I have not posted in about 2 weeks for several reasons. First and foremost, I have been back and forth to various locations in Nebraska a few times recently. Assorted academic competitions and awards ceremonies for my daughter as well as end of school year stuff. Her mother and I could not be more proud of all she has accomplished. She is an amazing and inspirational young lady!

I have also been under the weather for longer than I expected. The past few days I have finally said goodbye to my cough and congestion. Often felt like I did when I had pneumonia. Not a fun time. On to bigger and better things.

My daughter was on the track team for her school and was one of the teams 400 runners. She did pretty well considering she had never run the 400 before. Years ago when her mother ran track (also a 400 runner) the 400 was not really considered a sprint or dash race. Current day, the 400 is referred to as the 400 meter dash. The 400 is a unique event in that the runners don’t sprint at full speed nor do they really pace themselves either.

Congratulations to the Buffett Middle School 7th grade track teams for not only winning the girls city championship, but also for capturing the boys title. The girls team showed incredible athleticism and complete domination at their meet. There was no doubt throughout the meet that they would be city champs. Things look very good for them capturing the 8th grade title as well next year. The boys team championship was not decided until the very last event. When the dust settled, the final team totals revealed the boys winning by ONE point. Very exciting. I had a blast taking pictures and cheering. Can’t wait to do it again next year.

Congratulations to the 7th Grade Omaha City Championship Teams!

I took quite a few pics during the track season and below are a few of my favorites.

This is of an 8th grader at my daughter’s school that is an incredible person. I will refer to her as LG. LG is so much more than just an athlete. I met and engaged her father in conversation at one of the school’s musical events. He was an exceptional athlete when he was younger and even played for Iowa State’s football team. LG is an accomplished student and musician as well as an athlete.

As I am a photographer and I do take pictures, I look for subjects that draw my attention. LG drew my attention from the first time I saw her run. She was the only hurdler, male or female, that actually had the form of a hurdler. As is evidenced in the above photo, she has great form. At each of the track meets I attended, I would always take some snaps of LG as she ran. Towards the end of the year, I had several good images so I printed them out and gave them to her. She seemed to like them when she saw them. That made me pleased. She and her sister also thanked me for the pics. That was cool and was all the “payment” I needed. A day or so later, my daughter gave me an envelope that LG had given her to give to me. Inside was a nice thank you card and a handwritten note of thanks from LG. I gotta say that her giving me the card blew me away. Other than a bit of chit-chat when I would see her at track meets, I really don’t know LG. The fact that she went beyond a verbal thanks and took the time to jot a note inside a Thank You card says an awful lot about this young lady. It also says a bunch about her parents as well. LG, if you ever read this, know that you are one of a very few special people and you will be successful at whatever you do and accomplish much in life.

At one of the meets, I was walking around looking for some photo opportunities. I saw the high jump competition going on and wandered over. This young man was clearing the bar by quite a bit on each jump he took. I was drawn in and snapped away. What a display of jumping. He had very good form and I can only imagine that with proper instruction, he may be jumping at the Nebraska State High School Track Meet. He may even win it  and set a new state record in the process.

I really like the speed and motion conveyed in the above photograph. I simply planted my big behind down, set the shutter for a slow capture and took a few snaps. Note that the form of these hurdlers looks nothing like LG’s form in the pic of her above. As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoy photographing track meets. There are so many events and opportunities to shoot. Simply a fun time.

Until next time,

Mark