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For Spark

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted July 17, 20068,342 views22 comments

I have this old yellow lab mix, Spark. He really loves to join me in the field on the weekends. He is close to 12 years old and he recently had an episode, which I thought was his last. After a few weeks, he's rebounded although he can’t walk well anymore. So we can no longer walk miles – but a morning with him is...well...a great morning. I love him deeply. When I photograph, he usually hangs around or at times walks off looking for rodents. On occasion he’ll kick up something in my direction – in this case, it was this Halloween Pennant which flew and landed on the tallest Rudbeckia just a few yards from me.

300/4 and extension @ f/16 & my friend Spark. A slight crop of the top and bottom.

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on July 17, 2006 at 5:19 PM

Will, Great shot

. I never get to see these beauties on such attractive perches. Those drops of water on the petals really add to the aesthetics.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments

Comment posted by David Chauvin on July 17, 2006 at 6:29 PM

Wow,,,what a great dog! Sometimes it's tough to watch them get older, but as long his quality of life is still good, enjoy his company.

It's so rare to see dragons land on flowers that my heart beats faster whenever the situation presents itself. I was going to post a pennant but looking at this quickly made me change my mind.

Outstanding image!

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Buck on July 17, 2006 at 6:33 PM

Great commentary Will to go with an amazing photo. A beautiful flower, water droplets, and great details. VERY nice.

Nathan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1101 Posts, 13589 Comments

Comment posted by renae sandberg on July 17, 2006 at 7:12 PM

PERFECTION

It's hard to watch they age, but they bring such happiness it's impossible to be without them. You owe Spark a LOT of treats for this one.

Registered on December 29, 2004, 313 Posts, 2476 Comments

Comment posted by Christine Adams on July 17, 2006 at 9:00 PM

Hi Will! Wonderful story of an old friend, how they affect our lives, huh? Your image here is really cool! I'm sooo not a bug person, but I can really appreciate the efforts and results you and the others come up with. I'm in awe!!

Registered on January 24, 2006, 119 Posts, 1871 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Martin on July 17, 2006 at 9:11 PM

Great story! I have a 6 year old yellow lab/huskey mix who gets so excited when I grab the photo gear after work. He loves to just wander around the property with me.

Awesome photo by the way!

Registered on December 6, 2005, 200 Posts, 2209 Comments

Comment posted by Ronnie Gaubert on July 17, 2006 at 9:25 PM

Will,

Nice composition and definetly a rare sight to get one perched on a flower. I am impressed by the size of the Rudbeckia. The ones I planted in my yard a few years back did not achieve this size. Don't know if a little fill flash would have worked in this case, but just a tad more light on the DF would have been icing on the cake.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 810 Posts, 3495 Comments

Comment posted by W. Tracy Parnell on July 17, 2006 at 10:51 PM

Fantastic!

Registered on March 4, 2004, 27 Posts, 1638 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on July 17, 2006 at 10:52 PM

Will: What a superb shot this is! And a great story as well. May Spark recover his quickly. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Duane Rosenkranz on July 17, 2006 at 11:15 PM

Great shot. I love it.

Registered on October 13, 2004, 280 Posts, 2661 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Mullen on July 18, 2006 at 12:55 AM

Registered on June 4, 2006, 133 Posts, 1056 Comments

Comment posted by Ganesh H Shankar on July 18, 2006 at 1:25 AM

Very fresh and beautiful

Registered on March 1, 2004, 324 Posts, 1867 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Cordes on July 18, 2006 at 7:02 AM

Wonderful detail. The soft light and dew enhance the image.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 451 Posts, 3366 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Garber on July 18, 2006 at 8:22 AM

Very Nice!

Registered on November 17, 2003, 704 Posts, 3535 Comments

Comment posted by Jeroen Stel on July 18, 2006 at 8:53 AM

Will, Great story! Hope you have many years to come with your Spark!
And what a great shot it produced! Well done!

Greetings,

Jeroen Stel

Registered on November 10, 2003, 366 Posts, 481 Comments

Comment posted by Klaus Bombach on July 18, 2006 at 4:18 PM

Wow, what for a shoot. Wonderful colors, comp and DOF. Say hello to Spark from my cat Moritz.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 103 Posts, 430 Comments

Comment posted by Lori Kincaid on July 20, 2006 at 8:54 PM

Wow, what a dog! Oh, and the photo is nice, too! My heart skipped a bit when I saw your title. Funny, I haven't been to the macro gallery in some time (#$@! dial-up) but came to see if you'd posted anything lately. I'm glad to hear Spark is better.

Lori

Registered on November 15, 2003, 90 Posts, 2033 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Kirkham on July 22, 2006 at 4:10 AM

Lovely story matched with a stunning photograph.
Best wishes
Phil

Registered on October 9, 2004, 63 Posts, 153 Comments

Comment posted by David Kjaer on July 24, 2006 at 12:27 PM

Beautiful!

David

Registered on January 4, 2006, 128 Posts, 4170 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Lynch on January 4, 2007 at 10:04 PM

Will, an amazing image. Congratulations on your EP.

Registered on September 16, 2006, 773 Posts, 9940 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Moats on January 5, 2007 at 6:56 AM

Hey Will, congrats on the EP, well deserved.

Registered on October 20, 2004, 892 Posts, 6324 Comments

Comment posted by Behin Nazemroaya on May 6, 2007 at 5:24 PM

very cool shot. landing of a dragonfly is a rare occasion to be capture.in adition to backlighted situation that make this a greate & attractive shot. well done

Registered on May 6, 2007, 2 Posts, 8 Comments