children

By Robyn M. Perrin

Thanksgiving in its essence is such an introspective gift of a holiday – a chance to give voice to gratitude.

We at Focal Flame Photography have had so much to be grateful for since our founding. But as a small, locally-owned business, one of the most brilliant benefits of this entire journey has been the ongoing opportunity to witness the character, the antics, and the strength of members of our local community – the Madison, Wisconsin region and surrounding areas.

Take this season, for example. The majority of Focal Flame Photography’s work is in sports photography, and we’ve covered over 21,000 athletes at 23 events and custom photo shoots in 2012. Here are some of the things we’ve noticed:

We’ve seen families and friends cheer on an athlete with such intensity that you could almost feel them pour their own raw willpower into a seemingly impossible task. We’ve seen training partners crossing finish lines together while holding hands and jumping for joy. We’ve seen parents competing alongside their kids; impossible to tell which party wore the broader smile. We’ve seen kids running with their friends, co-workers laughing hysterically as they splashed their way over obstacles and through mud pits, and more than one wedding party that completed an entire triathlon together.

If you’ve become too world-weary watching news headlines about animosity and strife, come out to a local bike trail, or 5K race, or dog jog, or mud run. We’ll show you just how much friendship and love there is in our community.

Work the craft long enough, and you start to see other patterns too. Many of the events we serve benefit local nonprofits or are run by nonprofits. Several of these entities are growing and thriving. The Boys and Girls Club of Dane County (beneficiary of the Madison Shamrock Shuffle) has served 700 children this year (62% increase over 2011) in its summer camp programs for at-risk youth, and 90% of the students in the 2012 class of its AVID/TOPS pre-college program are now enrolled in college. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, which has long been an effective statewide advocacy organization to promote cycling as a form of transportation is launching its first local chapter in Dane County. Girls On The Run Dane County now offers its 10-week program for girls in over 30 schools, reaching hundreds of students with an empowering, inspiring program. And these are just a few of the stories.

If you have any concerns about the level of compassion within our community, let us show you just how deeply it runs through Madison’s veins.

Today, we give voice to gratitude. We stand in awe of you, of your stories, of your commitment. We celebrate it and honor it, because together – hand in hand - each of you makes our community whole.

Thank you. 

In thanks to everyone who makes our community strong, please use promo code GRATITUDE2012 for 25% off any purchase in any gallery on focalflamestore.com from November 22-26. Focal Flame Photography will donate $1 toward The Road Home for every purchase of $20 or more. 

by Robyn M. Perrin

“Do you want to see some photos?,” said Clint. They were familiar words from my husband, business partner, and best friend. It was late on a Saturday evening after he had returned from a commercial photo shoot for Madison Festivals Inc. to document two new events added to the Madison Marathon weekend: a twilight 10K for adults, and a half-mile kids’ race.

I am not a photographer. But I adore photography. It is a medium both raw and real, one that spans an incredible spectrum. The unapologetic witness of photojournalism, which documents the horrors of battlefields and the tragedy of famine.  The surrealism of altered images, which create a fantasy world. The minimalism of genres such as contemplative (Miksang) photography, which challenges viewers to appreciate the beauty that always surrounds us. For photography lovers, there is always more to learn, more to see, more to experience.

Every photographer – and every photography fan – recognizes “the” images. The ones that pierce the veil of mundane life and make us see with new eyes and open souls. They are images that your mind will re-play when your eyes shut. These are images that will resonate deeply and echo throughout time. They make you want to study them. They make you want to live more deeply.

They are ephemeral, and don’t come around terribly often.

But as we gazed through the series from the evening, all of a sudden I was overcome.

“Stop.”

Clint glanced over, surprised. I was wordless, because I couldn’t speak.

“You don’t usually cry at my photos,” he said somewhat playfully.

Still couldn’t speak.

The image that had pierced my vision was rendered in black and white. Two young girls were gathered close to each other. Clint explained that they were actually being interviewed by camera crew that was documenting the children’s race. While the video cameras fixed on their fresh, animated faces and the sound boom operator carefully picked up their excited chatter, Clint focused on something else.

Their hands. One African-American, one Caucasian, spontaneously intertwined.

I don’t know any details about the girls, or how they came to be at a running event together, or why they were being interviewed. But as a 37-something-year old American in the year 2012, along with over 311 million other Americans, I witness the complex reality of race in modern society. The strength of amazing role models in communities of color, the crushing economic disparities that follow racial lines with heartbreaking frequency, the depth of future possibilities for today’s youth that too often remains numbingly unrealized.

And as I looked at the image, none of that complex reality mattered. Because there, right in front of me, were two children showing each and every one of us what really matters:

Stop making it complicated. Grab your friend’s hand and go for a run together.

As the tears flowed, I realized that maybe, just maybe, it really is that simple.  That’s the power of a photograph. 

Focal Flame Photography believes that photography can help change the world, one image at a time. Join the conversation on the Focal Flame facebook page, Twitter, or on Google+. 

As the date for the New Balance 3rd Annual Girls on the Run 5K in Dane County approaches, set to run in Waunakee, WI on Saturday Nov. 12, Focal Flame Photography turns our thoughts to another youth athletic event earlier this season: the IronKids triathlon, presented in Madison for the first time in 2011. After profiling young athletes at the race on behalf of the Greater Madison Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Madison Area Sports Commission, Focal Flame Photographer Clint Thayer remarked, "There's just nothing like the energy of young, fired-up kids giving it their all on the race course. It's so much fun seeing them have a blast." 

[Writer's note: a version of this article appeared in the Off the Couch blog of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sept. 10, 2011. - Robyn M. Perrin]

Saturday, Sept. 10 – Middleton, WI - On the eve of the 2011 Ford IronMan Wisconsin for adult triathletes, 318 youth ages 6 to 15 years participated in the first-ever IronKids Madison race.

Triathletes participated in one of three age divisions, with distances ranging from 50 yd swim/2 mi bike/500 yd run for the Juniors up to a 300 yd swim/8 mi bike/2 mi run for the Seniors.

“The majority of IronKids athletes are first-timers,” said Christine Hanlon, Athlete Services and Marketing Coordinator for IronKids at World Triathlon Corporation.

The chutes and transition area were lined with parents and fans, many carrying homemade signs to encourage their athletes. The bike racks in the transition area carried a high proportion of mountain bikes.

Smiles were abundant on both novice and experienced youth triathletes. Many traveled to Madison from Green Bay, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, areas in Illinois, and even beyond.

Dan Marrello of Riverside, IL cheered on his daughter Chloe Marrello, 12, as she finished her race. “We had [a triathlon] in Riverside a couple of weeks ago, and her bike tires weren’t exactly inflated quite right. As soon as it was over we went back home and she begged me, ‘Dad, look up another race, try to find me another one.’ So this is number two for her.”

Although the IronKids race series has been run since 1985, the World Triathlon Corporation assumed ownership of the series from former owner Sara Lee Corp., and is now offering 24 IronKids races nationwide.

“Many of the athletes participating in IronKids today have parents who are participating in the IronMan tomorrow,” said Hanlon.

Such was the case with Alexandra Lorenz, age 13, of Dundee, IL. Lorenz won the female division for the Senior category and was third across the finish line overall. “My dad’s doing the IronMan tomorrow,” said Lorenz. When asked if she had any thoughts for him, she said, “I just want to wish him good luck, and I’ll be out there to cheer him on all day.”

Although Lorenz attends a small school, a triathlon club in her town helps youth train for events like the IronKids. The boy’s winner of the Senior division, Maxx Hall, is one of Lorenz’s teammates.

The growing popularity of youth triathlon is no surprise to Cindi Bannink, Owner of Madison Multisport, which fielded a Juniors triathlon team for 2011 – the first in the Madison area. “Hunter Kemper, a 3-time Olympian representing the United States, started in IronKids and he’s in his 30s now,” said Bannink. “So [IronKids] has been around for a while, but it’s building momentum.”

One consideration for high school triathletes who also compete on fall team sports is that they are ineligible for races such as IronKids Madison if they occur during the academic year. Bannink said, “Once the fall high school season sports start, athletes are restricted by the high school Athletic Association rules. So they actually can’t participate today if they are on a sport that involves the same thing,” preventing high school swimmers or cross country runners from competing in September triathlons.

But as a group of football players practiced on a field across from the start/finish area, the juxtaposition of classical team sports and endurance sports that are increasingly popular was notable.

“This is just fun, the kids getting out here and being active and doing something different and new,” said Bannink. “Triathlon [is] growing in the U.S., it’s the fastest-growing sport, I believe…this is where it starts. This is the grassroots.”

Any adult who has ever been around elementary school-aged children for more than 5 minutes (or who is within spitting distance of their own childhood) can attest to the amazing capacity that kids have for movement – jumping, fidgeting, playing, and chasing each other on the playground.

And anyone who has been involved with public schools in recent years is aware that the need for financial support is great due to declines in funding and increases in student enrollment, as well as increases in demand for student services of all kinds.

So pairing together a 5K race and 1-mile run/walk event to benefit a neighborhood elementary school seemed like a natural fit to Audra Smanski, Kindergarten Teacher at Thoreau Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin.

“My inspiration for the run came from my personal love of running as well as my involvement over the years in a 5k fundraiser for my husband's old elementary,” said Smanksi. And with the help of dedicated volunteers, parents, staff, and students, the dream became a reality on Saturday, May 14, 2011 – the Inaugural Thunderbird Bolt.

Despite overcast skies, sporadic rain, and low temperatures in the upper 40 degrees F, about 100 families or individuals participated in the event. “It is super neat to see so many families out running together, enjoying each other's company as well as participating in a healthy activity- all while helping their neighborhood school,” said Smanski.

In some cases siblings ran together; in others, teachers encouraged students and vice versa. The Thunderbird Bolt served as a neighborhood-wide accompaniment to the longstanding tradition of the Thoreau Fun Run, a school-wide run for students that has been held on a Friday in May for the last 21 years.

The confidence that the students gained from participating was apparent in their enthusiasm, and for the Thunderbird Bolt, the fact that parents and children could join together during the race made for some wonderful memories. “The best part for me was to see families walking and running together!,” said Smanski. “It is super neat to see so many families out together, enjoying each other's company as well as participating in a healthy activity- all while helping their neighborhood school.”

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