Running and Jumping Off the Dock at the Cottage

An Iconic Ontario Memory

Running off the end of the dock and jumping into the lake—this is an iconic memory for southern Ontario cottagers, especially kids. The anticipation, the sprint down sun-warmed wooden planks, the airborne moment before the splash, the shock of cool water—it's quintessentially summer. Ahhh, summer! This is the kind of moment that defines cottage childhood and deserves professional documentation.

Growing Up in Ontario

So much of growing up in Ontario is life at the cottage in summer. Our memories are tied up with it: the cupboard with battered board games, each missing some piece everyone knows the story of; the sailing club trophies displayed on rough-hewn shelves; languid afternoon naps on screened porches to the drone of crickets and the lapping of the lake. These sensory details, these rituals, these places shape identity and family culture.

Multi-Generation Family Sessions

This image was captured at the very end of a multi-generation family portrait session—a great way for the boys to cool off after cooperating beautifully all day. By saving active, fun activities for the session's conclusion, everyone gets rewarded. The formal portraits are complete, grandparents have their cherished group shots, and now the kids can be purely, joyfully themselves.

Documentary Approach

Rather than asking these boys to pose jumping off the dock, I documented them actually doing what they'd do anyway. This authenticity creates editorial-quality images that feel alive and genuine. The motion, the water spray, the pure exuberance—these elements can't be manufactured through posing. They require real activity, real joy, real summer.

Why End-of-Session Energy Works

Ending sessions with high-energy activities serves multiple purposes. Kids who've been patient through formal portraits deserve fun. Their cooperation improves knowing play is coming. And photographically, their uninhibited joy at finally being released creates some of the most dynamic, emotionally resonant images of the entire session.

Summer Traditions Worth Preserving

Dock jumping represents continuity—parents jumped from this same dock as children, now their kids do, eventually grandchildren will. Professional photography preserves these intergenerational traditions visually, creating records that connect past, present, and future. Years from now, these images will trigger not just visual memory but sensory recall: the feel of the dock, the temperature of the water, the freedom of summer.