The photograph titled “Fetch” was taken in April 2007 on one of the most beautiful beaches on the West Coast of North America. Stretching 1.7-miles of pure sand, Chesterman beach borders the Pacific Rim National Park in Tofino. Ones senses are constantly pounded by the wind, rain, salt and ocean swells that crash heavily onto the beach. I can remember back to when I was just 5 years old when my Mom and Dad took me to the beautiful beaches of Tofino for my very first time. I immediately fell in love but I don’t think I knew that quit yet. Being a typical boy at the age of 5 I remember rolling in the sand, and jumping in the tide pools. My mom was not overly pleased to say the least because every time I came in from the beach I was drenched from head to toe. The Long beach trip became an annual affair for my family. As I grew older this became more difficult. My dad was gone flying weeks at a time. My mom was working and my sister and I were in school. This isn’t even incorporating all the extra activities and commitments that my sister and I shared. Trying to find a time when all our schedules met perfectly was impossible. Therefore our annual Tofino visit was not so annual anymore. Last March my parents were talking about taking a trip somewhere. I eagerly suggested we go to Tofino, and that’s what we did. The last time we went I was 11 and hadn’t discovered photography yet. I was looking forward to all the pictures I would be able to get. It was a typical grey stormy morning when I went for a walk with camera in hand. On my walk I came across what looked like 3 families with young kids, and dogs. They were busy making sand castles, and digging in the sand. This very much reminded me of myself when I was a little guy. I sat down on a log and just watched the kids and the dogs interact. I started snapping some pictures. Then one of little girls started playing with her dog. I thought this would make for an excellent capture. So I sat looking through my camera at the girl and her dog. Snapped a few shots again. This is how I captured the image you see here entitled “Fetch.” Watching the kids play and interact made me feel like I was 5 again, roaming the beaches only worrying about what puddle I was going to jump in next. I was using a Nikon D70s with a 80-200 2.8D. This image was shot at F/2.8 @ 200mm with a 1/6000 shutter speed. ISO = 200. Using Photoshop CS2 I converted to BW and used curves/layer masks to add a little color.