Knoxville Marathon 2013

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

It’s hard to know at the end of this week whether I should continue recounting last weekend or move the focus to the upcoming weekend. I’ll go with last weekend, but I must mention that this weekend is likely the biggest of the Dogwood Arts Festival, with the Arts and Crafts Festival on Market Square and throughout Krutch Park. The artisan works are phenomenal and the food tent, in which chefs prepare dishes with wine pairings, is one of my favorite single events of the year.

Mayor Rogero, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Mayor Rogero, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

American Flag on Clinch Avenue, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

American Flag on Clinch Avenue, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Arm Cyclists, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Arm Cyclists, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Still, I must give a nod to last weekend’s Knoxville Marathon which drew several thousand people. The race has grown to include a 5K, Half-Marathon, Marathon and Marathon Relay. Urban Son-in-Law backed off to the half-marathon this year and many Urban Friends ran various other races. I think one reason for the massive crowds last weekend was the marathon, as a number of people came in from out of town or simply stayed downtown to enjoy the other events going on.

Health and Fitness Expo, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Health and Fitness Expo, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Health and Fitness Expo, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Health and Fitness Expo, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Arm Cyclists2, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Arm Cyclists, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Arm Cyclists3, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Arm Cyclists, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

I love the fact that a fitness-based event has become so big in the city. It also works beautifully to have so many great activities downtown to greet any out-of-town visitors. There is no way someone visited the city last weekend, encountered the beautiful weather, pianos on the square, Chalk Walk, First Friday, Rhythm and Blooms and came away with anything other than a very positive impression of what is happening here. They also spent time and money in the Health and Fitness Expo on Saturday.

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Runner, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Runner, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

Knoxville Marathon Start, April 2013

The starting line and staging area always attract me. Nerves jangle about at every turn, runners giddy with excitement warm up maybe a bit too much. Proud families wish their loved ones well. The mayor spoke at this year’s opening and the national anthem makes any sporting fan’s blood reach a quick boil of anticipation. Some are there to win, others to have fun and others simply to finish. Music pounds from a PA system as it will throughout the race as live bands play for the runners.

Entertainment on Market Square, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Entertainment on Market Square, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

John D. Cable and the Empty Bottle Band, Clinch and Locust, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

John D. Cable and the Empty Bottle Band, Clinch and Locust, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

I photographed eventual winner Wojciech KopecĀ (2:22:15) as he left the start line (red jersey above, number 2), but missed him at the twenty-five mile mark. I did catch Edward Tabut passing the UT Conference Center, heading into the final stretch. He was about three minutes behind first place. He also nearly left the course by not turning onto Locust, but a policeman yelled, pointed and Edward corrected his course.

Second Place Runner (No. 4), Mile Tweny-five, Knoxville Marathon 2013

Second Place Runner (No. 4), Edward Tabut, Mile Tweny-five, Knoxville Marathon 2013

Third Place Runner, Mile Twenty-four, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Third Place Runner, Bryan Morseman, Mile Twenty-four, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Fourth Place Runner, Mile Twenty-Three, Knoxville Marathon 2013

Fourth Place Runner, Stewart Ellington, Mile Twenty-Three, Knoxville Marathon 2013

Fifth Place Runner, Mile Twenty-four, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Fifth Place Runner, Abraham Kogo, Mile Twenty-four, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

About four minutes behind him was Bryan Moresman in third and I really felt for the next two guys as I photographed them leaving Market Square. They ran within steps of each other around the twenty-four mile mark and clearly, they would battle to the finish line. In the end, while Stewart Ellington (No. 6) lead by a few yards at that point, Abraham Kogo (No. 3) would pass him in the end to win fourth place. Two seconds separated them at the finish line. You can find complete results here.

Half-Marathon Medal, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Half-Marathon Medal, Knoxville Marathon, April 2013

Others would pass through downtown on into the afternoon. In fact, Urban Son-in-Law spotted a couple going through around 4:00, well after the official times have stopped. It reminds me of Cake’s awesome song, “The Distance.” All that matters at that point is finishing. And whether anyone else knows or acknowledges the fact, you know. It has to feel good. I never made it to the complete marathon and I admire those who do.

Spring Photos with Cannon T3 and Zoom Lens

Knoxville Skyline, March 2012

I’m very slowly experimenting with my camera. I’ve tried most of the pre-settings. I still lean on “automatic” a good bit, but I’m pretty fond of other settings, such as “flash off,” “landscape,” “portrait,” and “sports.” The camera does really well with minimal light and no flash, avoiding the “washed out” look of a harsh flash. Of course, I can see a nice flash in my future.

Market Square, Knoxville, March 2012
Tomato Head and Cafe Four, Knoxville, March 2012
Reading on Market Square, Knoxville

The latest attempt is using the zoom lens which came with the camera. It’s a 75 – 300mm and when I first took these pictures I was having a hard time seeing the lens as that useful to what I do. Most often my photographs are to supplement the story and so I had a hard time imagining the usefulness of a zoom lens.

Daylight Building, Knoxville, March 2012
Sunsphere, Knoxville, March 2012

I’ve seen people using zoom lens on Market Square many times. Sometimes it looks as if their lens is a foot long and now that I’ve sat at Market Square with my camera, I’m not sure what those people are doing. I sat at one end and could take perfectly good pictures of people across the square or at the other end. For that matter, I could take perfectly good pictures of someone’s cell phone at the other end of the square, but nothing nearby.

Holston Building, Knoxville, March 2012
View to the Northwest from Downtown Knoxville, L and N in foreground
Church Street United Methodist from the Locust Street Garage

I walked down Union Avenue and tried to take a picture of the Daylight Building, but had to back up several times to get it all in the frame. I wound up, as those of you who know the city could probably deduce, atop the Locust Street Parking Garage for these shots. It’s definitely the way to go in these cases, though I had to work to include much of the skyline because it does zoom so powerfully.

UT Conference Center, Knoxville
Kendrick Place, Knoxville, March 2012
Duncan Law School, Knoxville, March 2012

So, there you go, Urban Guy can zoom, but he’s not sure how to control his new superpower. Stay tuned.*

*Update: Since I wrote this post I’ve fallen in love with the zoom lens. Specifically, it is great for photographing concerts, though it isn’t easy. Many of the recent close-up shots you’ve seen on this blog have been with the assistance of a zoom lens. Still, when I see the many people walking Market Square with monster lenses, I’m not sure what they are doing and I wonder if they know what they are doing. Maybe they know secrets I have yet to discover.

OK, Maybe Size Matters a Little Bit

That’s a lot of size

Sure, I was convinced that size didn’t matter. I mean, it’s what you do with what you’ve got, right? I even blogged about it in one of my earliest posts, concluding that it matters more what you do with what you’ve got. At least that’s what I thought then.

I’ve enjoyed a number of surprises along my blogging journey. One is that my photographs are the primary draw for many of you. I thought I was writing a blog and including some pictures, but many of my “readers” are more “viewers” for whom the pictures tell the story and there may or may not be time for the words.

How do I know this? There are several ways, but I’ll give you a couple. First, after over a year and half blogging I have 77 followers and 56 subscriptions. Not bad (and I’d encourage you to look to the right of this column and become a follower and a subscriber if you haven’t already). However, contrast that with the fact that after only about six months with a Facebook page which features only photographs from the blog I already have 84 “likes.” Also, while I’ve had a couple of requests for use of my writing, I’ve had numerous different kinds of requests for use of my pictures.

So, what does all this mean for a person who considers himself a writer and not so much a photographer? In my case it means I feel an obligation to improve the photographs. I may be photographing downtown Knoxville more than anyone else on a consistent basis. I also think I’m photographing subjects that others may not be as interested in, meaning I’m making an historical record that may not be recorded otherwise.

Canon T3

Canon T3

If that’s going to be the case, I need to make the photographs the best I can make them, so I’ve invested in a new camera: a Canon T3 along with a couple of lenses. Thanks goes out to John Black for helping me find the best camera for the best money for what I am doing.

Urban Woman via T3

Market Square via T3

The good news is after playing with it just a little this weekend, I feel like a carpenter who has been driving nails for years with a wrench and thinking I’m pretty good at it. Then someone handed me a hammer and suddenly I get it. The bad news is that I simultaneously feel like a mentally challenged twelve-year-old who has been handed the keys to the Jaguar: way beyond my capabilities.

Rala Street Display

Market Street, Knoxville

Vegetables at Just Ripe, Knoxville, February 2012

So, I hope you’ll see an improvement in the pictures on this blog. I suspect the improvements will not be instantaneous. I’ll keep working at it, though and hopefully the quality will get better now that the size has gotten just a bit bigger. In the end, maybe I can do more with what I’ve got, if I’ve got more in the first place. We’ll see.