Over Memorial Day weekend Lorita was out of town visiting her sister in St. Louis.  So left home alone to my own devices, I was searching for fun things to do to pass the time.  Heather, a friend of mine from my days back in schutzhund, told me about a USDAA agility trial that she was competing in over the weekend.  Dogs, nice sunny weather, sold!

So I headed down to the agility trial and of course I brought a bag of some my favorite gear.  I’ve never been to an agility trial before, so I thought it would be a fun new challenge to shoot (I was right).  I decided to wield my new 5D Mark II with a 70-200 f/2.8L lens attached.  Now for those of you who have seen this lens, you will know that at about 8″ long and over 3lbs it’s not the most inconspicuous piece of glass in the world…  But it makes great photos plus it’s an excellent workout carrying it around all day!  Quite a few people noticed my setup and asked if I was going to be posting the photos online for people to buy.

I camped out at the edge of the field, watched some amazing dogs race their way through the agility course, happily shooting away.  Experimenting to find the best settings catch the dogs in action. Working on timing to get the shot as they would jump through hoops, speed through tubes, jump over hurdles and weave through obstacles.  Being unfamiliar with agility made things more challenging, as I didn’t know what to expect and couldn’t predict what was going to happen next. But having experience shooting dog sports definitely helped.  I did manage to come away with quite a few great shots for the day.

To everyone wondering if I was going to post the photos.  The answer is yes! They are available in our online proofing gallery.  It’s a public gallery so even if you weren’t at the trial go ahead and check them out.  These dogs did some pretty cool things and I had a blast watching them.  I definitely hope to watch/shoot a lot more trials in the future.