2 days
19 sessions
30 dogs!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Valentine's mini photo sessions fundraiser! It was a first for both VBS and myself, but with lots of help (especially from some very adorable doggos) we raised just over $1300 for the Victoria Bulldog Society!

This week's instalment is a video, all shot on my phone. 

I generally welcome constraints on my photography and embrace experimentation of what can come out of having to 'work with what you've got'.
And today was one of those days.
It was so cold. The wind felt like ice hitting my cheeks. If I had my hands out for too long they'd start to freeze and stop working. 
And I'm getting over a case of shingles so lugging around my camera wasn't going to happen.

The experimentation can help me see and think about my subjects in a different way and it also presents a new opportunity with how I want to translate what I see.
Photographs, photo collage, movie.

So welcome to a beautiful, but very cold Volume 4 of Fridays at Fleming and thanks to Tica for being so camera ready and for coming back when we call her.

if video above doesn't work, it's also on my youtube channel: ​https://youtu.be/YzSlhBicFnY

Fridays at Fleming, vol 3, aka "why do seagulls stand on one leg"

For this week's Fridays at Fleming, I actually went on a Tuesday as my Friday buddies weren't going to be available on Friday. 
No matter. 
When you go on different days, you see different people.

It was very cold and icy this day.
Frost covered the docks, and while I watched a crow work away at something I almost wiped out on a nice patch of ice.

The ice made some beautiful patterns in the puddles, though it confused Tica to the point she had to bite at the ice as it cracked under her feet.
The wee robin that watched us.

Someone's been building a collection of bottle pieces in one of the bunkers.
A rock that looked like a duck, and then an eye was put on it and it turned into a dog.
And then we met a new dog. I got his name but didn't write it down. He was very friendly and very drooly and had incredible head tilts.

Though the sun had melted the frost from the docks, something in the water off the beach caught Tica's eye so we didn't do our usual walk on it.
A blue recycle bag was bobbing in the water. 
She just couldn't understand what it was... and she wanted to know... but there was no way she was going to go get it.
So I did.
Because throwing rocks at it didn't work and trying to reach out to grab it with a bit stick only gave me a soaker. 
So off came the shoes and I walked on my winter feet -- not the tougher feet of summer when I walk around barefoot -- over the cold rocks and into the water a few inches up my leg.

And the answer to the question "why do seagulls stand on one foot" became clear.
The water wasn't so bad really.
I'd do it again.

The rain had been starting and stopping.
And then drizzling.
And then stopping. 

We met a wee pup. An Icelandic Sheepdog.
And then a dog in the distance. Shannon wondered if she knew it. 
Lacy maybe?

Almost. Her name is Rainey.
She was out for a walk with her cousin Flaka, a transplant from South America who seemed to only care about one thing. Her stick.

The light drizzle was getting my camera a bit wet. Trying to keep the lens mostly dry, we ventured to the marker where a gull was hanging out. 
It flew away when Tica arrived, but clearly wanted back because as soon Tica wandered away, the gull swooped back through my frames as I was trying to photograph some Common Mergansers out on the water.

We hit the beach to explore for a few minutes then it was on to the dock because Tica was feeling brave today.
I watched the haze of drizzle with my eyes 
and then through my camera.

Thanks for stopping by!
​~w

Being the first Friday in February, I've decided it's the official, unofficial start of Fridays at Fleming, a weekly photo essay of my visit to Fleming Beach/Macaulay Point here in Victoria.

I've been going for about a year now with my friend Shannon, her dog Tica and sometimes my dog Mr Coco joins us. Sometimes my husband comes too. Recently I've started bringing my camera again because even though I know this place well now, each time I visit it's a bit different and I want to try to capture that same, yet differentness. Translating what I see and feel.

​Here is installment one:

It all started with two seagulls just sitting on the boat ramp,
but then dogs were headed in their direction so that moment of peace was short. 
The water was so calm -- literally the calm before the storm as the wind gusted up to blow-the-lid-off-a-garbage-can level in the afternoon.

Tica had her first treat on the picnic table.
Mr Coco wanted to be carried for a while.
We trundled along and happened to meet up with our friend from a couple weeks back, Rowan, who stopped in for treats. There were more dogs, crow friends, a face in the rocks.
​A sky that tells a different story every time I visit.
Little surprises along the way and a seagull who could strike a pose.
A very happy dog and her stick, little Uncle the Schnoodle puppy and then Sophie, who was one of the friendliest dogs I've ever met, stopped by to say hello.

Then we were back at the docks where a little one checked out the scenery and then the geese flew overhead.