2014 Portland Track Festival

I have to say, I wasn't excited about covering another track meet on Father's Day after three days covering the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene.

The Portland Track Festival sucked me in. Andrew Wheating, Mo Farah and Jordan Hasay,  raced. The combination of great access, a table only a few feet from the finish line to set up my computer, and world class athletes added up to a great night. I was totally into it. While the track venue at Lewis and Clark was small, it's surrounded by trees and looks great. The lack of bright stadium lights made it difficult but provided some opportunities. The timing system at the finish line required more light so the organizers set up construction lights. This created a unique set of circumstances as far as track venues go. 

Here's a few snaps from the night:

The Results of 6 Days of Track and Field

First. it was two days at the Prefontaine Classic, three days off, and back to Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., for four more the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

I've been shooting meets there since 1997 and it never gets old. I first saw Galen Rupp and Ashton Eaton in High School. They are now both elite athletes with Olympic medals. 

I always wonder which of the athletes I'm shooting at the beginning of the career will someday be standing on the podium accepting their Olympic medal. I wonder which one of them may end up disgraced after a doping charge. 

I see track and field athletes as something special. They seem to be the best of what humans are capable of being, especially in the physical realm. There's not one kind of greatness with track and field athletes. Each event heat sheet is populated with a specific set of talents and attributes.

I'm always fascinated with the way a shot putter spins and throws with such grace and agility. Imagining them in street clothes, you'd never guess they'd be able to move like that. Their strength is obvious, but alone it's not what gets the shot where it needs to be.

The sprinters are all about full throttle, flat out, technical speed. Distance runners are about efficiency and strategy. Jumpers seemingly defy physics, but pole vaulters in a class of their own. I believe they possess the highest level of talent in terms strength, speed, technique and courage. Anyone can run, throw and jump, (maybe not well) but very few can get pole vault.

These photos represent my effort photographing humans at their best. It took me six days.

©The Oregonian

Prefontaine Classic, 2012

Track season started for me at the Pre Classic in Eugene this weekend. The Pre is a great meet in that it's televised and only lasts a few hours. The downside is that it's impossible to for one photographer to shoot every event. I missed a ton of great moments because I was stuck on the finish line. It was a nice primer for covering the Olympic Trials coming up on June 21.

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