This is my friend Prince Rupert (well, "Rupert", anyway, I just bestowed the title on him and I don't think he was actually involved in the English Civil War or ever commanded the Royal Navy), who is anticipating the re-throwing of his ball for about the 23rd time that day.

I'm not sure how he got the cobwebs on his head or the dirt on his nose, but Rupert is, to put it mildly, an energetic young canine so he gets into things. He also views me as a two legged Boxer and expects me to chase him around the play equipment to try to get the ball off him, which would have been easier on a day which was (a) not in the middle of summer, (b) not 30 degrees C, and (c) not when I was carrying an OM-5 with a 40-150 lens around my neck.

It also speaks to what I said in the introduction to this gallery. The camera was in bracket mode from my previous shoot and I couldn't remember which of the 3500 menu items I had to go through to reset it to a standard burst mode which would have been suitable to shoot a high speed part-Border Collie. I thought that I had the bracketing setting added to my custom menu, but hey guess what, it wasn't there.

Then there were some issues with framing. I took what would have been good shots...had I had more of his body in the frame.

So... on day 1 of 2025, I was proven correct. I need to get out shooting more this year. I still regard this as more of a PESO than a PAD gallery, but I'm hoping that "ESO" is "a lot more frequent than it has been".

Thanks for the practice, Rupert. I should be rehydrated from our play session after I mainline 40 litres of ice water and a bag of salt.