Welcome to Nome, Jason Mackey

[Blue_In_AK]

I've been having a lot of fun going through my Iditarod pictures, especially the ones from the finish. We greeted every musher, and I got lots of pictures of everyone -- and didn't lose any. (Yes!) You might remember that last year I lost about 450 of my favorite shots because I somehow f***ed up while transferring files. This year I went with plenty of cards and didn't download them to anything until I got home.
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Here is a picture of Jason Mackey, looking relieved to be at the finish line. His brother, four-time winner Lance, didn't run the race this year because the radiation treatments for his throat cancer have left him pretty weakened. He lost all his teeth and will need major oral surgery. His spirits are good, and I did see him out in Nome briefly, but he's just a shadow of himself, at least at this time. We all hope for the best for him. This is a really good article about Lance and his current life. The guy's indomitable. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2014/03/01/lance-mackey-cancer-survivor-iditarod-race/5926635/

Anyway, here's Jason.

[Solly Mack]

1. That's a great pic, Blue. His expression, his frozen mustache and beard - tell a story.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Thanks, Solly.

I've been pretty pleased with a lot of my close ups. The race was so grueling for the mushers this year (not so bad for the dogs) that they arrived at the finish line with all kinds of emotions - a couple crying, others jubilant, some just "dog tired" and relieved. One guy took almost 21 hours to finish the last 22 miles of the race ... the weather kept turning him back to the last checkpoint. He was absolutely ecstatic at the finish line. The emotional component made for some great candids. (I'm such a voyeur. Lol.).