Facebook memories reminded me that nine years ago 3/27/2010 I had my first pieces of artwork on display in an art gallery. That was the opening of a door to things I never imagined. Those photographs would be on display in the Artisan’s Shoppe in Wellsboro, PA. It is quite amazing that on that same day nine days later another door would open to me and an opportunity to take on something else totally new in my life would arise. Nine years after my first photographs went on exhibit I am back in Wellsboro, PA meeting with the fine folks at the Tyoga Running Club. I had been having this idea developing in my mind now about a project I would like to embark on. I finally got up the nerve to approach them about it via email and they invited me to attend a meeting and discuss my idea with them.
Leonard Harrison State Park, PA
I have really have been learning that the hardest part of the creative process is the ask. Reaching out to people to ask for support and or collaboration just fills me with anxiety and trepidation. It is the one thing that holds me back more than anything else. As the day went on I became increasingly nervous about this meeting. I do not enjoy speaking in front of groups of people. One on one I can talk your ear of, and some would say quite loudly, but group speeches are not my thing. As I sat in the meeting room with the Tyoga Running Club and they discussed their preliminary business before turning their attention to me. My hands were sweating profusely, and I continuously tried to dry them on my pants. I sat off to the side seriously reconsidering having passed on a beer from the bar. Thankfully when they turned their attention to my idea my brain and my mouth seemed to function relatively normal and for the most part I was able to express myself fairly clearly I think. I enjoyed sharing my ideas with them and talking with them.
Hills Creek State Park, PA
If you have been following me here you’ve seen that my running has progressed to longer and longer distances and as I have explored different running challenges I have been in search of ways to document my adventures and share them with the community. I am always open to taking on challenges especially in the form of new creative ideas in my photography and new physical challenges through my running. I am always looking for ways to combine those two aspects of my life and do new things. As I planned for 2019 I knew I wanted to do a couple of big races. I wanted to run Worlds End 50k again because I loved that race last year. Then I wanted to use that training and race to propel myself forward into my first 50 mile experience at Finger Lakes 50’s 50 mile race. Despite those two huge goals for this year there was just this niggling in the back of my head that kept thinking “What about more?
I kept returning this idea of running 100 miles. 100 miles is pretty much the standard high water mark in ultra running for now. In all the challenges I have undertaken while I knew they would be and will be difficult and challenging but I have been pretty confident and remain pretty confident tht I can at least finish the race. 100 miles is a totally different story. I have no idea if I can actually run 100 miles and there really is no way to test it other than to do it. As a writer and photographer I want to turn any new adventure into a creative project, so that is what I sought to do.
Ives Run, PA
I don’t really like to travel and I knew there was a 100 mile race nearby in my area. That race is the Pine Creek Challenge hosted by the Tyoga Running Club. I have been to their events in the past and they always do a great job. This made sense to be the event that I would try to run. The Pine Creek Challenge takes place in the Wellsboro, PA area. The course follows a section of the Pine Creek Rail Trail. Not only does the running fit perfectly into what I like to do, the experience overall fits right into my wheelhouse. I have been to the Wellsboro area multiple times most of which involve exploring the natural landscape, trail running, or photography or some combination of those things. This is a beautiful region. I have seen some of it but not as much as I would like and I have not spent time on the Pine Creek Rail Trail despite frequently thinking about doing so. This would give me a reason to do it.
Leonard Harrison State Park, PA
One of the goals of my photography is to show off and generate support for our natural areas, our local communities, and our local organizations/businesses. I really wanted to collaborate with the Tyoga Running Club to show off their event and the amazing natural area it showcases and the community that supports it. I am really excited and grateful to have their support as I embark on this project.
The goal of this project is to create content about the natural area where this event takes place and about my experience competing in and training for this event. This will include trips to the area to photograph the scenery and probably writing about it. I would like to go down and do some running there. I plan to photograph the event as I participate in it. I will also shoot some video of the event. When I shoot video it is not usually centered on myself. It usually focuses on the scenery. On occasion I will film myself running. And even more rarely when filming myself I will speak to the camera. I know after reading this much verbiage from me it doesn’t seem like it but I’m shy and I don’t like to be recorded or speak on camera. But I think recording some of my thoughts as I am going through the actual experience of this race would be valuable in completing the project and be compelling, I hope.
Colton Point State Park, PA
And to top it all off I will write an article about my experience that includes my photography as well that will be published on my website and potentially in a local or regional publication. (If you are a publisher and this sounds interesting to you or you know someone who is please reach out to me.) I will share a lot of this work and my process on my website and social media as well as in conjunction with Tyoga Running Club.
If you like the concept of this project and would like to see more work like this please support me on my Patreon page, KRNaturalPhoto, for as little as $1 a month. It helps me to be able to do this work.
Colton Point State Park, PA
