Memorial Day

Re emerges from our Stoic family tent on the shore of Bear Lake in Utah. Trees tower over the site and the midday sun peeks through the branches.
Big tents and big hats. That’s campground life.
Bear Lake

It’s unusual that Re and I camp so close to home (or at a campground) save for one or two long weekends a year. A few friends had grabbed a site along the shore of Bear Lake in northeastern Utah, so we loaded up the truck and joined them for some barbecuing and beers—and a little paddling.

Read a little more about Bear Lake right here. It wouldn’t hurt to get a huckleberry milkshake when you’re in town, too—they’re worth the drive from Salt Lake City.

Re kicks back in a camp chair on the sunny shore of Bear Lake. Above her small clouds dot the bright blue sky.

Rockets on Memorial Day

A Memorial day field trip to watch super bikes rip at 180 mph? Sounds good to me.

Besides falling off the back of a moving golf cart and stuffing my knees, palms, and photo-bag into the asphalt I would call it a successful trip. Nothing like a little bit of centrifugal force to start your day off with a headache.

Unfortunately Seo’s buddy Matt got the short end of the stick on a sketchy pass and ended up sliding out of the race in one of the first corners after a couple laps. Ultimately he turned out to be ok and walked off the course with a pretty beat up bike.

I’ll admit this was my first attempt at shooting anything on a track, and more specifically, anything bike-related. Seo lent me a somewhat out-of-alignment 100-400mm 4-5.6 which produced an interesting array of somewhat focused shots. Not that I’m complaining, even with a sharp 300 or 400mm tele I would have been hard pressed not to skunk myself on the first attempt. Trying to mount my 1.4x converter on the said tele was like looking into a really up-close-and-personal-blackhole… I would not suggest this technique if you lack a long lens.

After comparing blurry photos, having some laughs, and downing a beer or two the three of us headed back to Salt Lake. Photo-dork outings never get old.

A few selections below, possibly more once I have a chance to do a thorough edit.