Animals

Watergate Bay Dog Photoshoot

November 12, 2020
by Al Scarlett

Dog Love at Watergate Bay

Marc came down from Kent with his wife and their 2 beloved dogs. He contacted me to capture some photographs of his Cocker Spaniels running around one of the local beaches. Watergate Bay was my first choice, it was close to both of us and it just so happened that the tides were low first thing in the morning. This meant a huge empty beach with jaw-dropping scenery all to ourselves! This created the perfect backdrop to our dog photoshoot.

Someone once told me the definition of happiness is a dog on a beach. This couldn’t be more true once Harley and Floyd were let off their leash. They tirelessly teared up and down, racing to be first to collect their ball. There was a storm brewing out to sea which helped produces some dramatic light (my favourite). With the conditions changing every 5 minutes or so I was able to give Marc a variety of images to take home with him. Foam from the large waves drifted up the beach giving the photographs an extra element which I really liked.

On a beach shoot like this, I love watching the hounds as they are let off their leads for the first time. After a few runs, they quickly get used to me and with the help of Marc, we could start to control the shoot. They were excellent at retrieving the ball and made a beeline straight back for another throw. This is where I captured the action shots Marc was after. Once we had made our way to the North end of the beach I decided to take a few portraits of Harley and Floyd, covered in sand and drenched-through they looked like they had had a great morning on their Watergate Bay dog photoshoot.

I think we managed to tire them by the end of the session and I’m sure Marc’s throwing arm was also starting to feel it. As soon as the sun came back out, it was back to business and we did one more round before heading home.

At low tide, Watergate Bay is a 2-mile stretch of golden sand making it a year-round dog-friendly playground for your canine friends. With plenty of paid parking and dog-friendly amenities it is easy to spend a whole day here. Watergate Bay is now like a small village with a surf shop and multiple food outlets all with stunning views. It is worth checking the tide times as the spring high tides will flood most of the beach leaving less room for your furry friend to run around.

When at the beach it is obligatory to go for a swim – well if you’re a dog anyway!

Thank you so much for the session yesterday we all enjoyed ourselves and thank you so much for these photographs they are fantastic and we love them all.