I have been having a lot of fun this summer photographing kids playing in sprinklers. I don’t know what it is about little drops of water, but man — they just come alive in pictures! Water catches the reflection of the sun and just sparkles. And if you’re lucky (like I happened to be on the 4th of July), your kids will want to run through the sprinklers during that magic hour of the day when the sun is low and the light is gorgeous. A photographers dream! I love the capture of contrasting light and dark in the image above.

A little tip for getting great shots of sprinkler fun: use a zoom lens, if you can get your hands on one. I used my Tamron AF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 for these photos (great lens for the price, by the way). It allows you to feel like you’re right there in all the fun without fear of getting your gear all wet. That is, until your dripping daughter comes running at you for a quick bear hug! Zoom lenses also generally give you great depth of field and make your subject pop.

It was a perfect summer evening watching my daughter and her best friend play in the water. And I’m glad I grabbed my camera and was able to capture such a timeless memory.