a little extreme and a little too vague for me. I took him literally and brought everything. I was driving an FJ Cruiser at the time and it was FULL. If I had it to do again, I would bring everything I would typically bring to shoot the subjects listed in the trip description, plus a little more. Over the trip, I used two lenses, one almost exclusively, and never really unpacked the rest of the items I brought. Now, if I were on a mammal trip, those lenses would probably change.

It was two days of fun, fur and photos.  Everyone was great and I got lots of pup-love.

The picture is of Rocky who had a fantastic weekend including a perfect score and a host of other accomplishments.

He’s a sweet little Corgi, but it was hard for me since we lost our own Sam the Corgi not so long ago.

I’ll be new wildlife and nature prints to my Fine Art Gallery. Themes will vary from humorous (like this one) to moody.

Artisan series prints are available in three sizes: 16×20, 20×24 and 24×30.
All Artisan series prints are mounted on Gator Board with a depth of either 3/16″ or 1/2″.
Three border colors – Black, Ivory and Gray – are available.
Artisan Series prints are digitally signed by default, but hand-signed prints are an option.

I donate 10% of each Artisan Series purchase to animal rescue.
Go to the Gallery in order to purchase this print and others that will be coming soon.

He is a Phraraoh Hound lucky enough to be owned by Laurie Williams, the star of the CBS TV show Greatest American Dog and owner of Pupniron Canine Fitness and Learning Center.

After dealing with the progressive paralysis of Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) for nearly three years, Sam left us last night.

Sam is the perfect example of why one should never get a pet from a pet store. We were young and had no idea at the time what that really meant.

It is obviously now, looking back after many years of experience with dogs of our own and dogs that are “in the system” at various shelters and rescues that Sam was poorly bred and poorly socialized before he came to us. Still we loved him all his life, and we still do.

Our Sam had “that Corgi temperament” for sure. He tortured his older “brother” Igloo from day one and remained stubborn right up to the very end.

I still remember bringing home this incredibly scared, dirty and ear-infected puppy from the store (yes, a store, never again). He was almost five months old and had lived his whole life in a cage up to that point. Still his giant ears and oversized paws came together with that “little boy look” and won us over all those years ago.

Sam lived life pretty much on his terms. Sometimes he could be described as aloof and anti-social and others he would just sit and cuddle for hours. He would sleep in the bed and fall so deeply into slumber that he was hard to wake up. He gave us a scare like that a few times.

His bad genes lead to two knee reconstructions, one for each side, which he weathered like a trooper.

Then, right around Christmas 2005, it happened. Sam was running in from the back yard and suddenly his back legs stopped working. He dragged them a few feet, stopped and looked back as if to wonder “What’s going on back there?” He got up, and they started working again only to fail a few steps later. Off to the vet we went and the news wasn’t good. Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) was the name of the monster we faced.

Once we got over the shock and started settling in, things really weren’t that bad. Yes, he walked a little stiffly in the hind quarters and needed help with stairs, but with treatments we kept it under control for a while.

Then came the cart. Sam hated it. We also replaced the stairs off the back deck with a ramp. I still see Sam half-waddling, half sliding down it, and pulling himself back up with determination and even a doggie smile. This was without the cart. We only made him use it when he was to be walking across a surface that would hurt him to drag his back half. The little guy preferred to just slide around, and actually got around much better that way. We took the carpet out of the living room and put in a nice slippery laminate floor so he wouldn’t give himself rug-burn and we could clean up the mishaps that come along with not being able to control your body. About two years later, the paralysis had moved up far enough that his back was too weak for the cart anyway.

Still, he was determined. He would scoot around the house, “run” to the door for the doorbell and all the things a dog should do. In March of 2008 though, the paralysis started to take his front legs too. They went fast. We took him to the vet for his regular check up and were afraid it might be his last trip. The vet has better news though; “His front end is happy & healthy, so keep him that way.” It was true, he acted like a happy Sam. He never really lost his positive attitude.

Did I mention how stubborn he was? Mind you, this dog had no use of any of his legs, but we would put him on his bed (on of many that we used to try to prevent bed sores) and he would end up off the bed across the room. Finally, one day I caught him and watched with amazement as he pulled himself along the floor with his CHIN!
Yes, typically stubborn Corgi!

We were glad he had the will to live and the fortitude to find a way to get around. It did complicate things though as he favored one side and as much as we would turn, roll and reposition him he would end up back the way he wanted to be. That made the pressure sores harder to prevent, but we did whatever we could.

We always said that as long as he wanted to stay here, he would be welcome. In fact, at a photo event the Sunday before his last night, we talked about him with some folks and said that very same thing.

Over the last few days though, he slowly let us know it was time. He ate less enthusiastically and stopped throwing his water bowl around with his head when he was done with it. Then last night we gave him his bath. His pressure sores were really bad and we noticed that he would quiver rhythmically. We thought at firs that he might be cold, but then we realized that the quivering was in sync with his breathing. The poor guy couldn’t breath laying on his side anymore, so I picked up and held him in a position that made it easier for him. I never put him down after that until the end.

We debated whether to stay with him during the procedure and I couldn’t stand the thought of him being alone with strangers so I held him while it was done. True to form the last thing he did was bite at my chest, but it was a playful nibble as if to say “It will be OK dad, see you at the bridge.”

And then, he was gone.

We love you and miss you Sam.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

Author unknown…