Surf City, D.O.G.

This post is dedicated to Melissa, who told me, “Sol, while in SoCal, you should drive down to San Diego and photograph dog surfing.”

Ok. Done.

And that’s how I found myself hanging 10, er, 20 with “Dude the Dog” et al at the 4th Annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition at Imperial Beach.

The beach was packed with dogs and dog lovers and dog treats. Those who know me well know that I’m not a dog lover (though I do have a special spot for Emma).

I am a lover of weird shit. Confused dogs on surfboards easily qualifies.

Access was great to the event. There were a swarm of photographers, largely the aforementioned dog lovers. Lots and lots of laughing all around – even from me.

Here’s a video from The Today Show. I am a little disappointed not to be in the background somewhere. I really tried.

I’m officially creating an ongoing challenge: The Toss-Sol-A-Bone-With-A-Weird-Sports-Photo-Op Contest.

How it works: email me about a weird sports events that you’ve heard about and is not already on my grid. (That’ll be harder than you imagine. You should see my bookmarks and Weird Sports calendar.)

If I end up shooting that event, you get a modest token of my sincere appreciation: a $20 iTunes gift certificate.

Melissa is the contest’s first winner. Who’s got next?