The lens was a Nikon 55-200 mm... most of these were taken at 200 mm to "blow out" the background -- a little trick I learned when I used to shoot stuff for my own stories as a sports editor back when I worked in the newspaper industry.
LOL... You wouldn't believe how many of my peers exclaim "You've got a JOURNALISM degree? And a master's in ENGLISH? Tell me how you ended up in medical sales again?!?"
