In late 1999 I photographed “Golden Doorway” on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey. This photograph of a yellow lab has become one of my very special images. Over the following decade I photographed many more wonderful scenes. It was appropriate that exactly 10 years later I found myself preserving another special canine image. “The Reservoir Dogs” occurred on a perfect summer day on Waterbury Reservoir just outside of Stowe, Vermont.  I had brought my electric motor to Vermont and out onto the water I went with fishing pole, camera and soul-mate to spend a quiet afternoon just being languid on the water. It is from a canoe that most of my unique swan images have been photographed and being out on the water again brought my eye back into the environment of creativity that I have always cherished.  On this day I had no expectations of finding swans or any other special image while I was on the water.  This day was to be a day of fishing, drifting and wandering peacefully on water while relaxing with creativity.  Alas though, as almost serendipitous as it always seems to happen for me, I drifted into a place along the water’s edge that brought fate and camera together.  As I drifted along a cool shaded area of the reservoir, I heard the sound and then the appearance of a Labrador Retriever approaching the edge of the water. Moments after appearing, the dog was followed by a second canine who also found the water inviting. Within a few seconds both beings were in the water being simple dogs, paddling around in the reservoir and basking in the glory of a summer day. As excited as I was to see the scene unfolding, I also knew within me that this was going to be a special moment.  After changing my lense and focusing in on the dogs in the water, they seemed to react to my gaze and headed back to the shore. I was about 50 feet away when the dogs rose up on their rocky perch and began the ritual of shaking off the water! The light you see in the image is the light of my swan images; a light that is soft and in shadow; a light that reeks of saturation! For the dogs, they were saturated with water, but for me, it was a perfect balance of nature in the light that was given me. I exposed a few images of the pair before the lab turned and began a slow retreat back up the path from where he had come. In those few seconds, a special exposure was preserved that you find in this image. As I drifted away, I knew the encounter in Vermont was one of those very ideal moments in life that one is fortunate enough to preserve. It took ten years, but “Golden Doorway” has two new companions!