The daily lives of Brett, Julia & Data
Data was entered in the New Brunswick Kennel Club dog show in Edison, N.J. this weekend, so Julia, my mom, and I went down to watch him perform. He took second in his class.
Here are some photos of him (one at the show and a few of him playing at home with his mother, Joey). Click “there’s more to…” to see them all or visit my SmugMug.
In addition to our day-of coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden last week, a recap of which you can read about here and on The News-Times website, we ran a big feature on the show in Sunday’s paper. Here are the pages, which were designed by Mike DeSalvo. Click on the images to see a high-resolution PDF.
Well, I nabbed my first real photo assignment for The News-Times, and boy was it a good one.
Melissa Bruen and I were able to travel to New York City to cover the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. There were about 10 dogs from our coverage area that released their contact information to the media, so we spent time following their progress through the show. One of these dogs was Stump, the 10-year-old Sussex spaniel that took home the top prize, Best in Show. One of his owners hails from Redding, a town solidly within our realm. We covered two other dogs (Ellie Mae, a white bull terrier, and Toby, a German shorthaired pinscher) that made it to their group finals.
I’ve been to dog shows for as long as I can remember, but never Westminster. The experience was certainly memorable, with some aspects of the show being what I had expected and others not so much. It was also both similar to and different from other dog shows – the dogs are the same, but the people and the atmosphere totally unique.
A slideshow of my photos from the show has been posted here, including several exclusive shots of Stump that were taken just minutes before he trotted out into the ring for Best in Show. I should also note that I am visible in the first shot of this slideshow from The New York Times. Due to the high visibility of my poorly-selected blue-and-white-striped shirt, I was also apparently on TV several times throughout the broadcast.
One of the most rewarding aspects of this experience was being able to get back behind my camera as a photojournalist and not just a hobbyist. I have been feeling anxious to shoot for a little while now and this was a great chance to do so. Hopefully, the powers that be at the office enjoyed my work and I’ll be able to be more and more active photographically.
As always, let me know what you think, which are your favorites, and which ones you dislike!
One final note, I have created a Twitter account. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but you can follow me @brettmickelson.
Today, I went down to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ to pick up Data at the Big Apple Sporting Society show. A month ago, we dropped Data off with Kathryn Mines, a professional handler. With her, he has won four points, including a three-point major. (More information on the structure of dog shows can be found here.) He didn’t win today, but we were thrilled to have him back after the show. I stayed out of sight and scent until he was finished in the ring, so when he did see me, he was beyond thrilled, snorting and running around in circles.
On my way home, I passed a pretty nasty accident involving three cars, one of which was in the process of being devoured by flames.
Since arriving home, Julia watched the final episode of Six Feet Under (one of the greatest shows of all time in my opinion) and is now watching The Empire Strikes Back for the first time (unbelievable, I know). Data is settling back into his favorite seat on the yellow chair and all seems to be well in the world.
Here are some photos from the day. Click “there’s more to…” to see them all, or visit my SmugMug.
Data in the ring.
Per Sarah’s request, here’s an update on Data:
We haven’t seen him in a month. He’s been showing in Florida, New York, and New Jersey. We’re going to pick him up on Thursday, at which point we will have a much more comprehensive update with photos and everything.
As Brett mentioned on Friday, Data is in Florida for a few weeks with handler Kathy Mines and is competing in shows in an attempt to win points towards his championship title. Kathy has been kind enough to update us regularly on his progress, which I especially have appreciated considering the fact that I feel a bit like a mother who last week sent her child off to camp for the first time. She tells us that Data has apparently been doing well, although he’s very excitable (no surprise) and has struggled a bit to contain his enthusiasm whilst in the ring.
Well this morning Kathy called to give us some fantastic news: Data had been doing phenomenally well in the ring this morning, and managed to win a 3-point major! This is a huge accomplishment for him because it earns him 3 points (and one out of two mandatory major wins) towards the 15 that he needs to earn a championship title! We couldn’t be more excited and proud. Kathy also said that he’s starting to get into the routine, and I hope this means we’ll have more good news for all of you in the coming days!
<3 J
Data beat two other dogs to win his first class today, but didn’t place in the next round. Though his weight is pretty much perfect for a healthy dog, he is thinner than the current trend in show dogs. As a result, he is able to win some classes because he has such a beautiful face, but doesn’t go past that with his body yet. Here are a few photos from the show. Click “there’s more to…” to see them all.
This Great Dane is obviously thrilled to have a child on its back. Continue reading ‘Spring Fling Cluster Dog Show’
Today Data was entered in his first show since before the road trip. He was the only dog in his first class, so he won that, but did not place in the next class. I spent some time wandering through the rest of the show before heading home. He will be back in the ring tomorrow and Sunday.
This afternoon, Julia came up for the weekend. We got a call from my mom, saying that she was doing a cesarean section on a pregnant Old English bulldog, so we decided to head to the hospital to help and watch.
Here are photos from the day. Click “there’s more to…” to see them all.
“IS THAT TREAT FOR ME?”
Newborn puppies. Continue reading ‘Dog Day’