Splash Dogs - Wags for Wishes 2009

Wags for Wishes began in 2003 and is a festival and doggie extravaganza. This year it was held at the Otay Ranch Town Center Mall in Chula Vista, CA from July 10-12, 2009. I know that most of my readers are dog owners, but I have to admit that I'm not a big dog lover. But I couldn't pass up a great photo opportunity that was free to the public, close to my home and besides flying dogs always make compelling photographs.

Wags for Wishes includes dog competitions, dog events for everyone to try, vendors, pet adoptions, and entertainment. I photographed this one particular event called Splash Dogs where the dogs compete to see who jumps the longest (thankfully not the dog owners).

Be sure you have a UV filter on your camera lens and a micro fiber cloth because you and your camera will get wet upon landing! They are called splash dogs for a reason.

I captured all photos of the Splash Dog competition with my Canon Powershot SX1 IS. I meant to bring my Canon 50D with my Canon 100-400 IS lens but I got tired from carrying it the day before at the Over the Line Tournament (that's another blog entry).

The Canon Powershot SX1 IS is a camera I have been looking for in quite some time. It has most of the features of a DSLR camera but in a compact body. The two features why I went with this camera were HD movie shooting and a CMOS sensor (Canon's first in a non DSLR camera) that allows you to shoot 4 frames a second. I was amazed of the action photos I was able to capture and more importantly the accurate focusing. Obviously, not as sharp if I shot with my Canon 50D and Canon "L" lens but the weight was much easier on my shoulders!

The problem with compact cameras has always been the shutter lag, but with the Canon Powershot SX1 IS I was able to capture that "decisive moment," such as the photograph above.

I guess that was my fill of dog photography for the year. Feel free to leave a comment and for you dog owners let me know what kind of dog you have and why you are such an avid dog lover. You can even leave a comment on why I should own a dog!

Stay tuned for my next blog on a true San Diego original -- World Championship Over the Line Tournament!

Sam Antonio Photography at Flickr

Sam Antonio Photography at Pbase

Danny is Back in Town!

My nephew Danny and his girlfriend Lisa are visiting San Diego for a week. They are staying with me at my luxurious and humble abode. I picked them up at the airport after a direct flight from Chicago, Il and then took them to lunch at the Red Sails Inn in Shelter Island. Afterwards, we drove to Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma.

I'm sure they are happy to be in San Diego (that's why they are smiling) rather than spend another summer in Palatine with the humidity and mosquitoes. Also, for Danny, who's from San Diego originally, he's glad to be back in his hometown of Sun Diego!

I took this photo of them with my trusty Canon Powershot G9 near Cabrillo Point (cloudy WB, vivid color setting, -2/3 fill flash exposure compensation).

Cabrillo National Monument commemorates explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovery of San Diego Bay in 1542. It was on that trip that he led the first European expedition to discover the west coast of the United States. A statue of Cabrillo looks out over the bay and toward the skyline of downtown San Diego.