Snow Dogs in Perinton

Winter's final blast last week turned the fields near our house into a frozen fantasy land for Tessa and Quest. Here's the two of them lounging on the deck:


On Sunday the sky was clear and bright, and I was itching to give my new Tamron 28-75mm zoom lens a workout, so Dawn and I took the dogs out for some playtime. Quest made the most of the opportunity, and jumped through the snow with abandon:


Powerful wind gusts whipped up the snow, sometimes into big vorticies that slid across the field, but the dogs didn't seem to mind:
     

At twelve, Tessa's not as spry as she used to be, but she did a good job keeping up with Quest:


She certainly looked like she enjoyed her winter romp, as that Malamute smile attests:


The temperatures are rising and spring has just arrived, so barring some unforeseen arctic storm, I think we've seen the last significant snow for the year. It's always fun to watch the dogs cavort in the snow. With Tessa's advancing years I don't know how many more winters she'll be able to enjoy, so it was a real treat to have the opportunity to shoot her having fun in something close to her natural environment.

I'm well pleased with the performance of my newest lens. The Tamron focuses fast, and its sharpness and contrast are on par with much more expensive lenses. Its constant f/2.8 aperture makes it a fast lens-- great for indoor shots or low-light situations. It looks like it would make an ideal "walkaround" lens for taking candid people shots and for general photojournalism work. On a cropped-sensor camera like the 20D it loses the wide end, but I have Tamron's 17-35mm zoom to cover that. Add their standard five year warranty to its reasonable price (the equivalent Canon lens costs 3-4 times more, and carries only a 1 year warranty), and the Tamron becomes an unbeatable bargain.