Upstate, New York

We spent the weekend at our lake house in Upstate, New York. And my photography was all about our dog, Sasha, and shots of the lake. And sometimes, both together.

Sasha is a black Cocker Spaniel, and is quite hard to photograph since her fur is so dark. In photographs she can often just look like a black blob with eyes. But, in these photos, I think she looks great. The exposure seems pretty good under various lighting conditions. We've also been teaching her how to swim (she's only 10 months old) so I wanted to get some action shots and try out the faster shutter speeds on the camera. I love the way even the water droplets are frozen.

The lake itself looked stunning all weekend. The evening light is always so beautiful. I'm still exploring the idea of including a strong foreground object in order to make the main subject stand out more. I think it works really well in this shot. This was taken around 7pm, just as the sun was starting to disappear.

As the sun continued to set, the light became more and more dramatic. These shots captured it beautifully.

Earlier in the afternoon, I took a few black and white shots, which turned out OK. The lake was a bit rough, so this shot is certainly not perfect. I'd prefer to have captured some of the reflections. I also managed to catch a few candid shots of my husband.

Finally, I wanted to try out a few close up shots inside the house and use the macro lens. I love the way the camera allows me to get such a narrow depth of field. Next week, I hope to get out amongst the country-side a little more.