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HONORARY DISTINCTION
Hon.CPE

Karen Leonard

Country: USA

First of all, thank you for the honor of allowing me your recognition and gallery space.  It is kind of you.
I was photographing mainly sports.  Since the Covid 19 pandemic, not so much, or really not at all. 
My photography, mainly photojournalism and sports, started with an interest in art, and a trip to Europe while in college.  I was able to tour art museums in Europe and Russia, and was able to witness first hand the progression of Western art, from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the modern.  What I saw missing was of course action.  So, I decided if I ever got a camera, I would focus on motion, and subjects in action, especially the human form.
Olympus gave me the opportunity to start with an affordable f2.8 telephoto.  It was a success.
Fun from the start.  The digital camera happened to be just starting out—very expensive.  Most men who otherwise would photograph sports were absent, saving their money for a digital camera.  I had the college sidelines to myself, to start, with that Olympus film camera.
Everyone is now back on the field.  I use a Canon DSLR.

There are other photo opportunities, such as annual events.  There are bike races, a marathon, a triathlon, sometimes downhill ice skating, cross country skiing, sled dog races, and horsing events such as polo, horse racing, hackney racing, horse jumping and rodeo.
Sadly, there has lately been great social upheaval and protest in Minneapolis, MN, USA.    Perhaps you have heard, in Romania, of George Floyd, the man who was strangled by police while in handcuffs, and the Black Lives Matter protests and riots that have ensued since late May of this year.  There was extensive rioting in Minneapolis shortly after the incident.
In 2015, a black man was shot in the head in handcuffs by police in Mineapolis, several years before the George Floyd incident.  There were peaceful protests outdoors in a Minnesota winter for several months.  Protesters were shot at by white supremacists.  One was paralyzed.
Nothing was done.  The media did not support the protesters.  The officer was eventually acquitted.  
The trial of the officer involved in the George Floyd incident will not happen until the spring.
With the pandemic, there came unemployment, poverty and homelessness.  Tent cities are appearing.  There are constant ambulances.  It is not recreation, nor fun, but, it remains photojournalism, and perhaps a time worth documenting.  History will likely remember Covid 19.