The Spotted Tongue Photography

06/25/2026

The third challenge at Unleashed Education's Embark Challenge was "Composition 101." In this case, the brief was a centered composition. As soon as I read that the first thing that came to mind was the great suspension bridge at Emerald Glen. As luck would have it, we were on vacation during that time frame. Ben loves to run across the bridge into the woods and then back again. So I sat at the end of it with my camera on the ground just WAITING for him to come back. After a few tries, I finally managed to get the shot I was looking for!

I am so pleased to say it got into the Top 10 for the challenge. No one can resist the Ben's great big happy face! Not even the folks at Unleased Education!

06/25/2026

I want to give a huge shout out to all the people at the Onondaga Kennel Association and the great folks at Hudson Valley Lure Coursing for an absolutely stellar trial. Everyone had a blast. And all I heard from my mom (who has now been to a number of these to help run my dogs) was how kind and amazing everyone was to her. She is not a dog sports person and so everyone being so helpful meant a lot to her (and to me!).

I'm working hard at the photos! Day 1 is completely edited and mostly sorted (there are a few unknowns due to fun runs and day of show...names I THINK I heard but well, let's face it, I don't hear well at all so who knows what was really said!). Day 2 I am almost done editing my photos of the day.

BUT...I have some absolutely amazing photos from my friend Tabitha Milano who you might have seen up at the release pen. She stepped in and took my other camera and lens and absolutely knocked it out of the park! So I have tnose to finish going through and editing.

My hope was to get the photos out by Friday but I'm not quite sure that's going to happen as I have to go into my office for once (to, you guessed it, take more photos!) and then drive to Dunkirk for another FastCAT trial. I will hopefully be most of the way done and so can get them posted this weekend. So stay tuned!!

A sneak peek of Saturday's fun!

06/20/2026

Next week! They're still taking late entries as the trial still has room! Come play!

Photographer promises not to pass out this year. They're calling for 70s for a high so it should be a great weekend!

06/17/2026

This past weekend we went on vacation to our absolute favorite vacation spot. If you don't know about The Emerald Glen Getaway, you should! We've been going there since 2012, when it was run by the awesome Glen Highland Farm Border Collie rescue (who we got Ben from...no, he is not a Border Collie mix at all lol).

It's always a fun change to get some photos of the dogs running amok off leash with friends, both old and new. A few of my favorites of the many photos I took of Ben and Lea having a blast!

06/16/2026

The OKA FastCAT trial is just a handful of days away so I'm bringing this post back!

Call this "So you want good FastCAT photos!"

Obviously this all comes with the caveat of "know your dog" but all things being equal:

1. If your dog is really driven to chase the bags and run, stand somewhere behind me. Let them come down that far before you catch them. If you stand up by the timer, you'll either (a) catch your dog and the photos I'll get will be with the dog fairly small in the frame or worse, distorted by heat because of the distance or (b) your dog will blow past you as you try to catch them and I'll still get cool photos of your dog running past me or getting the bags but you'll also be in the background.

2. Stand on the opposite side of the photographer unless you want your butt in the photos (and I know *I* don't want mine in them!). If your dog needs you to position yourself on the same side as I am let me know...I'm happy to quickly move to the other side (unless it's pouring rain in which case I may stay huddled under my umbrella). Note that I usually pick my side based on the background and sun direction so it may mean shooting into a more cluttered background or into the sun.

3. Let your dogs get the bags! That's their reward. You don't have to let them tear them to shreds, but let them get on the bags and then go collect them. Plus it makes for super fun photos.

4. This seems silly but: wipe the gunk away from their eyes before you get in line! Yes, I CAN remove that, but I don't from the basic photos. So unless you're buying fully processed photos, it's still going to be there.

5. Don't worry if the dog comes to see me after the run. As long as they're not aggressive I am totally good with being smothered with kisses, walked on, and slobbered on by your dogs. I am EXCELLENT at protecting my lens. One Golden liked to basically throw himself at me. A little Yorkie and a Cavalier decided I was good to climb on. I love them all. If you know your dog is a little...*ah hem*...over the top with their love, let me know and I'll be prepared to set the camera down and move away from it to greet your dog. I do this because I love dogs. ALL dogs. And so I'm always thrilled when they come see me.

5. Mostly, have fun! The weather for this weekend looks FABULOUS and I can't wait!

If you want to be notified when photos are ready, check the comments for a link!

06/15/2026

The 2nd challenge in the Unleashed Education's Embark challenge was "Get down." The goal of this one was to get as low as possible, get those photos from their viewpoint.

Anyone who knows my FastCAT photography or has worked with me for portraits knows I am generally flat out on my belly shooting as low as I can get (and most people know I love "action portraits"!. For this one, I was shooting with the camera almost in the grass (I had to raise it up a bit because the puppy was so small!) and using the screen to be able to set up the shot.

This adorable Beagle puppy was so perfect with her giant flying ears as she ran straight at me.

My photo made the top 10 and I couldn't be more thrilled!

06/14/2026

It's ALMOST TIME!! OKA's FastCAT is next weekend and it looks like a fabulous weekend of low 70s and partly cloud weather. I am so excited to be their photographer again? Who am I going to see there?

If you want to know when photos are ready, you can sign up here to be notified when the photos are ready!

https://www.thespottedtongue.com/event-galleries-1/oka-fastcat---june?ct=3

06/09/2026

Come see what your friends at the Skyline FastCAT trial have been buying! Thank you all so much for your purchases and even more so for your nice comments!

06/08/2026

Coming up next for me is -- MORE FASTCAT!

The OKA FastCAT (June 20/21) closes June 6/12. So get those entries in! Day of Show (and fun runs!) will be accepted if the trial doesn't fill. So don't lose your spot! It should be an awesome time. We're at Maxwell Park this time.

The Western Lakes FastCAT (June 27/28) closes TOMORROW (June 9). Have you signed up? If you haven't, it's time!! Late entries may be accepted if the trial is not full, but you'll have to reach out to the secretary for that.

Premiums for both can be found on my Upcoming events page!

The Spotted Tongue Photography - Upcoming Events