The Bayou Country Children’s Museum has recently broken ground in Thibodaux, Louisiana, near Nicholls State University.

The Bayou Country Children's Museum in Thibodaux, Louisiana held its 5K fun walk/run during the Thibodeauxville Fall Festival in the downtown area.

This race was a Grand Prix BRASS (Bayou Runners Association) event.  All proceeds went to the Bayou Country Children’s Museum. The ICAN Foundation, powered by New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas, supported the event in its effort to fight against childhood obesity.

I love to photograph anything that involves children. They are naturally curious, and they almost always seem to have a smile on their face. Kids just live life. That always seems to translate into interesting photos.

I had lots of opportunities to capture cute moments.

After the kids had their fun, the 5K began on the streets of downtown Thibodaux. Part of advancing as a photographer is all about keeping a keen eye. My head is always on a swivel, looking around for the next great photograph. The above image was not staged. In fact, I don't think either of the subjects were aware that I was taking their picture. I just happened to capture a nice moment they shared as they waited for the runners to pass. I often worry about getting into a rut when it comes to photographing runners. I envision the same old boring photos of single runners jogging with the same old look on their faces. Rinse, repeat and rinse, repeat. Surprisingly, this doesn't happen. Everyone ends up with a unique look and feel to their photograph. For instance, taken into account the above image of a man, a boy, and two toddlers in a stroller. This isn't the stereotypical shot. I particularly like how the boy is standing along for the ride. I don't know these folks, and therefore I don't know their relationship, but it does show something - it tells a story. There is always more to a 5K race than just the runners. It takes lots of people to make it happen. This usually involves law enforcement professionals as well. I generally make a point of capturing photos of them doing their job.

At the end of the race, I stuck around for the medal presentation. To me, though, it's not the generic posed photo of the winners with medals around their necks that elicit the best response. To me, it's the moments like the one above of the young girl. Those are the kind of photos that are worth a thousand words. Those are the photos that tell the story.

As you can probably tell, I love to photograph running events. If you are an organizer in Louisiana who is planning a race, please feel free to contact me. I would be interesting in working with you to capture the special moments that your event is bound to have.

Here's how to contact me:

Michael Tortorich on Facebook - https:/​/​www.​facebook.​com/​tortorich
Michael Tortorich Photography on Facebook - https:/​/​www.​facebook.​com/​MichaelTortorichPhotographyLLC
Michael Tortorich on Twitter - https:/​/​twitter.​com/​MikeTortorich
Michael Tortorich on LinkedIn - http:/​/​www.​linkedin.​com/​pub/​michael-​tortorich/​22/​35a/​a61

To reach me directly, call or text me at 225-717-0762.

More photos from the event: http://www.michaeltortorich.com/p379872372