Rally Cross Time!

I was invited to ride along in an amateur rally cross event today out at the Washington County fair grounds in Hillsboro. The driver I rode with, Tristan, has been into rally cross for several years now and was racing his red Eagle Talon that he picked up from a fellow racer. Normally, Tristan drives with his wife Sarah, but she is in her second trimester with their first child and had to understandably sit this one out.

The weather was great for the race but the sky was clear which left shooting conditions of harsh sun and dark shadows. My camera settings jumped around quite a bit depending on the time of day, position, and what I was trying to capture at any given moment.

I stuck to using my two zoom lenses which are the 17-85mm EF-S and an older 100-300 F5.6 L. I used these instead of my prime lenses (non zoom) so I could move around and shoot different turns in the course from one or two locations. The tail end of the course proved to be a real good spot for grabbing shots of the cars. The dust that was kicked up by the cars dissipated quickly and wasn't a real big issue as far as affecting my camera.

The Oregon Trail Rally which takes place in mid May will bring in several big name pros to compete at PIR and out at Hood River. I was at the event a year or two ago and it was quite the show. I would like to go again this year but the event conflicts with my work schedule so it probably won't happen. The next event at Hillsboro will take place on May 30th.

You can check the Oregon Rally Group website for more information.

Here are a few pics from the event that I have uploaded to my Flickr acct. These shots are straight from the camera. I have more shots that need some adjustments that I hope to post later. Until then, enjoy!

And the beat goes...

So I have been busy as of late with several things: working on the truck, managing the work/personal life balance, Jackson's 3rd birtday party, getting a new dog, and trying to squeeze in the occasional snap or two of the camera, and working on a new family budget with the wife. I have been taking a lot of pictures lately but I just haven't found the time to really check them out. I hope in the next week or so to be able to post something recent up here so stay tuned. I'm out!

quick post

Been a slacker after the rededication....so here are a few shots of the kids at indoor playground today taken with my recently purchased 85mm f1.8.

Rolling

Rolling better know as rollerblading or aggressive inline to those outside of the "sport" has been a passion of mine since I was fifteen. Granted I don't do it as often as I would like (which would be every day if given the opportunity) but it is something that I will forever enjoy. Here are a few shots from a couple of events that I attended this year. The indoor shot is from the annual Barn Burner competition held at Skate Barn skate park in Renton, Washington. The outdoor shot is from an annual get together of the local skaters that met up at my home town park in Forest Grove this past summer. As always, more on Flickr.

Family Vacation

We took a wonderful trip out to Lincoln City this past August and rented a house on Devil's Lake for a week. The weather was awesome for most of the time which granted us some good beach fun. The lake is quite large and I highly recommend renting a house there during the summer. You can fish, swim and rent boats for fairly cheap. We even went swimming in the ocean! Other activities included my constant battle with a fishing rod, Jacob progressing to walking full time, going bowling, visiting the aquarium at Newport. Here are a few images with more at Flickr.