Adventurers

By Ron Schmidt

Piece description from the artist

"Lewie & Clark" Adventures is one of my most recognized images and the first of many in a series featuring these two adventurous labs. The cornerstone of the image is the vintage wooden canoe. I searched high and low for the right one and, in the end, decided to build the canoe myself. It was built in my basement, out of plywood and maple strips. With my sketch of the image, I knew exactly what I would see of the boat. If the camera wasn’t going to see the entire canoe, there was no need to make an entire canoe. This fine ship had no back, no bottom and it sat in an inch of water. My amazing assistant laid in a stream and held the stern so it wouldn’t float away. The two labs were shot on terra firms and set adrift in Photoshop as one can imagine what the scene would have been like shooting two labs in water with an endless supply of tennis balls.

Ron Schmidt's love of photography started at age 9 with an old camera that his Uncle Russ gave him for Christmas. That day, a passion was born. He snapped his first dog photo of his collie Nicki and he hasn’t stopped taking pictures since. Ron's whimsical images have captured the hearts of dog lovers worldwide since 2003. As a lover of all animals, a portion of Ron's profits are donated to support animal rescue and welfare causes throughout the world.