I wouldn't say that I'm feeling under pressure, but I have very limited time at the moment (Monday to Friday at least) for reasons that I shan't go into. Photography, both taking it and viewing it, must therefore be pushed into the background for just a little bit until I've bailed some water out of the bilges, but I'm determined not to miss a PAD because I want to hit 365 days this year.

Accordingly while I've kept my eyes peeled for potential shots, there has also been an element of "Yup, that'll do" to some of them. Including this one.

I noticed this sculpture in the window of Paws A While, a pet supplies store on the upper level of the Queen Victoria Building. Truth be told, and considering how much the rent in the QVB must be, I'm astonished that little stores like this can still make a go of it. However this one has been there for a while now, though it was originally on the much more highly trafficked ground floor and moved up to the less populated top floor a few years back.

This is of course a Boxer. An English / Australian Boxer since he has a docked tail but uncropped ears. Actually both practices are now banned in Australia, which is all to the good; long tailed boxers looked unusual at first but are becoming more common as new model pups arrive to wreak havoc on their owners' gardens and furniture.

With all due respect for other breeds like Weimies and Labs and Malchis and such, I of course regard Boxers as being the definitive statement in canine engineering and were I acquiring a canine companion, would not turn to any other breed. Even if, on the frozen early morning of a camping trip, it meant having a wet, bristly muzzle shoved in my ear to advise me that it was time for a trip outside in 2 degree Celsius frost. Or having to carry one home from a walk after she acquired an invisible burr in her paw causing her to limp severely, only to put her down when we got back, go to see whether I could find it again, then have her walk off limp-free with a "It's all good now, thanks, must have fallen out when you were carrying me" wag of the tail. (I should have known this from the "What the hell???" look that her sister was giving me as I was carrying her.)

This one may be a little more placid, but probably not as much fun.

The other reminder that I got from this is that I need to be very careful about bumping the control wheel on the back of the Olympus because it's far too easy to nudge the settings. The +1/3rd exposure compensation was intentional. The "Sunny" white balance setting, not so much.

Last Year