Just a dog and a beach

The weather (snow, frigid temperatures, bitterly cold wind) has kept us housebound again this week, so there's been little to blog about and even less to photograph, unless you are enthusiastic about photos of sleeping dogs.  However, I've been taking an online photography course, and each module has assignments to complete.  Thankfully, it is self paced, but I have cabin fever and while the assignments could be completed indoors who wants to look at a photo of my messy kitchen or a heap of laundry?

So today, with temperatures just above freezing, much of the snow washed away by rain, and a window of opportunity when it was neither snowing nor raining nor terribly icy, Maggie, my camera, and I went to the beach. 

It was COLD.  It was WINDY.  And we'd had one of the highest king tides ever which had washed over parts of the boardwalk and piled logs on the beach and brought in seaweed a foot or more deep.  

Still, I was determined to work on some homework by taking photos that illustrated the 'rule of thirds' (photo composition in which one pays attention to imaginary vertical and horizontal lines and the intersecting points) as well as a few other photographic concepts. 

Maggie was a willing subject.  However, my hands were shaking and I was struggling with the camera's focus and I badly need new glasses so I'm not actually very happy with these photos - I think I've taken better ones in the past.  But I know my readers like Maggie, and I needed something to post, so here you are: 

That's seaweed behind her - and she's standing on a log!

I'm also practicing with my new photo editing program,
so here I removed the leash from the photo above.

It was definitely windy! Maggie reminded me that human models get paid
big bucks for this windblown look!

We moved on down the beach to a place with less seaweed and more sand.  I let Maggie choose the places to pose - as long as I have a camera in my hand, she continually seeks out logs and other suitable 'runways' to model. 

This one didn't have much to do with the assignment, but Maggie thought 
it would make a good backdrop anyway. 

I took a few more shots for another assignment - boring stuff like triangles and circles on nearby buildings - and then with frozen hands and a happy dog I headed back home. I hope there are warmer days soon so we can return to hiking and going to parks and watching sunrises or sunsets.  Until then, it's just a dog and a beach.