Happy Monday.  Nice weekend, mostly doing family things.  Saturday was the annual Grandview Gallop.  It is a 4 mile run on one of the prettiest streets in Dubuque.  It is one of the favorite areas for runners because it is relatively flat.  For the last three years Ben and Angie have participated in the Gallop and I have photographed them in this event.  I arrived at Grandview unusually early for me.  The race hadn’t even started yet.  🙂  I got my chair set up and my camera configured and checked then waited for the event to begin.  The image above is the start of the run for Angie and Ben.

The weather was perfect.  About 68 degrees, a slight breeze, low humidity, and great clouds with blue sky.  the only problem was the gnats.  They were just thick and very bothersome.  Occasionally the breeze was enough to keep them at bay but for the most part everyone was just waving their hands in front of their faces.  This year the run attracted over one thousand runners and walkers.  It is a fun event to watch.   The winning time was just a little over 19 minutes and the guy who won it looked like he had barely broke a sweat.

Angie and Ben finish the run.  This was Angie’s first big run since Gabby entered the world.  Lots of shooters there with expensive lenses.  There is some comfort in knowing I’m not the only one who has the addiction.  I met a nice lady who works at Medical Associates.  She shoots with Cannon equipment.  There is always a running joke between Cannon shooters and Nikon Shooters.  I’ve been asked which is the better DSLR to buy and I always have the same answer.  They are both amazing cameras each with their own strengths and weaknesses.  Cannon has some things Nikon wished they had and the same can be said for Nikon having features Cannon wishes they had.

What ever you start with is more than likely what you’re going to stay with because you invest in proprietary accessories and lenses so you’re pretty much locked in.   Many shooters had the 70~200 lens with them.  That is truly a great lens but I like the versatility of the 28 ~ 300 lens.   I know the 70 ~ 200 is a bit sharper but the 28 ~ 300 lens lets me shoot telephoto and with the twist of a dial shoot wide-angle.  I really like that flexibility.

On a personal note I have decided to get tested for hearing aids today.  Ugh!  I guess it’s just part of the aging process but it is a part I’d just as soon pass by.  I don’t know if I will go through with it but will listen to what the Doctor says and then make a decision.  I know that all my friends would be happy if I got them and they could stop having to repeat what they say to me.  🙂

Oh by the way.  Adobe Lightroom 5 was released today.  It is a sweet program for processing your digital negatives.  I’ve used it since version 1.0 and love it.  You might consider it if you have never used it.  It is a great database for managing your photos and you can probably do 90% of everything you would need to do to your photos with it.  About the only time I use Photoshop anymore is for complex retouching or removing unwanted distractions from an image.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your Monday and be careful.