This past year I have spent more and more time behind the camera at events and for the rest of this season it appears it is going to be my primary way of participating in runs.   How did this happen?

Way back in high school I was introduced into the world of photography by a friend who I met in my summer driver’s ed class.  He happened to be in the journalism class and worked as a photographer. I got interested and soon joined the darkroom gang and learned the basics of photography on an old Pentax camera using B&W 35mm film.   I shot sporting events, yearbook groups, activities in the school, etc… and was soon in charge of the darkroom and photographers for my senior year.

My interest in photography sort of went on a long hiatus after high school.  Sure I had a few 35mm cameras during that time and went digital as soon as it was feasible using a Sony Cybershot V1 and a series of P&S digitals.  Once I got my first iPhone it became my camera of default since I always had it with me.   Then I took a fishing trip to South Andros and met one professional photographer, Louis Cahill, and one serious amateur who had enough money to buy the best equipment.  I got to play around with ultra high-end Nikons on that trip and see Louis in action which re-sparked my interest in photography.

When I got home I began researching cameras.  Since one of the main uses I had for a camera was documenting our various vacations and adventures I wanted something pretty portable that wouldn’t be a burden to carry on day long hikes or cram into a dry bag to take fishing.  I wanted something that was fully manual and with interchangeable lenses too.  I quickly gave up on full DSLRs and was soon looking into the new mirrorless systems that had come out – the Panasonic Lumix, Sony Alpha and Nikon One since they were more compact than a full DSLR.  Ultimately I bought a Lumix G3 and set out to relearning everything I’d forgotten about photography.   I also went kind of lens happy given that I had many options to choose from.   I currently own:

• The kit f3.5 14-42mm (28-84 equivalent) lens
• A wide-angel f4 7-14mm lens – my ‘boat’ lens for fishing trips
• A new f2.8 35-100mm lens – this one probably gets the most use right now
• A f4 100-300mm lens – this one gets used for wildlife mostly
• A f3.5 8mm fisheye – just for fun

Last year I carried my camera to a few events that I was volunteering at and took some photos just to get the feel for it.  I think I shot photos at three events for the year and none of them were great.  I started paying more attention to Glen Tachiyama, Takao Suzuki and  Steve Sanders taking photographs during runs I was participating in and was looking more at their photographs.   I quickly learned I needed a faster lens than the kit 45-100 I was using and was excited when the new f2.8 lens came out.

This season I’ve shot seven events so far for Evergreen Trail Runs, Northwest Trail Runs, Run All Day and an informal gathering of crazies in an informal 50k.  Some of these events I’m out course marshalling and am stuck in a spot directing runners for two hours.  I take my camera along and get some photos while yelling “Go left” and pointing.   Other events I do setup/registration and them roam the course trying to find decent spots to get photos.    I’ve had many photos get used as profile pics by people on Facebook, several photos used on blogs and websites, and even got one photo used in an official SCOTT Sports press release documenting the win of elite runner Joseph Gray.

I’ve still got a lot to learn but am having fun doing it and finding that being behind the camera is a good way to stay involved in events while on the DL.  Given the severity of my hamstring injury I think I’ll be shooting instead of running for the rest of this year.