Workouts and Work

We had a couple of good workouts this week - a 60 minute run on Monday, and 30 minutes on the bike plus an upper body workout on Wednesday. We hope to get another run in tomorrow - and if we can pull that off, we'll have met our goals for the week. It's always difficult to find time to work out, but we try to stay in shape for our trips. You have to be ready for that 1.5 mile dash between car and location at 9,000 feet, you know - because you left your only charged battery in the car, and the sun is setting. :) The last time we were in Colorado, I did just that - I made the run and got the battery, but missed the sunset. I'm telling you - running at 9,000 feet is a whole lot different from running at 1000 feet here at home.

I spent a good part of the week processing stock photos and submitting them. I need to update my website and work on a couple of articles. I hope to get those done before we leave for Florida in January. We'll be heading for Dry Tortugas National Park. I haven't been to this park before, but we've been to Florida a few times. I'm looking forward to warmth and sunshine. This shot - titled "Reclaimed" - is from our last trip to Bahia Honda. The odd shape in the water is an old rope that has provided a home for all kinds of flora and fauna.

Canon 50D

We did our long run yesterday evening - I ran for about 90 minutes. I took a few weeks off because of a hurt ankle, so it was great to be running again. Afterwards we came home an ran a few tests on our new camera...

After quite a lot of searching, Jay and I finally found a Canon 50D body yesterday afternoon. We checked for hot or dead pixels, checked the focus, and checked out the new high ISO capabilities. We're very happy with the results. This is an excellent camera. I'm very happy to have the higher resolution as well - I've been waiting for that for quite some time. :) The sky was tempting this morning, but the clouds moved on before I could really give the new camera a try. I did take a shot of a nearby lake. We'll see how it comes out.

Sunday

We ran today - about six miles - and had some fantastic sushi for dinner. Yum. We also spent much of the afternoon working on a series of stock images. I plan to process those tomorrow, so if you check back then, you're likely to find a shot of two here. This was a fun stock shoot... it's a brief series of environmental images and we were also testing our new studio setup. It worked perfectly, and was incredibly easy to put up and take down. I couldn't be happier.

Website Updates...

I just finished my short run - in the rain. :) It was a great day for running... nice and cool, and not wet enough to soak me through. I also took a different route than I usually do, which makes the run much more interesting. Now I'm starving. But I thought I'd put up a quick post before I eat.I put some time into updating my website today. The second part of my Following the Light article is now available on Outback photo. You can also download it from the articles page at www.PhotographyByVarina.com. I hope to be able to update my image galleries tomorrow.
I processed and uploaded several stock photographs today as well. This is a shot of our friend Anna - the one we were visiting in Italy last month. The last time she was in the US, Jay took this shot at a rose garden in Oregon. I processed the image today - removing four people who were standing in the path behind her, cleaning up rose petals that were littering the path, and removing product logos from her bag, chair, and shirt. It always takes quite a while to make changes like these to a photo - but for stock, it's necessary. Of course, I wouldn't change Anna. She's lovely just as she is. :) I love the challenge of doing this kind of stock work, so I won't complain. I have finished uploading, so tomorrow I'll be able to focus on my website.

Winners

I entered two of my images in the Cleveland Photographic Society pictorial competition on Friday. Meander (top) took second place in the Color category, and Rapture on the Lonely Shore (below) took first in the Black and White category. It was a good night for me. There were some other beautiful photographs, too. It was great to see all our friends. We spent a good part of today rebuilding our photography set. We'll do some test shooting tomorrow.

We got in a short workout this morning and did our long run this evening. Then sushi for dinner (yum!) and it's time for a movie.

Heat Wave

It's hot. 88F (31C) in the shade - and climbing. The house is just as hot. We're expecting higher temperatures this weekend - so we got our long run in yesterday evening. We ran later than usual, and chose a trail along the river to make the most of the "breeze" - not that there was much of one, but heck, it was worth a try. We ran a little over 6.5 miles (10.5K). You know, it's not the heat that gets me... it's the humidity. It was hovering around 84% yesterday, and I would have done better with gills. Still - the day before was even worse, and we ran 4 miles in that. Which was torture. So, who's complaining? :)

Why do I do it? I don't love running. I run because I want to be able to get to places like this...
Or this...

Long trails, high altitudes, extreme weather conditions... I have to be able to handle it. Otherwise, I'd better quit my day job. :) That's what landscape photography is all about. If I can't run 6 miles in a bit of humidity at 600ft, how am I going to get to some of these places?

Right now, though - I wouldn't mind a little bit of this...



Not too much, mind you... this is Cleveland after all. You have to be careful what you wish for.