Scenes from Geist Lake on race day

The Geist Half-Marathon and 5K in Indianapolis and Hamilton County (Ind.) marked its fifth year last Saturday, and I was there. I was invited to photograph the event this year, and I eagerly accepted. 

My primary images were committed to the contracting firm that hired me to take pictures, but I did manage to squeeze off a few shots on a personal memory card in the moments before the start of the race ... and in the boat rides to and from that start line. It was the first time I'd ever been on this lake in a boat.

The rich, bronze-tinged photo leading off today's post was grabbed as the boat I was riding in headed northeast toward Olio Road, the start line in Hamilton County, moments before sunrise on race day, May 19. The view looks northeast. Below, I'm on Olio Road, about 15 minutes later. The sun is just beginning to peek above the trees in the eastern sky, about 15 minutes before the 7 a.m. start of the half-marathon. 

For full gallery of images from this shoot, follow the link in this sentence.

Above and next three below: Estates along the lake, photographed during the boat ride transporting me to the start line at the north end of Geist Lake.

Above and next two below: Easily the most enjoyable moments prior to the half-marathon start were observing these youths, wearing purple shirts emblazoned with "Lawrence Township School Foundation," going through a distinct warm-up routine -- dancing and grooving to the lively hip-hop music piped over the P.A. system to help energize participants. Andre, the tall youth in the front, led the group through a synchronized routine.

 

Above: A look north down Olio Road at the extensive lineup for both the half-marathon, which started at 7 a.m., and the 5K, which began in a series of five waves at 7:30 a.m.

Above: These youths are obviously loosened up for the half-marathon start.

Above and next two below: Shots taken from the Olio Road over Geist, including a very early morning water skier (immediately below). In the second shot below, the splash you see on the far left is the tail end of -- quite literally -- a fish out of the water.

Above and below: Some more homes along the lake, as seen on the boat ride back to the Fall Creek causeway, near the finish line.

 

Above: A boat in front of us as we near the Fall Creek Road causeway on the return trip after the half-marathon and 5K starts. Both 5K and half-marathon participants crossed the finish line a short jog to the right in Geist Lake Marina.

A sailing club ... and a bit more

Above: A view of some of the Indianapolis Sailing Club's keel boats in moor. This view is from the clubhouse, which overlooks the pier and harbor.

The Indianapolis Sailing Club had an open house Saturday, so I took advantage of an invitation from a fellow Indy Meetup Photo Club member -- who also is a member of the sailing club -- to check out the grounds. It was a type of scouting trip; the IMUPC is going to have a photo outing there next month, and I thought it would be good to see what we'd be looking forward to.

The Sailing Club has its grounds on Geist Reservoir on the Northeastside of Indianapolis; coincidentally, the Indianapolis Yacht Club is in the same area, just across the Fall Creek Road bridge over the reservoir.

In addition to the sailboat setting, the Sailing Club grounds proved to be a place to see wildlife (I grabbed pictures of geese, ducks, a blue heron and a squirrel), motor boats, other motorized craft, kayaking and even some fishing.

I shot all of the images you see here with my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens equipped with a 1.4 extender. Even with the extender, I often felt I didn't have enough reach for what I had hoped for ... especially for the blue heron shot.

It was sunshiny as I made the drive to the club, but by the time I arrived, skies were already overcast and temperatures seemed to drop slightly. By the time I left, which was around 4:15 p.m., it started to rain lightly.

For a full gallery of images from this shoot, follow the link in this sentence.

Above: A closeup of keel boats.

Above: Another keel boat.

Above: A look up at the clubhouse from one of the several stairways spaced around the hill and leading to it.


Above: A 1/400 shutter was fast enough to freeze the craft and its occupants ... and slow enough to get me that nifty sheet of spraying wake.


Above: A motorboat with an attentive four-legged creature serving as chief lookout.


Above: Trolling for a catch. Not long afterward, with no luck, these fishers moved off, probably in search of a more fruitful spot.

Above: Kayakers enjoying their outing.

Above: Bill Kennedy, the Indianapolis Sailing Club's official photographer who will lead the club's presentation next month when the IMUPC pays a visit for an outing.

Above: The first of a few wildlife images from Geist Reservoir. This is a blue heron, juxtaposed with the elegant lakeside housing in the background.

Above: An attentive squirrel, waiting to gauge my next move.

Above: This gaggle is fortunate to have parents who know how to split the "look both ways" duties.

Above: Ducks out for a cruise.

Tad Robinson ... on the verge of releasing another new CD

On Saturday, Feb. 13, blues singer and harp player Tad Robinson performed along with keyboardist Kevin Anker at Eddy's Neighborhood Bar & Grill at Geist Reservoir on the Northeastside of Indianapolis.

Robinson, who this Friday begins a 10-day tour of Norway, will be throwing a party to mark the release of his new CD, "Back in Style" (on the Severn Records label), at the Jazz Kitchen in Broad Ripple on April 23. Before the Jazz Kitchen party, he'll be back in Indiana -- which he makes his home -- and play several times at Daddy Jack's and a few other places, including a March 18 date at the storied Slippery Noodle Inn, Indianapolis' premier blues venue.

Robinson's previous release, the 2007 "A New Point of View" (also on Severn Records), reached as high as #2 on the Living Blues charts in April and May of 2007 and finished the year ranked by Living Blues as the No. 11 blues album of the year. He is a multi-time recording artist and multi-time blues genre award nominee, including two 2005-06 nominations for the coveted W.C. Handy Blues Awards for album of the year ("Did You Ever Wonder") and male soul/blues vocalist of the year. If you weren't aware, the Handys are the premier annual awards of the genre.

He welcomed the opportunity to be photographed for the show at Eddy's, and this post includes a few images from the performance. A personal aside: I do believe he deserved better than the very tiny floor-level corner flanked by flat-screen TVs (both of which were on and showing the Olympics during the show) that Eddy's gave him for his set-up, but as the good-natured musician explained when asked about that, "Hey, it's a gig!"

Available lighting was abysmal; I tried three "fast" lenses -- two 2.8s and a 50mm 1.8 -- and still had to push the ISO to 6400. The featured image at top was shot with the "Nifty-Fifty" 1.8; the top three below were taken with my Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8; the four closeups at the bottom with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS. The IS came in handy; I pushed the shutter to 1/40 on a couple occasions.

To view a gallery of images from Robinson's show at Eddy's, follow this link to my online gallery: Tad Robinson.