Frigid Smiles!

Here's some better scenery than my previous post. Warm, happy smiles all around despite the frigid 21° temperature! Over a thousand runners participated in the charity run and raised more than $200,000 for the Childrens' Tumor Foundation. 

Cupids' Run 2014

Still gripped in the effects of the Polar Vortex, metro Detroit saw sunny skies and a high temp of 21° Saturday. Despite the frigid conditions, more than a thousand brave souls stripped down to their undies and raced through the streets of Motown...All in the name of charity! Over two hundred thousand dollars was raised for the Childrens' Tumor Foundation. 

Near Record Ice Cover

The NASA satelite image above shows the near-record ice cover over the Great Lakes as of Valentine's Day 2014. Ice cover is estimated to be at 88.4%. Lake Superior and Lake Huron are nearly entirely frozen over. Lake Ontario is only about 34% frozen over. The 1979 record of 95% ice cover may be safe as warmer temps are expected this week (finally!). If you have hopes of getting out on the frozen lakes this winter there's no time like the present!

Badger Olds

Travelling with some friends through Wisconsin last summer, we happened by a used car lot on the side of the road and stopped to explore the old relics with our cameras. It was a pretty interesting stop for a variety of reasons. When I pulled over to stop there was some grumbling among the group that the scene wasn't very interesting. "It's just a bunch of old, rusty cars." It was just a quick stop and after about twenty minutes we were on the road again. What was interesting is that everyone came away with some pretty cool images. Most in the group admitted they would have kept on going and missed an interesting photo opp…By stopping and investing just twenty minutes of time we were able to have some fun, make some interesting photos and learn a valuable lesson: you can't get the shot if you don't take the time to stop!

Rust "Seeps"

Yesterday I posted a photo of some "mineral seeps" along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Pictured here today is a close-up from an old rusty car I shot on the side of the road. The similarities are obvious and are just one example of patterns and designs repeating themselves in very different contexts throughout both the natural and man-made worlds. Design-wise, what works in one often will work in the other. Perhaps this is the best proof that there is an element of "truth" to the business of design!

Superior Mineral Seeps

While kayaking along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore I was constantly amazed by the variety and beauty of the many mineral seeps that give the famous rocks their name. On this particular morning the lake was amazingly calm and I was thrilled to capture the emerald green water and seeps in the same shot. 

View From the Lake

There are many beautiful hikes in and around the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigans' Upper Penninsula. The views can be spectacular. But here's a dirty little secret: the best views are from out on the lake! There are many ways to get out on the water but my favorite is to kayak. Sea kayaking is not for the faint of heart but the beautiful views and intimate perspectives are well worth the effort. If kayaking is not your thing then renting a pontoon boat is a great alternative. 

Deadly Sunset

The sunset pictured above was shot safely this past summer on the shores of Lake Superior in Michigans' Upper Penninsula. Nothing dangerous here. But I stumbled across a story in the LA Times today about a photographer that ended up getting killed (electrocuted) while shooting a sunset from an elevated vantage point in a tree in his backyard. These kind of stories seem to appear every few months and should serve as a reminder that no photo is worth getting injured or killed for! Stay safe!

Here's the link: Deadly Sunset

Speaking of Spring...

Yes, it's time to start planning springtime photo-trips! I usually start my springtime photo activities in the Low Country…South Carolina and Georgia. Starting in late March in Savanna, Georgia I work my way up to Charleston, South Carolina, hoping to time things right so I catch the magnolias in full bloom. There is so much to see, shoot and enjoy in and around Charleston each spring. I can't even begin to list a fraction of the terrific photo opportunities throughout the area. But in upcoming posts I shall endeavor to do so!

Around the Bend

Enough with all the snow and ice! I'm tired of all the grey skies and wind blown flurries! Here's a splash of color from this past autumn. I was exploring the backroads of Michigans' Upper Penninsula early in October. The color wasn't all that spectacular at the time, and overall the color was quite muted last fall. But now in the middle of winter, what I wouldn't give to find such a color explosion today! Alas, spring is just weeks away!

Amazing Satelite Images

I posted the other day about the Great Lakes freezing over and have had many conversations with other photographers about the great photo opportunities that such a cold winter make possible. Personally, the assurance that the frozen lake surface is safe to venture out onto is more than enough to ask for. The thought of falling through thin ice terrifies me! But the possibilities of making beautiful images in such conditions entices me to explore the frozen coastline carefully. Pictured above is a recent NASA satelite image of the Great Lakes region. The lakes are even more frozen over today. Lake Superior is nearly frozen over and Green Bay is completely frozen over. Conditions will remain safe for some arctic-like exploration for a few weeks. Once the ice cover starts to break up, even more spectacular photo opportunities will occur when the ice sheets move toward and crash into the eastern coastlines!

Great Lakes Freezing Over!

With the record-setting cold tempertures throughout the midwest the Great Lakes are freezing to levels not seen in many years. Lake Superior is presently 92% frozen over! Be sure to google satelite images of the ice cover…they're amazing! If you can stand the cold, now is the best and safest time to venture out on the ice away from the shore and capture images of the shoreline not possible with any other conditions! As always, lighthouses are a surefire winner in any conditions. Stay safe!

Roadside Treasure

Driving can be a hazardous activity for a photographer. There's no doubt situational awareness is a key skill for anyone operating a vehicle. However, it does seem that as I drive down the road in search of the next perfect photo opportunity and my eyes constantly scan my surroundings for anything of visual interest that just maybe I should be a bit more focused on the immediate task at hand. On one such trip down US 12 in Michigan I spotted this roadside treasure and safely stopped and made a few pictures before continuing on my way.

Seeking Simplicity

When I first made the transition from film to digital photography several years ago I was, like most photographers at the time, somewhat overwhelmed by the new technology. It was photography without film. I was excited about the possibilities the new technology offered, yet at the same time I seemed to focus more on what digital couldn't do. I, again like many photographers, would often make comments similar to "Yes, but film does this much better," or "film does that better." 

After just a few short years, and coupled with advancements in the digital darkroom, the new technology not only caught up with film but surpassed it in every way. One of the advantages to using digital technology that I embraced early on was a new freedom to explore and try new things knowing that I wasn't wasting film. Who cares if I made a couple hundred wasted exposures? It didn't cost anything. So, encouraged by Maryland-based photographer +Tony Sweet I embraced the idea of intentional camera movement…I wanted to use my camera like a paintbrush! This truly opened up a limitless array of possibilities. 

The photo above is a painterly color study accomplished entirely in-camera by utilizing intentional camera movement during exposure. I use this technique often and the large prints I make from my successfull experiments are quite popular and sell very well. In a later post I will cover the technique in much more detail.

Looking a little closer

Whenever I'm out exploring with my camera I always try to take a closer look at the little details that help make up the scene as a whole. Often the little details tell a very different story than the bigger picture. Whatever the scale, grand landscape or macro, design considerations remain the same. It's still important to identify a subject, choose an interesting perspective, place the subject properly within the frame in a pleasing way and and make the hard decisions regarding what to include and exclude in the composition. And as always, light is the key to everything!