I hate riding in the backseat of the car, I can't see anything, I have no idea where we're going and I can't even reach my balls. Its just not fair when the others get to ride at the front. I hate being chained up and closed in like this, all I want to do is run. I think I heard Ryan say we were going to the beach, I hope so. I went there once already and they had this stuff instead of grass which was really soft and I could dig down really low, tastes weird though. Theres also water there, but not in a pond, just out on the floor and it keeps coming towards me but if I bark loud enough it goes away again. Ryan tells me not to be afraid of the waves but I don't see anyone waving, just these big walls of water coming to get me.
I don't remember seeing my first sunset but I'll remember this one. As some of you will have already realised from my photos I got a dog recently. He's a French Bulldog and he called Otis, oh and he's awesome. We got him at 10 weeks and have been itching to take him to the beach ever since. Unfortunately if you've ever had a dog you'll know they cant until after all of their vaccinations so as soon as they were done and the two week wait was over we wasted no time in going and we've taken him as much as we can ever since. He loves to dig, face first in the sand little paws going relentlessly like pistons, searching for absolutely nothing other than the pure enjoyment of digging. He likes to splash through the water but hates the waves as they crash towards him, he hasn't quite figured them out yet. Anyway here's the night he saw his first sunset.
I'm pretty sure Ryan is a photographer or something like that. He's always got his camera with him and he's always trying to take photos of me. He's worse when we're at the beach, he's always calling my name and pretending he's got treats just so I walk towards him, but he doesn't always have any so now I think stuff him and just carry on in the opposite direction, plus I need to stay alert so the water doesn't get too close and try to attack me again. I've already seen the water swallow up the surfers so I don't want that happening to me!
As he's only 3 months old he can only walk for 15 minutes or so, so we decided to take him for his first sunset walk down at Crantock beach in Newquay. The beach is vast and plenty of room to maintain social distancing and still have room to let him run. The sand dunes have collapsed with the recent weather so the main path to the beach is blocked off, we walk around the other way and come out to a high tide and The Gannel at high tide. On it there are stand up paddleboarders, kayakers, people swimming, dogs playing and further out there are surfers. In the distance on the horizon I can see people fishing from the cliff edge and they're silhouetted by the orange sky beyond them.
SAND! Thats what its called, I heard Ryan and Paige discussing how soft it was here, this sand is much nicer than the last beach, I cant wait to start digging here! I love it when we all go to the beach together, its like we're all enjoying the same thing at the same time although they never dig like I do, I dont know why they don't, for some reason they just stand at look at the water, I'm not sure what they're looking for out there.
We walk with the dog up to the waters edge and let him paddle through the shallow water while we dip our toes. The water isn't as cold as I was expecting, its always the thought of it thats worse, once you're in you realise its not actually that bad and even the cold can feel refreshing. I'm not sure if you've ever tried taking a photo of a dog at the beach but they're not very cooperative. He's always looking the wrong way or the running away from me, even trying to tempt him with treats doesn't work. I love seeing his little paw prints in the wet sand, at home I can see and feel how much bigger he's getting but at the beach and around other dogs I realise how small he still is. He's unsure of other dogs but he's getting used to them slowly. For now hes just running in every direction, smelling all the smells and chasing anything that moves. As we walk the sky is already a deep golden orange, the sky is reflecting off the wet sand and the air is warm around us. Its one of those nights where you can tell the colours of the sunset will be amazing, the orange is deep and dark on the horizon and the sky above the sun is a strange pinky colour. So many different colours and the sun hasn't even set yet. I try my best to get photos of the dog, the sunset, Paige, Paige and the dog enjoying the sunset but as I'm lining up a shot a single person walks across my line of sight, a lonely silhouette of a man slowly walking through the shiny gold wet sand, leaving footprints behind him, beyond him a paddleboarder starts to lose their balance and just as I take the shot the dog runs into shot from below me. Perfectly capturing three very different perspectives in one. It felt as if time stood still for just a second and allowed me to get everything at once.
I love meeting all the new people at the beach, they all tell Ryan and Paige how cute I am and then give me all the belly rubs and ear scratches I need. Sometimes they have their own dogs but no one ever says they're cuter than me. One thing I've noticed is that people aren't as happy to see each other as they are to see me, why don't they hug and embrace like dogs do? If I was a human I'd be excited to see my friends every time I seen them. Ryan likes to take pictures of the sun a lot, I think he's worried that someones going to take it away but its nearly always in the same place when I look for it. I'm not sure where it goes at the end of the day, maybe it goes to bed like I do when I'm tired.
The colours of the sunset seemed to engulf us. Whichever direction we looked the sky was full of colour. The golden sky was reflecting down from the glass fronted houses up on the cliffs and up from the wet sand on the beach. The beach was quiet, the odd couple or family walking by and the odd paddleboarder here and there, it gave us a chance to pick a nice spot and stand and watch as the sun slowly disappeared and the colours of the sky changed. The air was still warm as the sun went down and we stayed for a while after. I always feel like the afterglow is more colourful, its softer and feels a lot more calming, the pastel colours all rolling into one, the sound of the waves at your feet, the distant cry of a bird, the slight salty taste in the air, the warm wet sand under your bare feet, its a feeling that can transport you. As a photographer you try to tell a story and give the viewer a sense of how it felt being there. This was the reason I started the blog, to share my feelings and experiences while out and about, this night, this is what I want to share with you all, this magical feeling of being by the sea.
I think Ryans going to take us all home now, he's finally put his camera away and we're heading back towards the car. I'm feeling tired now, its hard when my little legs sink into the sand. I wish I could run all day at the beach, I also wish I had a tail so I could show how happy I was. I think this is my favourite beach so far, maybe next time I'll let Ryan take some more photos of me then he might bring me here more often.
There comes a point when I'm out when I put the camera away and just try to take everything in, to feel the breeze and smell the air, to notice the feeling of sand under my feet and to close my eyes and listen to the waves, to just relax and enjoy being there in the moment. I never thought I'd be the dog type of guy but I'm definitely warming to it, not sure what I'd do without him now. Someone once said that people can learn a lot from dogs, he said that when someone you love walks through the door, even if it's the fifth time that day that you should go totally insane with joy. That feeling you get when your dog does that to you never gets old. Maybe its something to think about, we are able to give that feeling to the people we love most, so why not give it a go?
Music - Rob Riccardo - Adventure Of Me
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