An Evening Winter's Drive

There's just something about a Michigan Winter. The early evenings, the quiet stillness. The smell of wood burning in stoves and fireplaces. Most everyone heads home early to the warmth of the indoors. It really is a magical time and one my favorite times to head out with a camera.

Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to say Happy Holidays to everyone!

Rural Landscapes

Many times, I yearn for an opportunity to shoot magical landscapes and exotic locations. I often find myself thinking "there's just nothing to shoot around here". We live for so long in one place, we start to take for granted the beauty that's around us everyday. Living in Southeast Lower Michigan, finding subjects for photography sometimes seems to be a daunting task. I don't have mountains, valleys, oceans or deserts, I have this.

You know what? It's really not that bad if you just take the time to really look and appreciate what you do have instead of what you don't.

Lake Erie at Sunrise

A few weeks ago I forced myself to awaken early enough to make the 40 minute drive out to Lake Erie to watch the sun come up. Having two young children and A day job, opportunities to sleep in are few and far between. I often thought about doing it, but wondered if it was worth it to use one of my golden opportunities to not set the alarm clock. After much internal debate while lying in my bed, having just silenced that cringe-inducing sound, I forced myself up, got dressed and headed out into the cold, dark, morning air. I arrived earlier than expected and pulled my car into a parking space that would leave me with about a 100 yard walk in total darkness towards the shoreline. The rhythmic sound of the water gently rolling up the beach guided my way. I setup my camera and tripod, sat down in the sand and watched and waited. The cold I felt from the gentle wind coming off the lake in late October was soon washed away in a bath of warm yellows, oranges, and reds. It was quite a show and I was the only one in the audience.

Occasionally, I like to go through old photographs. Sometimes I'm just trying to remember the moments, sometimes I just like to look at the shots that, for whatever reason, never made it to my "keepers". Sometimes time changes perspective and things that you couldn't see then are much clearer now. I came across a shot I had taken while riding in the car. I was with my wife and two boys on the way to my father-in-law's house. It was a warm summer evening and I had my window down enjoy the breeze and passing scenery. I don't always have my camera with me, but for some reason decided to grab it on the way out of the house, not so much in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle, but to pass the time. Randomly pointing the camera out the window, I took several shots, messing with settings to see the effects. As we drove, the clouds began to pass in front of the evening sun creating wonderful sunbursts and scattered rays of light across the farmland we were driving through. As I watched, I noticed an old barn approaching on our right and thought I would take what little time I had and get a shot. This is that shot. A moment in time when all elements.....clouds, sun, barn and me, aligning at this precise moment in time. I suppose I got lucky or maybe, just maybe I captured a little bit of lighting in a bottle.