jonknapp.net

The Malibu Marathon

2009-11-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

It finally happened. After over 12 years of wanting to run a marathon I finally did it. This last year I have been on a journey of training my body to run the 26.2 miles. My year's journey lead me to run my first half marathon last June, log my 1000th mile of recorded running, and last Sunday run through the finish line of the Malibu International Marathon.

Race Day . . . Pre-race:
We (my wife and I) woke up at 4:00 Sunday morning, and started our day with a bowl of cereal, a banana, and a quick shower rushing out the door at 4:30 . . . to make it to the buses by 5:00. After sitting in the buses for a while, they took us from the finish line up to the starting line. It felt like the longest bus ride of my life (I think it took over 45 min.) and the realization hit home that I was going to have to run this entire way back. I settling into my seat, and tossed down half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to complete my breakfast.

Once the buses dropped us off we had to wait around in the cold for another 45 minutes or so until the race began.

Race Day . . . the first 10 miles.
The first ten miles of the race were great. We ran through farm land in Camarillo. We began the race doing everything right. We started with a slow pace that was going to take us through the race and help us finish strong. Running right at 11:00 minute miles.

The sun rose over the Malibu hills, and we felt strong. Our only complaint was that the first 9ish miles or so the porta-potties were lock. It wasn't so bad for me, but Lynsey was in need of one. She held it, but I can't say that for all the runners. Yeah . . . avoid eating this season tomatoes from Camarillo. =)

Race Day . . . miles 10-13.
Miles 10-13 we still felt strong but they were incredibly difficult. As we came around the point just past Fort Mugu, the wind started to pick up and developed into a head on wind that was extraordinarily strong. It was the type of wind that blasts sand into your legs, and feels like needles going in your skin.

It was unknown it was going to be like this the rest of the race. Should we walk through the wind to conserve our energy or should we go for it? With idealistic determination we muscled through the wind. I have never ran so hard to travel so little distance. My heart rate was up over 200 as I fought through the wind. Lynsey got some water at one of the aid stations, by the time she lifted the cup to her lips the water was blown all over her. Big props to the volunteers who manned that aid station all day. You guys are the real heroes!

Race Day . . . miles 14-18.
Miles 14-18 were really nice. We were into the heart of the Pacific Coast Highway with beautiful views of the Ocean to our right and canyon mountains to our left. The wind had died down, and so did our pace to help our bodies recover a little from the previous miles with the wind. We thought we would bring it down a little in hopes to still finish strong. For the most part we were still feeling good and enjoying the run.

Race Day . . . miles 19-26
Mile 19 . . . the hardest mile I have ever run in my life!!! Several things converged all at once. Here they are. 1) The sun . . . I don't do well in heat. It was only 75 degrees out, perfect right? Not so much. After my heart rate being up my body was working too hard to cool, and the heat was starting to get me . . . I think I was developing a mild case of heat stroke. 2) I hit the wall hard and my body didn't want to go on. 3) Mile 19 was were the course started to climb in elevation, I was staring at a big hill in front of me. 4) My body stopped processing the electrolytes I was taking, and the water wasn't getting where it needed to. The result? My leg cramped . . . actually locked up and knocked me off my feet into the guard rail on the side of the road! As my calf muscle balled up near my knee, and my quads followed the example, I was sitting on the guard rail unable to unlock them. Finally I stood up anyway, and used my weight to free them.

So what do you do? You only have two options . . . continue on or drop out, and there was no way I trained for a year to drop out of the race. I would finish if I had to crawl the last 7 miles!

For the rest of the race my legs were cramping off and on. At times it was cause me to stumble a little, while other times it just hurt. About mile 21-22 I caught a bit of a second wind, and running became a little easier.

As we made our way through the 6ish miles of hills we decided to walk up the hills and run down them. This helped, as I had a had a chance to rest a bit on the up hills.

By mile 23, I was quite nauseous, stopped sweating, and was turning into a pillar of salt.

Eventually, I saw the 26 mile marker, and I have never been so glad to see the number 26 in my life. (By the way, I would like to take a moment to thank the boys and girls club of Malibu for making all the mile markers! Great job!)

The last couple miles were down hill so we coasted on through the finish line to finish in 5:37:31 (with an average heart rate of 184 for the course. yikes.). Not really a good time for a Marathon. I was hoping for something more like 4:45. But hey, I finished! And I had over come a difficult course and didn't stop even when my body wanted to.

Highlights . . .
1) My wife! She ran the whole course with me even though she could have smoked me (as heat doesn't bother her). This race was a testament of her love for me, and she kept me going! Love you honey (incase you are reading my blog).
2) Though difficult, the course was amazingly beautiful, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Even through the pain, I was able to enjoy the beauty of God's creation. I guess like life it is what you choose to focus on as you journey through it. In my case, should I focus on the the trashed quads or the gorgeous beauty all around me? I tried to choose the beauty.
3) Playing leap frog with Barefoot Ken Bob. Not only was he in a recent addition of Runner's World Magazine, he actually runs marathons barefoot! Nice guy. We passed each other enough times, that I finally stopped the race to ask if I could get my picture with him.

4) Our friends the Swanson's, came down to run the race, and cheer us on in our first marathon. It was so good to see them smiling at us at the finish line. Hanging out with our very own post run at In and Out burger. Then off to the hot tub at our hotel.
5) Speaking of hotel . . . our $54 a night hotel was the best place we have stayed when comparing value for your dollar. Thanks Good Nite Inn.

In Conclusion . . .
Though we could hardly walk the next two days, by now, the pain as all worn off and is a distant memory. But the accomplishment sticks with me, and will for the rest of my life.

I now turn my sights to my next race the 10K give and gobble in Sherwood on Thanksgiving morning. I ran the route today in preparation, and did it faster than my race time last year. It felt good to get out there, and run a shorter distance faster!

Much love to all who prayed and supported me on this journey (especially Lynsey) . . . I couldn't have done it with out you!

To see more pictures of our vacation and race, click here.

Westside Christian HS Senior Discount

2009-09-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

If you are a student at Westside Christian High School, and you get your senior photos taken in the month of October with Jon Knapp Photography LLC, you are eligible for 10% off the price of the digital images should you decide to purchase them.

Here is more information on Pricing and Contact.

Wedding Photography

2009-08-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

It wasn't too long ago that I officially photographed my first wedding. I am pretty familiar with the wedding scene as I grew up playing guitar in weddings, being ushers, and candle lighters. As I got older I began to be a groomsman, then best man, while still playing guitar in weddings. Then I became the groom!!! (My favorite wedding ever!) More recently I began officiating weddings as the pastor (in fact I am doing that later today over on the coast), and this year marked the year I took my photography business to the wedding scene.

I love weddings, and it is fun to be able to see weddings now from the photographers stand point. Trying to capture the amazing moments, and create a few as well.

Here are some of the images that I got from the wedding. I will also put a link at the bottom of the page with a few more pictures to view.

http://photography.jonknapp.net/photography/geist/

Laughlin Family Pictures

2009-08-17T17:50:00.001-07:00

I was recently able to do a photo shoot with the Laughlin Family. The family is very photogenic, so my time with them was fun, and I am pleased with the images we got.

It was especially meaningful as their oldest Stephen was home for a little over a week from the Navy. So we were able to take pictures of him while he was in uniform. You can view more photos of the family here.

Now is a great time to get family pictures done as the weather is nice, you can use the pictures in a couple months for your Christmas cards, or even Christmas gifts!

East Coast Trip

2009-07-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

This month was the first time that I have gotten to visit the East Coast. We packed our bags, Lynsey's parents and grandma, and headed East to visit Family in Connecticut. While there we took a couple of day trips. The first to New York. We left at 4:30 am to catch a train into the city. While there we got to visit Liberty and Ellis Islands, see ground zero, times square, Rockefeller plaza, and central park. The city skyline is impressive to see, and I was doing my best to capture a couple of worthy photographs of them.

Our next day trip was to Boston.

While in Boston, I was excited to see the rich history the city has to offer, so I drug the family along the freedom trail, which is a line that goes through the city leading you to sites of historical significance in Boston. On the left you can see a picture of the Old North Church where Paul Revere road his horse into town to light the lantern warning of the invasion by the British (though at that point we were all British, a technicality they like to point out on the trail).

The picture to the right is said to be the oldest pulpit still in use in the United States. Made in 1717. You can find it at the King's Chapel in Boston. Being a pastor that sort of thing interests me.

And of course no trip to Boston would be complete (if you are a runner) without a picture of the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Maybe someday, I will run across that legitimately (without blocking traffic with my camera!).

If you are interested in seeing more of my picture from the trip, I have broken them up into 4 different links.

For my favorite pictures for Boston and New York click here.

While there I also took some nice pictures of Lynsey's family. On this site you will also see Ashley's (Lynsey's 27 year old Cousin who past away last February) graveside. To see the family pictures click here.

The rest of the pictures I will link are more of snap shots to document our travels. If you are not already board to tears looking at pictures (or if you have nothing better to do.) you can see more family pictures here, and a bunch of miscellaneous pictures here.

New Equipment

2009-07-02T19:52:00.001-07:00

I purchased some new equipment for my photography business recently to take my indoor photography up a notch. I decided on a couple of Vivtar 285HV flashes and a back drop.

I was excited to put them to work right away to capture a profile shot for a client. I had a great time with the shoot, and we got several images that I was really happy with. Here is one of them.

I also recently photographed a wedding. I will try to get pictures of that up soon.

Family Camp-Out

2009-07-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

A tradition that has lasted over 20 years . . . our family camp-out. We camp at Lake Siskyou, which is beautiful and has a wonderful view of Mt. Shasta. Every year is a bit of a different crowds as some years members of the family are unable to come. Last year I missed as I was in Honduras. But I was excited to go this year.

Here is a photo of the family right before we took a hike.

Lynsey and I went on a 12 mile run while down there, to try to keep our miles up. It was hot, and had a little less oxygen as we were about 3500 ft. But all things considered we did surprisingly well.

Below is a couple of pictures I took of Stellar Jay's who were looking for a hand out.

While I didn't get to many pictures of the Mountain this year, I did get one as night was falling. It is hard to see on this page as the picture is so small. But if you click on it, you can see the stars shining over the mountain. I have always been fascinated by stars. It was fun to be able to capture their light next to a mountain I love.

Runner's Prayer

2009-05-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have been a jogger most of my adult life, but this past year I have grown in my love for running. I am currently training for the Helvetia Half Marathon, and my goal is to run the enjoyable 13.1 miles in under 2 hours. We will see how close I come.

One of my inspirations for running (rather than just jogging) is my friend Darin Swanson who is also a race organizer. I had the privilege of doing an opening prayer at the first race he and his wife put on earlier this spring.

Just for fun I thought I would post the prayer I wrote for his event here in case anyone else gets inspiration from it.

Our Father,

We thank you for this day and the beauty of the world you have created.

As we begin today’s journey, may we remember Your presence with us.

As we see Your creation, may we remember that it was You who created us and know us perfectly.

As we run beside another, may we remember Your call to love each other, and honor the uniqueness of each individual.

As we breathe deeply the life giving spring air, may we remember that you are the giver of life.

We pray for the courage, determination, and strength to not only finish our race today, but overcome the challenges we face.

We thank you for the ability to run, to be able run together, and to have a Reason to Run.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Booking Now for 2009

2009-02-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

I am just now starting to book my 2009 calendar for Photography. Need senior pictures? Family pictures (any family members coming to town)? Pictures of kids? Wedding? Give me a call or e-mail to book a time slot for this spring or summer. Pricing and contact info here.

Black Butte

2009-02-21T09:08:00.000-08:00

This February Lynsey and I celebrated our 7th anniversary! We always like to take some vacation time around our anniversary to get away and make some memories. This year we had the opportunity to go to Black Butte Ranch.

It was beautiful. The first few days were clear, and you could see the mountains, then it turned to snow which made everything peaceful.

If you want to see more pictures from our Black Butte 2009 trip, click here.
You can also see that I updated the pictures of Lynsey and I from this last year here.

Humming Birds

2009-01-03T18:32:00.001-08:00

As a Photographer, I have this unofficial (undeveloped) list of things that I want to take pictures of that I haven't yet. A humming bird was on the list. Humming birds are pretty awesome because they flap their wings so fast that they can hover in one place for a long time (without wind). Something not to many birds can boast. After Christmas I was at my Dad's in Rocklin California for a few days visiting. He has a humming bird feeder, so I figured I should get the shot I have been after.

The Shot

The Info
To get this shot I used my fastest lens, the Canon 85 mm 1.8. I set the ISO at 200 to make the senor a little more sensitive to light/speed, and picked a wide aperture of 2.2 all in an effort to bring the most important element of shutter speed in this picture to 1/3200th of a second (so I could stop the wings). I picked this as my favorite shot as he is still in flight, is in sharp focus (thank you canon lens), and has his focus on that sweet nectar inside the fake red flower. I also like that his landing gear is out and ready.

The Outtakes
Just for fun I thought I would post some of the outtakes as well. Pictures that I liked but that didn't quite make the cut. Here they are.

While I really liked this guys wings, but he wasn't in as sharp of focus (hard to do with such a narrow depth of field with how quickly they move), you couldn't see his feet, and the sky in the background was all blown out.

I liked the shape of his wings, but he wasn't as interested in the fake red flower.

This little guy was very cute, and flapping his wings, but was not in flight.

Oh yet . . .
One more thing. While we were there, there were wild turkey's walking down my Dad's street. Thanksgiving, anyone?

Alaska in Oregon

2008-12-21T10:23:00.001-08:00

Alaska shared some of it's cold air with Oregon, combined with our constant moisture this time of year it was a recipe for over a foot of snow at my house. I haven't gotten pictures of the full extent of the snow yet, but yesterday I did take some pictures of our Dog enjoying it. You can see some of the images here.

Her favorite toys are flower pots. She will spend hours chasing them around the yard. Some times she will put them on her head and run around so that you can't even see her head. You can see some pictures of her playing with one on the above link.

While the snow has been a lot of fun, it has also been a little disappointing. We have been putting a lot of work into our Christmas services at church. We had to cancel our Christmas Sunday service this morning. I am really hoping that things improve enough so that everyone can make it to our Christmas eve services on Wednesday. We have lots of great special music planned.

Enjoy the snow, and the slower pace of life that it is forcing us into this Christmas. It is a great time to remember that Christmas isn't about business, but the simplicity and of what happened 2000 years ago.

Merry Christmas!

Give and Gobble

2008-11-26T10:28:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody (a day early). One of the ways that Lynsey and I are going to make our Thanksgiving Day happy is by running Sherwood's 10K Give and Gobble race! Profits go the the Oregon food bank, and we get to feel better about eating lots of food because we ran just over 6 miles! It's a win-win.

Later that day we are having 14 people and 3 LARGE dogs over to celebrate the day together, and be thankful for family.

May your Thanksgiving day be blessed.

New Photos

2008-10-07T19:28:00.001-07:00

This last week Lynsey and I got to escape to the Oregon coast for a few days of vacation. It was a great time of relaxation. While I was there I read through 6 books on photography focusing on lighting and portraits. I also got to "make" (as one of the books called it) lots of pictures. This picture I made of the lighthouse is one of my favorites from last week.

You can see the other ones I took from the trip here.

Also if you are new reader to my website, make sure you browse the links on the right hand side of the page. Feel free to look through both my business and personal photography.

Senior Season

2008-09-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying this fall. In addition to the joys that normally come with fall . . . cool crisp mornings combine with warm afternoon sun . . . trees turning beautiful colors and beginning to shed their leaves . . . this fall I have also gotten to spend some of my time doing something that I love. Taking pictures.

This is my first year as a weekend warrior. A lovely term I picked up from my friend Chris Pierce which refers to the type of professional photographer that has a separate day job, but spends his free time on the weekends making a little money doing what he loves . . . photography.

As this is peak season for Senior Pictures I have been getting quite a few senior picture sessions lined up. Each session I have is different and wonderful at the same. Take for example my most recent shoot. It involved a very large horse and it's very cute senior. It was the first time I have tried to do a photo shoot with a horse. I learned a lot for next time, and still got some pretty good pictures along the way. Here is one of them.

Here are a few other Seniors I have taken pictures for.

If you want to see more pictures . . . on the right hand column there are links to pictures I have taken for people, as well as pricing and contact information.

I am continually putting more pictures up there along the way, so check back often.

My African Safari

2008-09-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day, Lynsey and I had a zoo day! It had been a couple of years since we had been to the zoo, and ever since I got my 70-300 IS canon zoom lens I have been itching to go, and see if I could get any good pictures of animals.

The "kitty's" are my favorite. This picture of the tiger is probably my favorite picture I took of the day, but if you want to see the other pictures as well. Just click on this link.

August Sale

2008-08-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

If you hadn't noticed the new link under my photography business, I have updated my prices for 2008 Senior Pictures.

Check it out. But in addition I thought I would run a sale this August for Senior Pictures. If you book a sitting with me this August, instead of the normal $125 to purchase the digital images, I will be knocking off $50! So for rest of the month you can purchase the images for $75. All you have to do is e-mail or call me book an appointment and mention you saw the add on my website.

Senior Pictures

2008-08-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

I have recently been expanding my photography business from only focusing on scenic and nature shots, to now working with portrait photography.

This week I did senior pictures for Brittnie, and I was very pleased with how they turned out. You can take a tour of the pictures here.

In addition to senior pictures, I have also started taking family pictures. This weekend I also photographed Brittnie's family . . . I will post images soon. Stay tuned.

My Dog: Lottie

2008-08-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today I took pictures of my big slobbery dog. Her name is Lottie. It you want to see more picture, check them out.

My Grandma

2008-07-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

My Grandparents have been a big part of my life. My grandma taught me how to play the organ, and help me develop my gift of music, and my grandpa help me learn how to fix things and use tools. They both taught me a lot about the bible, and how to live a life worthy of the calling we have received.

This year they celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary. It goes without saying that they modeled a healthy marriage for me (though I wanted to say it anyway).

On June 17th, 2008 my Grandma's life on earth came to an end. I think most of us are in a type of denial that we will ever really die (at least we sometimes live like we are). Yet getting old, and dieing is a natural part of this life, and it happens to everyone. We can't escape it. We can try to run, but we won't succeed.

The hope I have is that though her earthly life gave way, today she is in the presence of Jesus and has found a new life that is truly wonderful.

I like this picture of my Grandparents, my mom, Lynsey and I. It was taken Oct. 14, 2006 and is one of my favorite pictures of them in recent year.

Audio and Powerpoint for our Honduras Report

2008-07-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

For everyone who wants to hear the report from the Honduras Team, but you were unable to be at our church this last Sunday I thought I would make it available on my blog.

First, here is the audio file of our report.
Also, here is the power point presentation of our report (lots of pictures included) . . . feel free to click along through it as you listen to the audio.
And if you don't have the 2007 version of power point, you can download a free viewer here.

This of course is not quite the same as being there, but hopefully it is still impactful.

Honduras Report

2008-07-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

This Sunday in church is our report back from the Honduras Trip. As I am preparing pictures, and thoughts about the trip. The verse that is stuck in my head is Isaiah 58:9-10.

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."

Honduras Pictures

2008-07-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to put my pictures together from my mission trip to Honduras.
You can click here to see the pictures, or also click on the Honduras 2008 link on the right side of the blog.

While I took most of these pictures, the last 27 pictures were taken by other team members. I still posted them here as I felt they were important pictures, that I wasn't able to get.

Enjoy.

We're Home

2008-07-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

The team is safely back from Honduras. Today I started in on my e-mail back home. Already it was full with lots of encouraging e-mails. Here are a few highlights.

1) A couple months ago Juan Carlos was breaking into the Micah project and stealing from them. Once the boys found out who did it, they started to minister to him. During our time their, our team got to talk with him quite a bit, and ended up leading him to the Lord, and baptizing him. We just got a report back that he was in church on Sunday and is beginning to get plugged into discipleship. The commitment was the real deal, and we are excited to see what God has for him.

2) We are getting lots of reports back from the pastors about how much the conference meant to them. We hear that they came home renewed, motivated, and changed. I know at least one of the youth wants to go into ministry as well specifically because of this conference. This conference is something that they would really like to do again.

3) I got quite a few e-mail from the team, still basking in the glow of all the the Lord did, and what they are coming away from the experience with.
I am in the process of beginning to sort through pictures. I will get some up here on my site in the near future.

Things have been busy. Once I got back, I went down to Eugene to co-officiate at my grandma's memorial service. It went really well. I will try to put another post about that with a picture sometime in the near future.

Reflections

2008-06-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well the trip is nearing completion. Yesterday I got the chance to go to the city dump and minister to street kids.

There are probably 2000 people that live in the city dump. All day long they fight with the birds and others to pick over the trash as dump truck unload their loads. It is a scene that tears at the hearts. We handed out water, and led a couple people to the Lord while we were there. When I get back I will upload pictures. To expereince it for a few minutes is tough, and to think that this is life for so many. I am greatful for the Micah Project who has launch a ministry to these folks, and built a school so that the children could at least get an education and some day get out of the dump.

Then that afternoon we went to minister to the street kids, which for me as even harder than being at the dumb. There are probably about 1500 street kids in Teguc, most of which are addicted to yellow Glue. The effects of the glue make cocanine and heroine look like very minor drugs. They have coke bottles or baby jars with the glue in it that they breath all day long to stay perpetually high.

So Brian Wiggs led us into the heart of the city where the street kids hang out, and we started our own little Bridgetown ministry. We brought food, clothes, and washed their feet. While down their you experience almost every emotion possible . . . love, anger, fear, compassion, patience, hurt, mercy . . . and all the while just the ambient fumes from their bottles makes the head light. It is incredibly raw, primal, and you wonder if there is any hope.

Then you remember Marvin . . . the young boy that only the night before celebrated his one year anniversary in the Micah house. Just a year earlier he was one of these homeless kids on yellow glue . . . now he is a well behaved, wonderful, loving, growing boy who was rescued off the streets by Michael Miller (Micah Project) and now he has a hope and a future.

One thing I noticed was that we were noticed. We walked with our things right those the market place, and people noticed the way the Americans with the Micah boys came down to wash the feet off the people that the society casts aside. We got many smiles, and waves, and police officers who paid attentions.

As a team we as still processing all that we have experienced, and we are listening to what God has for us as a result.

One a side note I must mention it has been cool to have so many people gifted in evangelism on our trip, it was fun to watch. At one point a piece of luggage fell out of a truck, while I jumped out of the following van to pick up the luggage Mary Hunter jump out of the Van to share Christ with a girl on the side of the road. While I was filling the truck with gas Mary was leading another child to Christ.

I have no idea how many people came to Christ, but our team has truly made the most of every oppurtuntiy. This was a remarkable trip.

Tonight we go one last night to the Micah Project to share testimonies, then tomorrow we bus back to San Pedro so we can fly out the next day.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. We truly felt them every step of the way. And God did excedingly beyond my expectations every step of the way.