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Road Racers: I'm talking to you and you're responding!

Many Sunday mornings I rise at the crack of dawn. Sometimes I grumble a bit about that. Or I grumble about the weather: it's either too cold, too hot, too foggy, or too rainy. But once I'm in the car and find some beautiful music I'm allright and I start looking forward to being part of yet another road race and the road racing family. I photograph these races for Potomac River Running Races (=PR=Races) and I have been doing that for many years.

Last Sunday I found myself in Fairfax, VA for the Rockstar 5K and Fun Run. Upon arrival I did what I usually do: walk around, get my bearings, take some candids to warm-up and mentally become part of the event. I also check in with the other photographer - my buddy Craig- and exchange stories about our latest photo shoots or talk about technical stuff or new ideas.

By that time I'm all geared up and ready to go! I watch as the runners start gathering at the start chatting with each other, jumping up and down a bit for a final warm-up or in solitude focusing on the race. At that time I always think:

" Should I?"

I'm usually a little shy. But I decide to go outside of my comfort zone, grab a chair and before I know it, find myself in front and above the crowd. And I'm calling out to them: "good-morning everybody!"

I'm not sure what they're thinking about this weirdo standing there but I'm not allowing myself to wonder about that and as I haven't gotten everybody's attention I'm calling out again: "Good-morning everybody. Are you guys ready to race?" And they all respond! It feels good to have made contact. I quickly lift up my camera and shoot several Hail Mary's. It's always uncertain if and how these photos come out: they might not be in focus and there will certainly be some odd angles (although I often find myself intentionally tilting my camera). But I want to capture the response.

By this time I feel part of the family of runners. I feel a bond. I know that may be strange but it is really true. And I feel exhilarated and happy! What happens next is just simply amazing. They don't just respond...they respond tremendously!

The following photos are a tribute to all the runners. Please look at the expressions and ignore the background. I know Potomac River Running likes its new race location in Virginia but from a photographer's point of view it's terrible: the sun is always in the wrong place and it's not very scenic.

While I'm photographing I'm talking, just to myself or to the runners. I tell them that they're almost there. I tell them it's a great way to start their day and I tell them that my camera loves them. If I had more time, I'd tell them a lot more: how they inspire me, how impressed I am with them, how much I appreciate them and definitely how much I enjoy being part of their family.

The joyful expression on this little girl's face -painted during post-race festivities- resembles how I feel. Yes, it's another great early sunday morning!

Check out a related blog post: www.marleenvandenneste.com/blog/july4/firecracker5k

A Quick Journey Through Holland

I recently made a quick visit home. That home is in a tiny little country in western Europe: The Netherlands. More specifically, home is in that part of this tiny little country that's actually below sea level, also called Holland. Even if you have never heard of this country, you probably recognize it when you see this...

It's a very flat countryside in Holland. There are no mountains and to say that there are any hills is an overstatement. In fact, my son complained that when he was there last year he couldn't really get a workout while running or biking. It's along this particular lanscape that I biked to high school: 15 kilometers to and 15 kilometers from! Weather or no weather; rain, hail, heavy winds included. And believe me: I didn't think it was a breeze.

My high school was in the idyllic little town of Oud-Beijerland. Most students came from villages scattered around by bike and I cannot even begin to tell you about the bike-related pranks such as smearing glue on the seats or...well, let me not go into much detail. Besides, of course, diligently attending classes and so forth, students occasionally snuck out to the village center for a snack (think frietjes - fries -with mayonnaise) or a drink (starts with a "B" but I won't go into that either because that was and is a big no no) or just to hang out at the harbor.

Market day, every Wednesday, was and is especially fun. A variety of products, from bike parts, drop (licorice), fruits and vegetables, fish and meats, flowers, clothing, household wares to...ultimately cheese. My country just wouldn't be the same without its large offerings of cheese.

Lots of bricks in The Netherlands: brick walls, brick houses, brick streets. I stumbled upon a very ingenious way to pave a street in my neigborhood with bricks. I was so enthralled that I followed the progress for a few days (off and on).

Dutch people love biking. And if they're not biking, they're hiking. Not once a week, not twice, but practically every day. And they enjoy it

Recently in Holland parts of the country are "given back" to nature and reclaimed by water, creating a beautiful countryside with polders, dijken (dikes), water, land, water, and more water.

The small village I'm from is Maasdam. It's surrounded by water and in the summer we'd go windsurfing, sailing, canoeing or swimming. And if we were lucky, in the winter we could ice skate to the elementary school. The school was along this little waterway. Sometimes on hot days, little boys would strip to their underwear and jump in the water straight after school.

There's a lot of agriculture in Holland. Think sugar beets, beans, cabbage, potatoes and the by young children much disliked brussels sprouts. I have to admit that I am very thankful that as the years went by many different preparation methods have been developed, all better than the plain (over) boiled or steamed small green rascals.

A large part of agriculture involves cows. Dutch people like, no, love milk and karnemelk (buttermilk). But actually, there are many sheep to be found too. I want to say that they're mainly around to keep the grass cut and to fertilize the land. But I'm not certain about that.

Soccer may be a huge national sport and certainly is engrained and intertwined with the Dutch (I probably knew how to sing soccer songs before I could say a coherent sentence) but field hockey takes a prominent place. It's not just popular with girls and boys but also with adult men and women. I always make it a point when I visit the country to go watch a game or two when one of my nieces or nephews plays. They play amazingly well: the skills, energy, speed and dedication are unbelievable. My brothers and sister all coached at one time or another. Here's my youngest brother addressing his team during halftime, while they're enjoying a healthy snack of apples. A little tidbit, and I'm not saying I agree, but Dutch people frown upon volunteer coaches dressed in sweats during practices or games.

Speaking of apples: Dutch people eat healthy (well, when they're not enjoying their "friet met mayonaise"). Home cooked meals rule. And sit-down family dinners are required. The latter applies to breakfast as well. My sister still makes her children get up early (even on weekends or no-school days) to have breakfast together. She sets the table for breakfast the night before! It may have changed a little, but when I grew up, there was one ingredient that was always present on the plate: the good old white potato!

I started this blog with the windmill. I want to finish with something that Holland is truly known for and can be found in abundance on each street corner, shopping center or marketplace. Something that costs practically nothing. Something that is a required part of the shopping list and finds its way in every single Dutch home.

More photos of Holland here: http://marleenvandenneste.smugmug.com/Places/Binnenmaas/45005909_JmP4C8

Source: http://marleenvandenneste.smugmug.com/Plac...

My Favorite Little Athlete!

Everybody knows it! I love, love photographing track and field. The focus, determination, hard work, discipline and good sportsmanship impress me time and again and inspire me to do my very best capturing this all. What I love even more is when it involves young athletes.

Three years ago, in March 2013, I was at the USATF Youth Indoor Track and Field Championship in Landover, MD. Amongst thousands of athletes I noticed a young boy, so little but so very devoted. I'm guessing he was 5 years old. It was hard not to notice him. He kept popping up in several races.

When I came home, I started to process thousands of photos. Although I had many favorites, I kept going back to my little friend. I "christened" him as "My Favorite Little Athlete".

A year went by. Then in March 2014 I, once again, went to the Indoor Nationals. I had set myself some new goals in terms of trying new angles, experiment with a fisheye lens (much disliked by photo editors), more creative shots, applying new panning techniques and so forth. But above all, I HAD to find my favorite little athlete. And I found him!

A little face in the crowd, awaiting his turn in the relay. And entertaining himself, his team, and me; showing off what else can be done with a baton besides the designated use of it!

There were no tears this time. Just intense focus.

And clearly prepared for the starter's gun; and loud, very loud, bang!

My favorite little athlete ran several races.

Oddly enough, I never checked what his times were. I had no idea how he placed. It didn't seem important to know as I was mostly focussed on keeping track of him and showcasing his efforts and a little of his personality. But his coach definitely seemed very pleased!

Playing, focussing, working hard and...caring for his teammate. It all seemed to fit my previous perceptions of this young track star!

At this point the little boy was still anonymous. I didn't know his name or what team he ran for. I didn't know his coach nor his family. So then, after this race, in the chaos of the moment and the victory, I called out to the coach that I had many photos of his athlete and could he please get in touch with me.

Once home I quickly put together an album of photos of my favorite little athlete, stuck them in a collage and put that on my Facebook page hoping that someone would know this little guy and give me contact information. I really wanted to get in touch with family members. But that didn't happen. I was disappointed.

Not a month ago I went to The Netherlands to visit my family and cut that trip short so that I could cover the National Youth Indoors for the third time. This time it was called Hershey Youth Indoor for #USATFutureStars. Once again I set out to try new things, thinking of a great photographer's advice to always ask yourself before each new event: "Why am I here and what can I do differently?" (Ross Taylor). I had fun experimenting. But I was a little disappointed because my favorite little athlete was nowhere in sight. Sunday afternoon, towards the end of the meet and as I was doing different things, I finally saw something familiair from the corner of my eye. Yes! It was him! I quickly spun around and got him a few times during the race.

He had grown and his strides were much longer.

He also seemed a lot faster!

I wasn't going to let him out of my sight. Even if it meant waiting around the water fountain amongst many sweaty and/or collapsing and/or crying (from pain, joy or relief) athletes! This time I was hard-set to meet his coach and give him my business card.

But I got more: his mother! Finally! In the victory of the moment I gave her my card.

A few weeks after the meet his mother contacted me. I explained to her that I had been tracking her son for three years. It must have seemed a little odd to her! She told me that she and her husband have been coaching their little boy for several years and that he participates mainly in the 1500/1600 meter run, the 800 meter run, the 4x4 and most recently the long jump. And in her own words: "Ever since he started track and field 3 years ago at 5 years old, we (his dad and I) could also see the dedication and heart that goes into every race he runs. Winning or not, he gives it his all. But I have to admit he's had a pretty successful "career" so far for an eight year old:). I'm excited to see what the future holds for him..."

So my story has come full circle. My favorite little athlete has a name now and a background. I, too, am looking forward to see what the future has in store. I wish him and his parents all the best.

To see more young track and field athletes in action, look here: http://marleenvandenneste.smugmug.com/XCTF/Hershey-Youth-Indoor-315/48218615_QmRKCn

Source: http://marleenvandenneste.smugmug.com/XCTF...

Cool School Plunge 1/30/15

The Cool School Plunge is an annual event that takes place in Sandy Point State Park, Md. A large number of school teams come brave the Bay to support Special Olympics Maryland. Air and water temperature are frigid. I'm literally run over but it is worth it: the excitement is beyond the imaginable.