34rd annual east brunswick road races: east brunswick, nj

A couple of months ago I had the privilege of photographing the 34rd Annual East Brunswick Road Races.

My primary focus was to capture some moments for a friend who enjoys this type of challenge.  Me, I could never run in a marathon. I don’t enjoy running. Heck, I don’t even like exercise! But we all have our poison of choice.  🙂 When arriving and getting to know the grounds, I knew this event would present it’s own set of challenges. What’s my goal? Where’s my vantage point? The Sun is awesomely horrible today. I’m frustrated before I even started. Then I take a breath and reflect on the first MMA fight I photographed. I had no idea what to expect, where to stand, how to set my camera. I remember breaking out in a cold sweat. Feeling like my hands were jelly. I even wanted to run away at one point.  But I closed my eyes, I believed in myself… I allowed myself to let other people believe in me. And I just let my core take me through it. I felt the moment and I snapped away… That strategy has yet to fail me…  And so I did the same thing here. Sports photography is it’s own beast.  I’ve read on countless blogs how wedding photographers don’t enjoy photographing soccer games. And how boxing photographers could never enjoy portrait work. Just opinions of course. To each his own… I am somewhere in the middle still. What I do know…  I am an emotional photographer.  I aim to capture THAT moment.  The one that is almost always lost.  I aim to capture the expressions.  The victories. The defeats.  The preparation. The downshift.  I aim to capture the HEART of a person during an event. I aim to capture someone’s soul through their eyes.  I don’t know if someone can ever teach that to me. I don’t know if I can ever learn how to do that from a book or you-tube.  What I do know is to always listen to that feeling of when to press the shutter button… I can’t even really explain it. It kind of just happens.  And it has yet to fail me. So, on this gorgeous day in October, I set out for the challenge offered by my pal who believed in me. And what I captured was something truly special, to me at least… These people are focused. They set out on their own challenge. They’re not here to beat any one else’s goal. They’re all here to beat their own goals.  “Photograph the finish line?” Someone said.  “Nope, too easy.”  “Photograph the half way mark!”   “Nope they still have energy…”  I decided I wanted to photograph the LAST MINUTE. The hardest minute of their run. The final stretch where it’s do or die and they although they want to give up THEY HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH… Cause they’re almost there. They can taste their victory. They can see their own personal legend.  And so, I photographed the final bend… You will see in their faces, young and old, fit and not… that they all have the SAME GOAL… to simply FINISH.  Before you look at the photos below, I want you to put yourself in their minds. They’re at a turning point. They feel the pain. They feel the burn. But they’re going to finish. They will not give up….  I hope you enjoy the preview as much as I enjoyed taking these photos. Huge thanks to E.B for the invite. I hope to accept a challenge like this again very soon!!!  You can view more photos here —> http://bit.ly/tG9wBl