Sunday, June 1, 2014

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Zest

The first day of each month is a theme day for City Daily Photo bloggers. You can find other examples from around the world by clicking right here. The theme this month is Zest, and when I first heard about it, I wondered how to capture that, and thought of perhaps figuring out a way to fit my current series on tulips into it. I looked up the definition, and among its meanings are the emotions of excitement and enthusiasm. 

A big event a week ago here in town was Ottawa Race Weekend. There are a series of races held over the weekend, including a marathon and half marathon on Sunday. On Saturday there were a number of shorter races. Nearly forty eight thousand participants from here in Canada and all over the world took part this year, cheered on by spectators that probably numbered twice that. The man who ran the fastest time in the marathon this year came from Ethiopia, and set a record for fastest time on Canadian soil. Runners go out to raise funds for charity, for the exercise, or their personal best times. I thought of this event, and realized I could capture that enthusiasm in the faces of some of the runners, or the applause of spectators. Most of the runners have faces of pure concentration, but periodically you see the gleam in the eyes, the hint of a smile, or a broad grin. These shots are downtown, during the 5K race on Saturday. In the space of a few minutes along Elgin and Queen Streets, I probably took a hundred shots. Thank Odin for digital cameras, because that'd be a whole lot of film, wouldn't it?







43 comments:

  1. Very cool, and I really like the reflections on the buildings.

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  2. In the last image the person in the middle left is grinning and really looks like she has the ZEST for the race. Super shots. MB

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  3. A great event to highlight for the theme

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  4. very nice expression for the zest for life :)

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  5. Bravo! Gotta have zest to take on a competitive run!

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  6. Oh yes, good choice, William!

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  7. Ouch! I feel zest-less looking at them...

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  8. You need zest and enthusiasm and lots of stamina to do this. Lois Anne is a runner and I used to take hundreds of pictures of the races she ran. People who are able to do this amaze me. Nice theme day shots!

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  9. I also had to look for the definition of zest as I never heard the word before... :-) Great interpretation, William.

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  10. I had never heard of the word 'zest', but after reading your explanation, I think you have made a good choice by photographing all those runners and the expressions on their faces.

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  11. Oh my yes, they are full of zest! :-)

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  12. Linda: that particular building often seems to be one big mirror!

    MB: yes she does.

    Gerald: thank you.

    Zannnie: thanks!

    Kay: you really do!

    Stuart: I think so!

    Karl: thank you!

    VP: I can see that effect.

    Audrey: indeed!

    EG: thank you!

    Lowell: they amaze me too.

    Jose: thank you.

    Jan: it seemed appropriate.

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  13. i'd say race participation takes a lot of zest. :)

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  14. I was really hoping you'd use the soap!

    "Thank Odin?" There's one I've never heard before!

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  15. lots of happy faces! we had the same idea!

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  16. Perfect for the day! Full of zest!

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  17. Enthusiasm! This is really you need to start a race. Great zesty moment for the theme day.

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  18. If only I had that much zest!

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  19. It's a good choice for the theme this month! I wish I had enough zest to run like that. For me, a brisk walk is about all I can manage!

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  20. Ciel: that they are!

    Tex: it certainly does.

    Norma: I wondered if anyone would comment on that!

    Tanya: it seems a good way to capture zest!

    Redpat: thanks!

    Luis: thank you!

    Murcia: thank you!

    Judy: some days I think the same thing.

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  21. There's so much zest in these images it's popping out at us William :) I take my hat off to marathon runners.. I can do a 14km walk no problem, but don't ask me to run :)

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  22. These people have lots of zest and lots of stamina too.

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  23. You definitely captured the zest in some of these people's faces!

    If it were me, you'd be capturing gritted teeth, I fear!

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  24. Wow, I can't believe the number of people that participated: 48,000! Just amazing.
    Great to see these photo's.

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  25. One needs a lot of zest to run a half- or a full marathon. Ottawa was very zestful last weekend indeed.

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  26. Very zesty! Love the action shots.

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  27. @Lois: there's a lot of dedication here to running!

    @Grace: I can walk a lot, but this kind of running's a different beast entirely.

    @Sharon: they certainly do.

    @Cheryl: me too!

    @Marleen: it's a big event for runners in this country, and a well plotted route for the marathon that crosses over to the Quebec side as well.

    @Zosia: it's a whole lot of training going into it.

    @Halcyon: thank you!

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  28. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
    Road racing give me no zest. Others yes... me? Let's just say I'll watch other sweat. hehehehehehehehe

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  29. Plenty of zest there. Don't listen to Birdman. Anyone who wears a brown bag on his head is not entitled to be taken seriously!

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  30. Ah, I wondered what you were coming up with! Good choice for the theme.

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  31. Great action scenes, colorful and inspirational!

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  32. I didn't see you in the crowd of runners.

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  33. William, the next time you have to run and take pictures from the runners :)
    Too bad it away from me, we could run together.

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  34. @Birdman: I'd say it's an acquired hobby!

    @Jack: hah!

    @Linda: thanks!

    @Carraol: thank you!

    @Shelly: not quite my scene!

    @Mariusz: I'd have to get training first!

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  35. Wonderful theme day shots. I admire runners.

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  36. Wonderful shots! So many people and they are full of enthusiasm and Zest. Super!!

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  37. Having been a runner (not lately) I can attest that there is plenty of zest in the run. The feeling of euphoria is like a shot of sunshine! Love your interpretation of the theme day.

    Bises,
    Genie

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  38. Zest that admirable?
    Great captures, a veritable zest feast, William.

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  39. @Randy: it's a heck of a commitment.

    @Lauren: thank you very much!

    @Genie: thank you!

    @Merisi: thanks!

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