Iditarod photos FINALLY captioned.

[Blue_In_AK]

The Iditarod gallery is finally up and captioned, so if you haven't checked it out yet, it's here. http://northernvisions.smugmug.com/gallery/4505567_7BzzX#265220325

[mth44sc]

1. I watch tonight on Versus

covered the race up thru that area that didn't have much snow on the ground. Can't remember what they called it?

Saw where Lance retired a dog early on and later talked about how they didn't seem to be responding. I remember reading about 3 or 4 days before the end that folks just didn't think his dogs were up to it. Can't wait to see how he pulled this off.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Lance almost dropped out.

He had a very hard time at the beginning of the race -- a female in heat, and his two leads Larry and Hobo got in a fight. Hobo was the one who had to drop out. The rest of the race is really exciting. You'll love it.

[CC]

2. I added your photo link to the discussion

part of the zootoo news article on the win.:hide: I did tell people to notice the look of pure joy on the dogs faces.

[ConsAreLiars]

4. Stunning work.

You surely have an artist's eye, no matter the subject. One suggestion for next year would be to use fill flash set at maybe 1/3 power to produce a catch light reflection in the eyes of the dogs (and people) when the sun's position does not. I noticed that in the last 25 or so the sun added that catch light spark to the eyes (and sunglasses), but the earlier ones mostly lacked that. It is probably a nearly subconscious reaction, dead things' eyes are dry and non-reflective, live beings' eyes are moist and reflective of whatever lights are in their environment. Seeing that reflection helps the viewer of a static image, one that may in that given moment not show it without a bit of a technical assist, enliven it and enhance the viewer's appreciation of the spiritedness of the dogs.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. Thanks for the tip...

That gives me a good excuse for learning how to operate the flash attachment. :) After starting out sunny, the day grew quite gray in the middle, so there really wasn't much ambient light for the eye sparkles. I was thrilled when the sun came out again, especially with the late afternoon angle. The weather changes so fast here.

[ConsAreLiars]

6. The techy stuff is pretty much nonsense until one discovers how it might be helpful.

It can get a bit complicated. Both your camera and the flash can be set to control the flash power output. I'd suggest using the camera controls to handle the flash as a dumb device which was left at default settings until you need more control than that. I blew a bunch of indoor shots after setting the flash to serve as low power fill flash and forgetting to reset it. Of course, I would have probably forgot that I had done this on the camera controls also, but it would have at least been one less variable.

(edit because close, on a keyboard, isn't really good enough)

[Maestro]

7. Great documentary.

I can't believe a legally blind girl is only 22 was involved in the race! Wow! Talk about brave! And I didn't realize that Mackey is a cancer survivor. Even more impressive!

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Lance has a remarkable story.

Here's a very good article from the Anchorage Daily News prior to the race, kind of a biography, that talks about the obstacles he's overcome. http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2008/mushers/story/327670.html He really is a fun champion, exuberant, friendly, and with a great sense of humor. We really all kind of love him up here.

[alfredo]

9. Terrific photo essay.