krnaturalphoto's Blog 
If you stay for the entire dog show you eventually see all the dogs in attendance whittled down to the small number of dogs that will compete for Best in Show.
The dogs that are in left in the show ring for Best in Show will be one breed of dog that represents each group of dog breeds in the dog show.
Watching the groups and the Best in Show portion of the dog show is a great way to see a wide variety of dog breeds in the shortest amount of time.
It is always fun to see spectators cheering on their favorite dog breeds.
I would be cheering for the Rhodesian Ridgeback in this group from the Best in Show group.
Which dog would you be routing for?
Photo details: Nikon D300. Tamron AF 18-200mm f3.5-6.3. Focal length 32mm. ISO 400. 1/320 sec. f/13.
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I’ve never had a bad day hanging out in the woods with my camera. On this occasion I was sitting out in the woods with a camera waiting for runners to pass by me along the trail which they were traversing. It was Sharp Top 25k and 50k day.
The Sharp Top 25k and 50k is run on the Old Loggers Path in part of the Loyalsock State forest. The Old Loggers Path is a 27 mile trails through the woods and up and over some good climbs. The 50k follows this trail in its entirety and the 25k splits off near the half way point.
The race is on a loop course for both he 25k and the 50k. The race starts and finishes in Masten, PA. Masten is essentially a ghost town. However, there is now camping available in this location.
If you like a race that is off the grid, this is a good one for you. Cell phone reception drops off well before you reach the start finish line of the event. If you need cell phone reception there is a little bit of reception in just the right place up at the events name sake location the Sharp Top Vista.
My goal for photographing this event was to capture at least one photo of every participant in the race at both distances. After doing some exploration on my own and consulting with the race directors it seemed like the ideal location for this would be at the Sharp Top Vista. All the runners pas through this point and there will be an aid station waiting for them to refuel and hydrate.
This really seemed like a great spot to work some photography. Trying to capture some images of runners moving along the top of the vista would be an interesting challenge. I really wanted to create some awesome memories for the runners and showcase the view that can be seen from this location on Sharp Top.
Although my main goal was to capture images featuring the view from sharp top I also wanted to capture images of the runners as they reached the top of the climb and emerged from the woods. This had me pivoting from left to right and right to left. I was capturing new runners reaching our location on one side as well as trying to capture all the runners leaving the aid station and heading back out on the trail along the vista on the other side.
I had a great time hanging out at Sharp Top Vista and talking with the amazing volunteers working the aid station there while capturing the race photos there. After the last runner passed through the aid station the volunteers packed up and we headed back down to the start finish line.
Hanging out at the start finish line for race photos was fun as well. I don’t usually take finish line photos because they aren’t usually the most visually appealing places to me as a photographer. But out here in the woods of Masten, PA there was a totally different vibe for finish line photos.
I missed out on a lot of the 25k runners finishing their races because I stayed up at Sharp Top for so long, but there are always choices that have to be made in photography and I really wanted to get a photo of each runner so that meant missing some runners finishing.
But I did get to the start finish line literally as the overall winner of the 50k was crossing the finish line. Then shortly after that the first female finisher came through the finish line and I was there to photograph her victory.
I tried photographing the runners finishing there races from a couple of different locations. And I also tried to mix in a few images of participants celebrating and socializing with the rest of the trail community. I eventually settled on a location where I could see the runners approaching through the trees and photograph them as they rounded the bend along the dirt road that lead to the finish line. And that is where I photographed most of the finish line photos from.
It ended up being quite a warm day for a race. I was melting just standing around holding my camera. My hat is off to everyone who ran this race in the heat.
You can follow this link to the full album of race photos which I uploaded to Facebook for easy viewing and shareability for everyone: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10166669654000061&type=3
Please feel free to comment and share the photos on your social media. I would just ask that you credit me as the photographer when you share them. If you like a photo and would like ot purchase either a full size digital image or a physical photo print please contact me on social media or by email at KRNaturalPhoto@Gmail.com and I will add the photo to my photography sales site so that you can order whatever you would like.
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Bernese Mountain Dogs are our favorite breed of dogs.
We have shared our home with 7 different Bernese Mountain Dogs.
We probably spend more time watching the Bernese Mountain Dogs at the dog show than any other breed.
It has been really fun being around the Bernese Mountain Dogs during dog shows.
It lead to us making friends with other Bernese Mountain Dog lovers.
We were even introduced to and joined our areas Bernese Mountain Dog club.
If you are ever looking for a great dog breed as a companion I would highly recommend the Bernese Mountain Dog.
Photo details: Nikon D500. Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. Focal length 200mm. ISO 400. 1/1250 sec. f/2.8.
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Sometimes I go to dog shows and see all the same dog breeds. Sometimes I go specifically to see a specific dog breed.
Then there are other times when I go to a dog show and see a breed of dogs I had not seen in my previous visits.
Until the last few years I had never even heard of a Berger Picard let alone seen one.
I always enjoy being introduced to a new breed of dogs. It is especially cool when it is a dog breed with such cool characteristics.
The Berger Picard is a dog that is on the large side of the size scale.
And the Berger Picard has really cool looking thick wiry long fur.
The fur on the Berger Picard’s face grows into a long almost stiff looking beard.
And that is one of the things I like most about this photo. The Berger Picard is shaking their head and the dogs beard is swooshing from side to side in the air.
Photo details: Nikon D500. Nikon 300mm f/4. Focal length 420mm. ISO 400. 1/4000 sec. f/5.6.
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I always enjoy how many people gather around to watch the agility dogs show their stuff. You can see all the spectators in the background of the photo.
I often shoot close up shots of the dogs during agility so I see in detail the dogs reactions to the agility course.
In this photo of the Belgian Tervuren I set it up so there is a nice scenic background showing off the beautiful sate park where the dog show takes place.
The spectators are enjoying the show. And the volunteer ready to help out along the side.
Then there is the star of the show. The Belgian Tervuren crossing the dog walk obstacle.
This wider angle shot shows the whole long span of the dog walk, From the back end the Belgian Tervuren climbs up and over the top and down the ramp in the front.
It was a great placement of the obstacle for this photograph. I could not have planned it better.
Photo details: Nikon D500. Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. Focal length 86mm. ISO 400. 1/8000 sec. f/2.8.
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Belgian Sheepdogs are beautiful dogs. Jet black fur.
A long fluffy coat. Looks luxurious to pet and snuggle.
I thought about cropping the photo to remove the person walking along side the dog from the image.
But there is something I like about that aspect in the image. The handler walking alongside the Belgian Sheepdog combined with the fence in the background helps to provide a sense of size.
The person at the edge of the image doesn’t detract from the image. But we can see Belgian Sheepdog’s significant size and stature.
The Belgian Sheepdog is not an overly large dog, but is not a small dog either.
I used a preset in Adobe Lightroom to bring out the texture in the Belgian Sheepdog’s fur.
Photo details: Nikon D300S. Nikon 300mm f/4. Focal length 420mm. ISO 400. 1/1000 sec. f/5.6.
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Watching a dog during an obedience trial is like watching a dog put on a clinic of all the things a dog can do.
One of the most interesting things to watch the dogs do is on display in this photo of a Belgian Malinois.
For this objective a set of identical objects are laid in the grass. The dogs human keeps one and rubs there hands over it to put their scent on the object. Then the object is placed in the grass amongst the other objects.
It is the job of the Belgian Malinois to find the object that the human has touched,
The Belgian Malinois sniffs the pile of objects. Finds the correct object. Retrieves the object.
Then the Belgian Malinois brings the object back to their human. And to complete the exercise sits on cue next to their human.
Photo details: Nikon D500. Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. Focal length 175mm. ISO 400. 1/500 sec. f/2.8.
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The Bedlington Terrier has such an interesting look when groomed for a dog show.
The dogs look is reminiscent of a sheep.
I don’t think I have seen another breed of dog whose look is anything like the Bedlington Terrier.
With the thick fluffy white fur across most of their body then trimmed short along neck, head and ears it is quite the contrast on the body of the Bedlington Terrier.
It is interesting how thick the fur along the top of the Bedlington Terrier’s snout is. Not many breeds of dog have that characteristic.
The tufts of fur at the tips of the ears wave like flags in the wind.
Photo details: Nikon D300S. Nikon 300mm f/4. Focal length 420mm. ISO 640. 1/1250 sec. f/5.6.
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Will I be the tortoise or will I be the hare? Pretty sure I won’t be the hare, but I am feeling a little swifter than a tortoise these days. It’s time for the next Finger Lakes Running Club trail race. This event is the Tortoise & Hare Trail Run, which has a distance of apx 10k. You know trail distances. It’ll be kinda close. This is the fourth race in the FLRC Trail Circuit.
Pre- Race
This race is held at another one of our beautiful state parks. This time at Buttermilk Falls State Park. I wanted to arrive a little early to have a chance to stretch my legs. And what better way to do that then hiking a little ways up the gorge and photographing one of the amazing waterfalls that this state park features.
History
I have run this race two time before. Way back in 2016 and 2017. So it has been 5 years since I was last here. I am familiar with the course and I had some idea of what to expect. There was the one beast of a climb after the one mile loop around the fields and woods of the lower park. I was really hoping to just be a little bit faster than the last time I was here. Then at the pre race meeting they made an announcement that the course had to be rerouted due to a bridge we would normally cross being out. This year the race would run all the way around Lake Treman at the upper portion of the state park. And the RD said on of my least favorite words when in the setting of a trail race, STAIRS. WE would have to navigate some stairs. I didn’t know if that meant going up or going down or how many but for me stairs in general make a race course more difficult.
Run the race you’re in
And then it was time to race. I knew the first mile was essentially flat as we ran across the field and looped around through the woods. My goal was to run that at a pretty fast pace so I could try to get a little separation before staring the big climb to the upper part of the park. knowing myself, the climb is where I would struggle the most so getting out to a quick start was going to be a great help.
I finished the first mile in 8:31 and it actually felt pretty good. I was pushing, but not too hard. An 8:31 pace is good for me and is quite fast for me on trails. I was feeling pretty strong. And I was ready to take on the climb.
The climb
I am not a climber. When it comes to trail running large chunks of elevation game are me weakness. This is where I am most often passed by people. Then the big climbs leave me feeling sapped for energy even after finishing them and it takes a while for me to get my feet back under me.
I was really hoping to perform better on this climb than I did, but considering my volume of running has been pretty low for the past month I will take what I can get. I power hiked up the climb the best that I could. 515 feet of elevation gain over the second mile and that didn’t even complete the full climb. It ended up being another 10th of a mile to finish off the climb.
Then the course flattened out for the next mile.
Upper Buttermilk Falls
The portion of the race run in the upper part of Buttermilk Falls State Park is not as flat as the first mile, but is much flatter than the second mile was. It is actually a nice section of trail. Mostly single track trails. A lot of mostly small elevation changes. And it is a nice scenic jaunt through the woods.
At the far end of the course that trail reaches the farthest part of Buttermilk Falls State Park. And that is also the highest elevation point of the race. So, thats good right.
Normally the course for the race is like a reverse4 lollipop setup. The runners run the loop through the field in the beginning then up to the farthest out point of the park with just a small loop at the top before retracing their steps back down the gorge the same way they had come.
Usually I see a lot of the lead runners pass by me on their way back down. But due to the change in the course this year causing us to run around the lake at the top of the park I only saw the race leader as he completed his loop of the lake and headed back down the gorge.
Running around the lake
I really wasn’t sure what to make of having to run around the lake this year. I had hiked the trail around the lake once before but I really could not remember anything about it. But, apparently, according to the race director there would be stairs.
The part of the loop that took us around the lake for the most part was a fun run. There was actually a good bit of downhill running, which is what I like. Unfortunately, the nice runnable sections were punctuated with a few steep stair climbs.
When I reached the first of these stair climbs I cursed under my breath. These stairs really slowed me down and that is where I began to lose ground. At each new stair climb I was passed by more people. But eventually that was over. I survived it and I still had gas in the tank.
I knew what was next. Descending that steep climb we had in the beginning. Time to see what I had left.
The final descent
After completing the circuit around the lake it was essentially all downhill from here. That included a steep decent that covered almost all of what turned out to be the final 3/4 of a mile.
This is where I was hoping to have a chance to put some speed on. I like downhill running and I am not afraid to try to go as fast as my legs can handle.
I was slowly picking up the pace. But I was also trying to pace myself and not push too hard too soon. I wanted to have something left to go hard on the long descent and push through the flat to the finish line. Going hard all the way down was going to put a pounding on my legs and tire them out so I had to conserve them a little bit leading into this final drop down to the finish.
Then the moment arrived. Down hill we go. This is what the whole race is about for me. A chance to run this very runnable and steep descent. Downhill running is my favorite especially on runs where I have enough left in the tank to try and go fast. And this race did not let me down. I was actually able to catch and pass a couple of people who had passed me previously.
Then I was down the hill and across the finish line.
I grabbed a bagel and some Gatorade and walked back towards the area directly preceding the finish line to wait and cheer on my friends who were also running the race. They both finished shortly after I did. And we celebrated a well run race together.
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The Beauceron is a beautiful breed.
I have not had the pleasure of seeing this breed very often. I hope to see more of the m in the future.
It is really nice when there is a breed of dog that I don’t see regularly and I get to see it in both the conformation ring and out on the agility course.
Seeing a breed of dog like the Beauceron in more than one context helps me to feel like I know more about these dogs.
Dogs composed in conformation. Dogs in frenetic motion during agility.
Photo details: Nikon D300S. Nikon 300mm f/4. Focal length 420mm. ISO 400. 1/2000 sec. f/5.6.
