The smell of hot rubber. The green grass. The slight breeze. The blue sky.
The crack of the starting gun.
I have some pretty fond memories of running track my senior year in high school, so the past two days of covering track for the Gazette have actually been pretty fun. Today was an especially good time since it was the annual 5th grade track meet and children + nostalgia = good for photos.
A part of me wanted to throw on my cleats and my terribly unflattering short shorts (spandex thankfully underneath), and go for a run with the kids. For one, it would be nice to run on a track since it’s bouncy and makes me feel fast. Secondly, the kids still wouldn’t be faster than me, so I could revel in whatever athleticism I still have left over…
But anyways, back to the photos.
If you know me, you know I’m bad at shooting sports. Like, awfully bad. My editor probably knows this, which is why he’s been sending me to sporting event after sporting event. I think the biggest problem I have with shooting sports is I don’t like peak action (for some reason the in-between moments are more appealing to me) and tight cropping isn’t how I naturally shoot (Well, except for this shot below).
Put those things together and my sports photos are characteristically bad. BUT, I’m practicing…and practice makes perfect, right? Sure.
I thought I did a decent job with these. I was having fun being there and I think that came through the photos. I loved all the colors there and the kids were pretty funny (listening to 5th grade girls talk about their crushes is just about the most entertaining thing ever).
On an unrelated note, I’m in the process of story hunting for a photo project. I generally have no idea what I’m looking for/interested in, but hopefully in the next few weeks I should have something in the works. So, look forward to that, or something.
Lukas Keapproth 