Lisa V Connor: Blog

The OTHER marathon story

Mon, 28 Apr 2014 19:19:40 GMT

Chris, a dental school student in Omaha, hates running. Absolutely hates it. His girlfriend, Kaitlyn, a student at Truman State in Missouri, loves running and signed up for the Music City Marathon in Nashville. An ever-supportive boyfriend, Chris flies into Nashville to surprise her the morning of the race. Already stunned and happy to see him, she is doubly shocked when he lets her know he has been secretly training for months to run the race with her. (I overheard her say, "I feel like my alarm clock is going to ring and I'm going to wake up!" All the pre-finish line pictures were taken surreptitiously. I kept pretending to shoot in all directions, hoping she wouldn't suspect.)

So, they run together, chat, catch up, and THEN, when they cross the finish line, the race commentators hand him a microphone. You guessed it. He is about to propose. I wish I had a transcript of what he said. Somewhere in there was “You're the best friend I've ever had, and I just can't wait one more day to ask if you'll be my best friend for the rest of our lives” (or something like that said much more eloquently.) He pulls out a ring box. Takes a knee. (I’m tearing up right now thinking about it.) Kaitlyn (beautiful girl) has this expression of... well... a description won’t do it justice. Photos below show the story of the day: Chris waiting for Kaitlyn to show up. Joyful reunion. Kaitlyn's surprise and disbelief. Mile three of the race. Crossing the finish line. Proposal. And joy-love.

Chris waits for Kaitlyn to arrive

Enchantress at the Foo Bar

Tue, 22 Apr 2014 00:33:24 GMT

Emily Dodson. Sultry mezzo-soprano with a charming,

humorous stage presence. And that dress...a photographer's

dream! All in all, great example of why I love shooting

concerts/musicians.

Snow, ice and flower - a brief photo essay :)

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:29:26 GMT

Yesterday I enjoyed a romp at the Shelby Bottoms greenway with my pup. Plenty warm enough to perspire in just a T-shirt. Today the forecast high is 75.

In one week, expect snow, with a low of 18.

I actually don’t mind the influx so much. I’d rather some respite of warmth if we must have winter.

And last year, the same. These photos from my backyard, early March 2013 tell the story.

To the right, new growth on the rose bush bearing lovely ice crystals. Below, a snowflake caught in a spider web in the rosemary bush. And exactly one week later - a purple bloom and buds on that same rosemary bush.

The new site is up and running!

Wed, 06 Nov 2013 20:04:32 GMT

I've been wandering through the maze of this new photography site by Zenfolio and am thrilled to find so many possibilities. Please share a link to the site with everyone - friends, family, strangers. I've been shooting for 20 years but have never attempted marketing, so many thanks to Carol Buttenham, marketing queen extraordinaire, who is going to tell me what to do. And because I've seen her successfully increase the clientele of other businesses, I will happily obey.

Had a busy weekend with two family portrait sessions and a five-hour shoot for Nashville's Ultra-marathon. Delightful Nashville photographer Stacey Irvin and I shoot the Ultra every year, and every year I get inspired to start running again. And TODAY I actually ran almost one mile!!!!

The Nashville Ultra-Marathon, started by Dennis Freeman in 2008, offers four distances for runners: 50k, 60k, 70k and 80k (which translates into 50 miles. Yes. 50 miles.) Attendance this year: 189 runners from 24 states and Canada. Youngest runner was 11. Oldest runner was 77-year-old Eugene, whom I have enjoyed seeing every year, and who has run over 500 races of marathon distance or longer. When he crossed the finish line, I could hear him say above the cheering, "I only ran the 50k." Oh, well in that case....