Norrander Trail Shots

High School Cross Country Photos

2012-01-24T19:37:00.023-07:00

It been too long since I posted any photos so I thought I would revisit my fall project from last year. I had the opportunity to follow the Rowland Hall Cross County Team for one season. The idea was I would take photos documenting the team through out the season and then present a book to the team as a surprise at the end of the season. Sounded simple and straight forward when I started and in many ways it was, but I have a tendency to over think things and not in a good way which made the project harder than it needed to be. In the long run it taught me allot so in my mind it was a success. I also left the project really impressed with everybody associated with the Rowland Hall Cross Country Team.

Lately I have started to print large copies of my photos which is a whole new experience for me. It is amazing that I have taken so many photos and printed so few. I'm learning what shows well on my computer screen may look distinctly different printed out 16"x 24" so its been a fun but challenging process. I am also learning that my favorite photos are generally not the photos that most people like. For example the last photo of this post, the girl from Alta High School. I really love this photo for so many reasons, to me its more than just a photo of girl running cross country, but like I said above, I tend to over think things.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-30T14:27:00.015-06:00

I was planning on racing cyclecross this year but my bike just showed up this Wednesday and since I have never raced bikes let alone cyclecross before I figure it would be better to go down and take some photos rather than kill myself racing. After a bit of practice I hope to race later in the season.

I have taken photos before at the Utah Cyclecross Halloween double at Wheeler Park and know from experience that the opportunity for good photos are everywhere. You just can't walk away without at least a few great photos. I managed to get 40 or more decent photos in about a hour of walking the course. It is also fun just to watch the races even if you are not taking photos, you can't help laughing as a grown man rides by wearing tighty whities or a rider dressed as a butterfly flips over his handle bars because a racer dressed as a chicken just crashed in front of him. Best free entertainment around.

50 Yard Dash

2011-10-07T19:31:00.016-06:00

It started during lunch with a simple comment, well not really a comment but a challenge. "I could beat you old man, I could beat you running backwards." "Really, willing to put up a case of beer behind those words or are you just flapping your lips?".... Soon other challenges were made, engineering versus DCC, machine shop versus weld shop. Smack talk all week long, side bets were made, long lost pairs of tube socks and grass stained sneakers pulled out of retirement, the 50 yard dash was on, Friday at high noon.

Fall Project

2011-09-17T12:17:00.016-06:00

I have the great opportunity this fall to work on a project that involves taking photos of Utah high school cross country meets. A few years back I took pictures at the State Championship Finals at Sugar House Park. I was only able to take pictures for about a hour but walked away with a few really good photos, so I am very excited to be able to spend some extended time taking photos of these amazing young athletes. Not only is it fun to to take photos of the runners but the whole culture of Utah High School sports is intriguing and foreign to me. I don't have any children and didn't participate in any High School sports myself so when I show up to these events I am always a little overwhelmed by the large scale of the meets. At the American Fork Grass Relays I believe there was over 230 JV girls starting at the same time, which is very impressive and scary when they come charging at you all at once. Above is a few photos that I like and I will be posting more as the season continues.

Squaw Peak 50 2011

2011-06-05T20:00:00.017-06:00

The Squaw Peak 50 was re-routed because of massive amounts of snow above 8,000 ft. and washed out roads accessing aid stations. The R.D came up with a out and back snow route utilizing Rock Canyon. I decided this is wear I would focus my efforts because I had never been up Rock Canyon and I had already shot some of the earlier sections in previous years. I also shot a few photos of the paved bike/walking trail coming back up Provo Canyon to the start finish area. The runners were really suffering pounding the pavement with its ever so slightly tilt uphill back to the finish. I worked on using some new setting on the camera, they seemed to work okay but I will have to spend some more time practicing with them, maybe next week at the Wahsatch Steeple Chase. To see more photos please go here.

Antelope Island Races 2011

2011-03-26T19:44:00.016-06:00

Had a great time taking photos out on Antelope Island. Terrific weather prevailed once again, especially in the morning which had clear skies and only a slight breeze. Spent most of my time on the Elephant Head out and back section of trail that the 50 milers and 100 milers have to do. I have run this section many times before and knew it would provide some great opportunities for a few good photos. To see more photos from the races go here.

Red Hot 50k 2011 Black and White

2011-02-21T19:28:00.017-07:00

To see more go here

Red Hot 50k 2011 Color

2011-02-20T21:43:00.010-07:00

To see more go here

Flying Orange Bubbles

2010-12-16T19:33:00.010-07:00

Went on a short field trip today. The company I work for built two new high speed chairlifts this year at the Canyons Ski Resort. It was a chance for everybody from the janitor to the president to go check out the new lifts. Many of the employees had never ridden a chairlift let alone one with heated seats, orange bubbles and a one sided mid-station. I think a few of them will take a little more pride in what they do realizing they all play a part in making some very cool machines.

UTCX Wheeler Park

2010-11-28T09:50:00.010-07:00

You only get out what you put in. Not allot of good material here but fun to be out in the snow watching the racers negotiate black ice and loose snow. I saw some amazing displays of bike handling skills by the more gifted riders. At a few corners I was generally concerned for the less skilled riders as some went down very, very hard. There will be some sore backs and hips today. To see more photos please go here.

Antelope Island 100k

2010-11-07T09:14:00.016-07:00

Jim Skaggs some how makes a deal with the weather gods again as you can tell from the photos that the weather was amazing for November. I didn't get out to the race until 10:30 just as first place runner Scott Dickey made it into the start finish line completing his first 50k loop, Brian Beckstead was a close second running about 8 minutes behind. I believe Scott hung on for the win in a time close to 9:30.

I had a decent day, I ended up with 10 miles or so and am happy with most of the photos I took, the amazing scenery of the island makes it easy to get good shots. I was excited to shoot the beach area as I knew it would make for some unique photos of a trail run in Utah. Lacked motivation and energy to get back to the car, luckily I had a cold I.P.A. waiting for me to help motivate my lazy butt to get back before dusk. To see more photo click here.

Utah Cyclocross Halloween Double

2010-10-31T20:39:00.015-06:00

Had a great day shooting the Utah Cyclocross Halloween Double at Wheeler Park. I shot all B.W on Saturday and mostly stuck to the wide angle lens. Sunday I made myself shoot color and use a fixed 50mm and my telephoto for practice. I am really happy with the results from Saturday but Sunday's results were mixed. I still struggle allot with the telephoto and can't get the results I want. I'll keep plugging away at it. I'll post some of my shots from Sunday later this week. All the photos that made the cut are on my Flickr account here.

Timp

2010-10-16T17:32:00.007-06:00

A quick run up Timpanogos this morning. It was cold and clear, perfect fall running weather.

The last 4 Weeks

2010-10-09T12:23:00.021-06:00

In the last 4 weeks I have not run much, but what I have run has been incredible. The first few pictures are from the ridge just above Regulator Johnson Mine in Mineral Fork Canyon. I ran this a few weeks ago after work. Next up was a incredible running trip in Chicago made possible by the generosity of friends. Yesterday afternoon I was able to sneak a run up and over Deseret Peak with a fun group of friends and was lucky enough to spend a little time with some new people. This morning was a run on one of the Wasatch's best kept secrets, the Desolation Trail. I had the pleasure of running this with Peter and Erik. We went from Porter fork to the Desolation Trail head. If the weather holds I can't wait to see what the next 4 weeks will bring. Most of these photos were shot with my old compact Nikon, just goes to show the best camera is the one you bring along.

Just three and a half miles in

2010-09-22T21:10:00.009-06:00

25 long miles to go

2010-09-11T20:12:00.023-06:00

After pacing my friend Peter from Brighton to the finish at the 2010 Wasatch 100 mile race I stayed true to my plan to go out and shoot a few photos of the back of the pack runners coming out of the Brighton aid station. I started out around 6:30am from the Brighton Ski Area, I was cold, tired and feeling pretty beat up from the all night run so I thought I would be in the perfect frame of mind to take pictures of the runners headed out for their last 25 miles. It was impressive to think that most of these runners would not be finishing until 3-5 in the afternoon later that day. They had already been up and running for 26-28 hours and still had a long day ahead of them. I found myself just as impressed with the back markers as I was a with the front runners coming through Brighton the night before. After all, all the runners are covering the same 100 miles through the mountains, some just faster then others. Congratulations to all a who managed to finish the race. To see more photos please go here.

"yes sir, were very proud, were going for 170"

2010-08-14T19:34:00.021-06:00

The tittle was one of the answers from a father son team who had just driven up from Texas and had finished putting their car together just two days ago. They were so happy and so proud that they were at Bonneville Speedway and getting ready to do their first run down the short track. You couldn't help but wish them the best of luck.

I am hooked , the sounds, sights and controlled chaos was almost overwhelming and the access is unbelievable. You can stand 3 feet away from a 2,000 hp car getting ready to make a 300 mph run and nobody cares.

I was late getting to my friends house to drive out to Bonneville so I just grabbed my camera and went out the door with one lens. Can't wait to go back next year and spend some more time taking photos with some more options.

A little help never hurts

2010-07-23T21:56:00.014-06:00

Been rather lazy on taking pictures this summer, I guess I have been having to much fun running in the mountains.

I did take a few photos while helping out at a aid station at a local night race here in SLC. Would have liked to spent more time shooting photos but runners aid comes first, pictures second.

Vista

2010-06-13T21:04:00.012-06:00

To mix it up I decided I would post a few photos that don't involve trail running.

Squaw Peak 50

2010-06-06T19:43:00.014-06:00

Well as usual some success and some failure with the photos. Seemed like a lot of effort and time for very few good photos. I did have a great day out on the course and managed to get close to 18 miles while out taking photos, and the top of Windy Pass is truly a spectacular place to hang out. It was fun to notice the contrast of happy smiling people I saw in the morning with the tired hot sweaty people I saw later climbing up to Windy Pass. I am always amazed at the toughness and determination of my fellow ultra runners. To see more photos from the race please click here. To see a slide show click here.

Hell of the North (Salt Lake City) 2010

2010-04-03T21:24:00.016-06:00

No amazing photos in the session, but it was a good solid day of work. Starting to get some decent results with the telephoto lens which is great because when it works the results are worth all the practice. Played allot with aperture settings and learned a bunch about the limitations and benefits of shooting wide open. Had some more problems with the old Canon 20d and may have to retire it.

Christian Johnson's race seemed to go well, the weather was much better than expected and the turn out looked great. Lots of smiles on the racers after they crossed the finish line. To see more photos of the race please go here.

Antelope Island Buffalo Run 2010

2010-03-28T20:04:00.018-06:00

Peter and Marge caught this guy running bandit in the 50 mile race!

Coming into the 50k turn around and yes I am wearing man capri's

Jared Campbell running strong just two weeks after running the Coyote 2 Moon 100 mile race

Dave Hunt coming into the start/finish turn around A.S. in the 50k

Scott Jaime in the lead with the morning sun and Ryan Burch just behind

50k runners on the first climb

Erik Storheim surrounded by Paparazzi on his way to a 3rd place finish in the 50 miler.

Matt Hart at the start of the 25k. Runs for a great 4th place finish.

Start of the 50k race (overall 50k race winner Nick Clark in Pearl Izumi kit)

I ran the 50k race again this year so my wife Marge decided she would bring the camera gear out and take some photos during the race. Peter Lindgren and Christian Johnson also took some photos as they were both injured and couldn't race this year. To see more photos from the Buffalo Run please click here.

Red Hot 50k 2010

2010-02-14T22:06:00.018-07:00

Had a great time at the Red Hot 50k . Good times with friends, great weather and a day spent on a fantastic course. To see more photos please go here.

Shoot wide, shoot B.W. (Utah Cyclocross)

2009-11-23T18:44:00.011-07:00

I can't help it, I bring my cool guy expensive telephoto lens with the intent of mainly using it and end up shooting 98 percent of my photos with my wide angle. I also didn't plan on shooting black and white but ended shooting nothing but. Shot the men's "C" group in the morning and the men's "A" group in the afternoon. To see more go here.

Utah Cyclocross

2009-11-01T20:35:00.011-07:00

Not going to write much. The weather was perfect and I was pleasantly surprised by how good the course was. Only shot the few first groups on Sunday. To see more click this

Utah Cross Country Championships

2009-10-21T20:09:00.015-06:00

I offered to take a few photos for a acquaintance of mine at the Utah State High School Cross Country Championships, at Sugar House Park. I was only able to sneak away from work just long enough to shoot pictures for a half hour. I wish I would had more time as there was ample opportunities to get some great photos. Plus it was fun to see the kids run there hearts out. I might try to shoot a few meets next year. See a few more photos here

Mountain View Half Marathon

2009-10-18T13:43:00.012-06:00

The weather gods smiled once again for one of Jim Skaggs races out on Antelope Island. As you can see from the pictures the weather was perfect and maybe even a bit warm for some of the runners. My friend Christian and his wife were running the race so I decided it would be a good opportunity to go out and shoot some pictures. I hadn't shot any races since July so I was feeling rusty and really wanted to get out somewhere before winter set in. Sure glad I did as it was a great race to watch and just nice to hang out in the sun and watch the racers do all the work. Jim always puts on a well run race and everybody had a great time. If you haven't run one of Jim races you missing out. Just check out the barbuecue they had!(some of the last photos on the flickr sight)

I go back and forth on how the pictures turned out, one minute I think there great and I am happy with my effort and the next minute I think there not so great and wish I had another chance to shoot some over again. Next race I will shoot with some different lenses and try to mix it up a little and see what happens. To see more photos of the race go here

Speedgoats in motion

2009-07-19T14:12:00.013-06:00

There was great coverage of the 2009 running of the Speedgoat 50k, Matt Hart was taking photos as well as Pure Light Images and a few others were out also. This was great for the runners as I knew that most of them would get a good chance that somebody took a good photo of them. I had tired legs from a late run on Friday night so I was feeling dehydrated and lazy and wasn't getting around as fast as I had planned. I had run this race in 2007 and 2008 but had already forgotten how hard it is. There is just no relief in this race until you cross the finish line.

I tried to focus on conveying movement, I need to work on some other ways to do this., but I am somewhat happy with the results. If you want to see more from the race click this.

Wahsatch Steeplechase

2009-06-13T22:01:00.015-06:00

In this age of “one call, that’s all”it is great to see a race like the Wahsatch Steeplechase is still going strong. I have not been up to Black Mtn. in a long time so it was good to spend a little time checking out the area again while I waited for the runners. The top runners hit the crags in around hour and 20 minutes into the race, really amazing, 4,000 vertical feet and 5-6 miles in a little over an hour. Pictures are from the crags to Smuggler Notch aid station. I didn’t follow the trail down from Smuggler Notch aid station because I heard it was a mud fest and I had already slammed the camera once falling on slick trails. To see more photos from the race please click this.

Pocatello 50 Mile Trail Race

2009-05-24T22:14:00.013-06:00

If you read my postings before on this blog you know I am not much of a writer, so I am going to keep this short and let the photos do the talking. The Pocatello 50 mile race is awesome,Race Directors Jared and Ryan should be very proud. The time and energy put into the race was apparent all day long as I took photos.

I lost a bunch of photos due to either a bad lens or sensor on the camera. I felt like a dork lugging two cameras around all day long but it turns out to be a good habit to have. Click here to see the photos from the race.Enjoy

First Year of Photos

2009-05-18T22:51:00.022-06:00

photo Aaron Schwartzbard (2009 MMT)

photo Aaron Schwartzbard (Me contemplating another 20 miles to go MMT 100 2008)

photo Aaron Schwartzbard (Karl Meltzer 2007 MMT 100)

As I was checking out the results of the 2009 Massanutten 100 mile race I realized it has almost been 1 year since I started taking pictures of local races. I shot close to 2,500 photos and have a little more the 44,00 views on my Flickr account so far. It has been a great year and the response has been way above my expectations. When I started I really had no idea what I was doing (I still don’t in some respects) when I got home from taking photos for the first time at Squaw peak in June of 2008 I was not really sure what I was going to do with the 500 photos I had of the race, but I slowly figured it out, set up the Flickr account and this blog. I am still learning new things every time I go out to shoot a race. Hopefully I will learn as much in the rest of 2009 as I did in 2008.

I want to give some well deserved recognition to Aaron Schwartzbard. In 2008 I ran the Massanutten 100 race. When I got home I checked the races website to see if anybody had posted photos. A few people had but Aaron’s photos stood out right away. The photos were visually fantastic and captured so much of what running a 100 mile race is all about, the highs and lows both emotional and physical that people go through during a race of such length. Aaron had also taken time to cover different areas of the course. The other great thing, his photos were free as long as you could down load them (prints cost a little). That’s when the light bulb went off. I wanted to take the same approach. Try to capture ultra races through photos and make them available to my fellow ultra runners for free. A fun way for me to give something back to a sport that has given me so much. Aarons photos this year of the MMT are even better than previous years and make sure to check out some of his Savageman Triathlons Photos, really good foggy morning water shots. To learn more about Aaron click here

Next races on the schedule for me to shoot Pocatello 50 mile Trail Run and Wahsatch Steeple Chase.

The Hell of the North (Salt Lake)

2009-04-05T21:07:00.021-06:00

My friend Christian Johnson puts on a great bicycle race called The Hell of the North. I still have a few more pictures to upload but you can see the bulk of the photos here.

Scene of the Crime

2009-03-08T11:19:00.010-06:00

Red Hot in Color

2009-02-19T21:13:00.015-07:00

Brian Kamm leads the way home

Timmy Parr and Dave Mackey going super sonic somewhere around mile 23

I think Karl has his speed back, charging hard for third place

These two ladys smiles say it all.

Moab's Red Hot 50k+

2009-02-16T19:42:00.023-07:00

I think I had more fun than some of the runners. I did the entire 33k route and shot over 700 photos (300 or so didn't make the cut). I was out shooting for just over 7 hours. Shot a ton of B&W trying to gain some experience for the future. So this entry will focus on the B&W and the next post will have some of my favorite color shots. Still have a bunch of photos to upload to my flickr account, so check back later this week for more photos. Don't forget all the photos are free and you can download them by clicking on the photo than click on all size icon. Enjoy and let me know of your thoughts on the B&W approach. Click here to link to the Moab Red Hot 50K+ Set.

Wasatch Citizens Series Mtn. Dell 10k Classic

2009-01-25T10:29:00.014-07:00

Tough conditions for the racers and the photographer, 38 degrees with intermittent rain. I deleted lots of photos due to rain drops on the lens. I shot 500 photos and ended up with around 200. I sure love digital cameras! To see more photos of the race click this link.

Van Cott

2009-01-10T18:14:00.012-07:00

No race photos to post , thought I would post a few photos from a short trip up Mount Van Cott. I plan on going down and taking pictures of the Red Hot 50+k in Feb.

Traction Devices Advised

2008-11-22T17:34:00.013-07:00

My good friend George and I did a great loop run going up the west face of Grandeur Peak then down the east side and ending back at Rattle Snake Gulch in Mill Creek Canyon. The east side trail is notorious for its ice up high and it didn’t disappoint us. Luckily we brought chains and spikes for our running shoes. I shot these photos with an older Nikon point and shoot. I didn’t feel like lugging up a four pound SLR. There is another 50 or so photos from the run on my Flickr site.

24 hours of......?

2008-10-12T20:53:00.011-06:00

I will upload photos from the 24 hours of Moab soon to my flickr account. The weather for the event was difficult to say the least, it was more like 24 hours of wind and a grit. The event staff and racers overcame the weather and a good time was had by all..

Aid Stations

2008-09-28T21:07:00.019-06:00

A few pictures from the aid stations. These photos show just how hard a 100 miler can be on the body and mind of the racer. One of the lessons I learned from shooting this race is how much potential for great pictures there is at the aid stops. As runners we are lucky to have the help from the volunteers, family and friends to help us keep going.

Another note on the pictures. I am still researching and learning about this but it appears that when you down load my pictures from flickr, the photos are not in high enough resolution to print. So if you like a particular photo and plan on making a print please don't hesitate to e-mail me. I can e-mail you a high resolution photo suitable to the size you want to print. I have had my pictures printed up to 20"x 20" with no quality issues. You can get my e-mail by clicking my profile, then going to contact. If you have suitable software you can download the original file on flickr and change the resolution yourself.

Bear 100 2008

2008-09-27T22:44:00.011-06:00

A finish at the Bear 100 did not come easy for the racers. The tough nature of the new course was a difficult challenge for even the best 100 miler racers. My attempt to take photos showing the beauty the course had to offer did not turn out so well. But hopefully a few of them can convey why the the Bear 100 will become a classic 100 mile mountain race. To see more photos please click here. I will post a few more of my favorite pictures in a few days. Also just a note on a great feature of the Flickr site. Click on the set of your choice then look for the slide show icon in the upper right hand corner. It is a great way to see the photos easily, and they can be played full screen.

MAS50 2008

2008-09-21T11:06:00.014-06:00

Go do this race! Tough, scenic and well run. Alpine to Slick Rock To see more photos that you can download for free just click here.

Speedgoat 50k

2008-07-27T19:06:00.003-06:00

Hardest 50k in the country?

I ran the this race so my wife filled in and shot a few photos. So a big thanks to her.

I will be up taking photos of the Bear 100 and would also like to shoot the Moab to Alpine 50m.

To see more photos and download for free please go here.

Logan Peak Trail Run 2008

2008-06-29T10:55:00.010-06:00

The Logan Peak Trail Race should be added to every local runners "to do list". It is a well run race on a great course.I arrived a little late to the race and missed a good opportunity to get some better photos. I also screwed up a bunch, so sorry to those people. I am learning as I go, so keep running and I will keep taking pictures and I will get better. Hopefully Brian Beckstead will post a report on his blog as it sounds like it was a great three way race for the men. To see more photos you can download for free click here.

More Squaw Peak 50 mile photos

2008-06-10T20:15:00.012-06:00

A few more of my favorite pictures of Squaw Peak 50 mile race .To see more click here

Squaw Peak 50 mile race, Orem, UT

2008-06-09T06:44:00.003-06:00

Pictures from the race ,Windy Pass

For more photo got to:www.flickr.com/photos/trailshots/

Squaw Peak 50

2008-06-08T20:02:00.002-06:00

Pictures of Squaw Peak 50 2008

To see more: www.flickr.com/photos/trailshots/