Last Sunday I had am opportunity to photograph my next door girlfriend while at her grandparent's home overlooking the Pond Orialle River and adjacent to a privet spear line in northeastern Washington State.

PLEASE NOTE: There were no commercial trains on this track, but rather a fun train sponsored by the Lions Club as a fund raiser. The 2 engines hooked onto some vintage rail cars, load up with a bunch of kids and some adults, and then roared down the track at the nose bleed speed of about 5 MPH. I can absolutely assure you this was safer than crossing any city street in the United States.

A mixture of outdoor and indoor (high ISO images) from Chicago's suburban zoo, most from the EF 300 f/2.8L IS II along with either the 2.0x or 1.4x extenders. EXIF data is available from the Flickr host site by clicking the URL titles.

Inca Tern by Paul Sager, on Flickr
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Black-crested Mangabey
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American white pelican
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Colobus Monkey
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Black-crested Mangabey
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Western lowland gorilla
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Green-winged Macaw
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Although I've been blessed with wonderful friends during my lifetime, I must admit that my best buddies have been of the 4-legged variety. Their love, devotion, trustworthiness, loyality, and wonderful company, have always been remarkable attributes, in my opinion. I believe I personally have learned a lot from them. Here are a few shots of 4 (all Labrador retrievers) of mine that are at the top of the list. Skipper, and Skye are no longer with me, but I still enjoy the daily company of Annie, and Moxie. I hope you like these shots.


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Skipper was frequently my co-pilot.

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The two of us spent many hours in the duck blind together. This photo of Skipper won a blue ribbon at the state fair a few years back.

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Skye was a very athletically built female that most people assumed was male, because of her muscular build. She was a powerful dog with a heart of gold.

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Skye's sleeping habbits were often comical.

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Skipper and Skye wandered off one Saturday after the 3 of us finished teaching a class in gun dog training to a large group of kids and their dads. The two of them found this cute kid, and immediately made friends with him. At least they were having a great time when I found them. I never did learn the name of that young sheriff with the red cowboy hat, but I did snap a few shots of my two guys enjoying his company. He was apparently giving a dissertation dealing with closing one eye and shooting.

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As the years passed, so did Skipper. I ended getting another pup that I named Annie. She quickly became attached to Skye, and they were inseparable.

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Annie is now 9 1/2 years young, very active, and without any gray hair. When Skye passed on after a long good life, I got another pup and named her Moxie. Today you never find Moxie without Annie by her side. They are a marvelous pair together. They are both great hunting dogs, and definitely my inspiration to stay active.

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This is Moxie, my youngest. She will be turning 2 at the end of October. Without a doubt, she is one of the most affectionate, and easy to train dogs that I've every had. I love her hook shapped tail (not very commonly found with labs).