---
title: "Prints that Win: All Systems Go!"
description: Learn how photographer Kelly Schulze captured the essence of DockDogs in a stunning image that won the Sunset Print Award. Explore the process, equipment, and techniques used in this captivating pet photography.
---

[LexJet Blog ](https://blog.lexjet.com)

# [Prints that Win: All Systems Go!](https://blog.lexjet.com/prints-that-win-all-systems-go)

 Written by [Regan Dickinson](https://blog.lexjet.com/author/regan-dickinson) | Apr 3, 2014 4:00:00 AM

If you’re familiar with [DockDogs](http://www.dockdogs.com/), you might be a dog lover, and particularly a lover of dog-oriented sporting events. DockDogs is a canine aquatics competition with a number of events including Big Air, Speed Retrieve, Extreme Vertical and Iron Dog.

This [Sunset Print Award](http://www.sunsetprint.com/)-winning image by Kelly Schulze, CPP, owner of [Mountain Dog Photography](http://mountaindogphotography.net/) in Monkton, Vt., exemplifies the essence of DockDogs. The subject, Madison, is retired from DockDogs, but still enjoys a leap off the docks into cold Vermont waters. Madison was adopted from a local animal shelter before her DockDogs career.

“The client knew she wanted a photo of the dog jumping off the dock because the dog used to compete in DockDogs. She also wanted the fall foliage in the background, so I scouted a few locations to find the best spot where the light would hit just right,” explains Schulze. “We did that shot at sunrise at a local pond. I knew as soon as the sun hit the dog and the leaves in the background that it would be bright and colorful. I was wading up to my hips in water to get just the right angle and to get closer. We did about 20 minutes of shooting so I knew I could get it just right with a good pose with the dog’s paws in the air.”

Schulze asked the client to throw a tennis ball straight off the dock to ensure the dog would be in the range Schulze set for sharp focus. Schulze measured the width of dock and found the f-stop that would encompass that range and set the shutter speed as fast as possible to catch not only the dog in mid-air, but the water droplets that flew off the dog as it jumped.

“In post processing I didn’t do a whole lot. I removed some interfering branches that were coming out of the dog’s head that I couldn’t account for when I was shooting. I darkened some of the trees because they’re bright white birches in that light, and I flipped the image horizontally. The dog was jumping to the right of the frame because that’s where the color and the light was. If I had gone the other way I would have been shooting against blue sky and wouldn’t have the same impact,” Schulze says.

Schulze knew she had a great image for competition and printed it on [Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta](http://www.lexjet.com/p-1791-Hahnemuhle-FineArt-Baryta-325-g.aspx) with her [Epson Stylus Pro 3880](http://www.lexjet.com/i-12206-EPSON-Stylus-Pro-3880-w-UltraChrome-K3-Ink-17in-Printer-CA61201-VM.aspx). The image wowed the judges at the recent [Vermont Professional Photographers Convention](http://www.vtprophoto.org/) in late March with its combination of stop action and Vermont fall colors.

As the name of her studio implies, Mountain Dog Photography specializes in [animal photography](http://mountaindogphotography.net/) all over New England, including pets, [show dogs](http://mountaindogphotography.net/), livestock and wildlife. “Sometimes the owners jump into the shot, but I photograph all different species and it’s pretty exciting.”

 

[View full post](https://blog.lexjet.com/prints-that-win-all-systems-go)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Regan Dickinson"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-05-11T15:09:09.764Z",
  "datePublished" : "2014-04-03T04:00:00Z",
  "headline" : "Prints that Win: All Systems Go!",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 324,
    "url" : "https://marketing.lexjet.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/All-Systems-Go-Schulze-Kelly-607x324-2.jpg",
    "width" : 607
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.lexjet.com/prints-that-win-all-systems-go",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "LexJet Blog"
  }
}
```