During a client session at a former limestone quarry in Augusta, Missouri, something caught Grace Fieselman’s eye: A dog launched into the water-filled quarry with unusual intensity after a toy. “I immediately saw the potential for a unique side profile action shot with water droplets frozen in motion,” says Fieselman, who runs Grace Marie Pet Photography. To get the perfect image, she’d need to be parallel with the dog’s trajectory across the surface of the water. “The only way to do that was to physically get into the water,” she says she realized. So, she went in, chest deep. 

After that first experience, she decided to create a series. She recruited dogs who were high jumpers and extra motivated to chase toys to be her subjects. Fieselman prefers soft light, so she set up the sessions at sunset for crisp highlights on the water droplets and “enough shadow depth to capture the shape and structure in the dog’s movement,” she explains.

She used Canon EOS R6 and R6 Mark II cameras, which are ideal for lowlight capabilities at sunset. She at first used a 135mm f/1.8 lens but then switched to a 70-200mm f/2.8 for a fast action lens that could capture the speedy motion of the dogs in flight. “Having the zoom also gave me the flexibility to get the right composition in camera because I couldn’t back up any farther while I was in the water, as then I would’ve been under it.”

“It was a huge learning experience to perfect the timing needed to capture the exact moment of the dog’s jump,” she says, so when everything clicked, it was rewarding. “There’s just something so special about photographing dogs doing what they truly love.” 

Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.