DockDogs in Deadwood!

On Friday, June 18, the National DockDogs competition came to Deadwood during Wild Bill Days.  The timing couldn't have been better, as I received my last dose of chemotherapy on Thursday and the day after chemo I always feel great, so I grabbed my camera and headed to Deadwood for this fantastic opportunity!  I love watching DockDogs on TV, and was familiar with the format of the events, but I had never had the opportunity to see these incredibly athletic dogs perform live!  I cannot say enough about the atmosphere of this event! Between the event presenters, Royal Canin, and the dog owners and handlers, they make sure to make everyone feel completely welcome. It was terrific to see the locals with novice dogs who were making their first jump getting advice and support from the seasoned pros!  I was also given plenty of advice and tips as to what kind of photos the owners like to see, the best places to stand around the pool, etc., all of which were immensely appreciated!

Phog takes a leap in the DockDogs Big Air!

Needing a little guidance on his first effort!

David with Jet discussing their strategy for the Extreme Vertical!

Stacy showing Bo where to jump for the Extreme Vertical, 

but he has it all figured out!

Jet, a Belgian malinois, shows some focus in the Extreme Vertical!

Jet, with handler Dave Smith of Sit Means Sit Dog Training, swept the competition of the day, 

winning the Big Air, the Extreme Vertical, and the Fan Favorite!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it back to Deadwood on Saturday due to the chemo effects setting in, but I had a great time on Friday watching these dogs  and their handlers have so much fun at this event!  If anyone missed this opportunity to see these dogs in action, they will be competing at the Laramie County Fair on August 7th & 8th in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a great time for a road trip! 

The complete gallery of images from Friday's competition can be viewed and purchased at Thompson Photography ~ Events.

Storm Chasing in Hot Springs, South Dakota

Wednesday, June 16, was a day of extremely active weather in the Northern Hills area.  My good friend, Kristi, was at a welding class in Hot Springs, and since there was some storm activity building up that direction, I decided to head that way and pick her up after class so we could go see if we could find some lightning or clouds to photograph.  With the Doppler showing two very active storms in our area, we found some great clouds, got hail on my new car, and even ran into Reed Timmer and the Dominator!

It was a great evening of storm chasing and we saw a lot of beautiful country!  These images and many others of South Dakota weather can be viewed and purchased in my Weather Gallery at Thompson Photography.

Spearfish Post 164 Legion Baseball

I FINALLY made it to a ball game! All spring I have been getting more and more bummed because on the days it was raining, I would feel good and the games would be postponed, and the days directly after my chemo when I felt horrible, it would be nice out and I wouldn't feel up to shooting the games.  Everything finally came together, and on Wednesday night, June 7, at 5:30 Spearfish hosted Belle Fourche for a double header.  It was wonderful to make it back out to a baseball game!

Images from the 5:30 game can be viewed and purchased at Thompson Photography - ALB Baseball.  After this game I headed over to the Pope and Talbot Youth Sports Complex for an 8:00 PM Majors game between SP1 and SP4.  More images from this game can be viewed at Thompson Photography - Majors Baseball.

Black Hills Sunset

Usually I don't get too excited about the sunsets in the Black Hills area, but with all the humidity in the air yesterday, I knew we were likely in for a spectacular show last night...and I wasn't disappointed!

More images from this beautiful sunset as well as other images from the Black Hills area can be viewed and purchased at Thompson Photography ~ The Beautiful Black Hills.

Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Greater Dakota Conference Track Meet

Although the forecast called for a 40% chance of rain, Saturday proved to be a perfect day for a track meet, with an overcast day and perfect temperatures for the athletes.  Although, due to my chemotherapy, I still got too tired to make it through the entire meet, I lasted for almost two hours and definitely enjoyed being outside and back behind the camera!  Here are a few highlights from the events I covered...

Abby Albers broke her old state record with a new jump of 19'3"!!!

More images can be viewed and purchased at Thompson Photography.

Baby Buffalo in Custer State Park

After being away from my blog for a while as I underwent surgery for breast cancer and then started treatment with chemotherapy, I am starting to feel better and am hoping to begin venturing out a bit more with my camera! After many days of rain, snow, wind, and overall dreary weather, Mother's Day on Sunday was a beautiful day for a drive to Custer State Park for my husband to do some fishing in Stockade Lake and to hopefully find some baby buffalo.

After my husband spent about an hour catching a couple nice largemouth bass in Stockade Lake, we headed out on our quest for some baby buffalo!  We were in luck, and we found a small herd grazing and resting in the afternoon sun on the south side of the park.  Although it was a little early in the afternoon for the babies to be up and playing too much, there were a couple who woke up from their naps to provide some entertainment!

Chasing prairie dogs...

Bad itch!

Best of friends...

Lunch break!

Telling us it is time to go!

The coyotes were out in full force looking for dinner in the prairie dog towns!

We had a great day and it was nice to get out of the house and back behind the camera!

One Last Trip to the Black Hills Stock Show!

Well, the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo is over for one more year, but I was able to make it to Rapid City to spend one more day taking in the sites, the smells, and the crowds!  While there I spent the entire morning visiting with vendors, photographing several of the bulls, took in the second go of slack barrel racing, and of course had to visit the petting zoo!

I had a lot of fun with the barrel racing, taking "nonstandard" barrel racing shots, focusing more on the power and beauty of the horse rather than the standard image showing the front of the horse rounding the barrel.

The stock show may be over, but if you have any upcoming spring rodeos or horse shows that you would like covered, call Jana at 605-641-2335 or email at Jana at Thompson Photography.  Thompson Photography is also available for custom livestock photography and sale catalogs...call for details!