The Good Old Black & White Portrait - People from the Past Year

New Direction

With a new place comes a new school and a new direction. I've taken the steps to depart from my more literal work and have tried to go in a more abstract direction. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but everything needs time to develop.

Camera: Canon 50D

Lighting: Natural

Paint on Skin

Plan: Paint mid-tones, Highlights, and Shadows on the skin to create a living graphic.

Result: Not totally what I was looking for. The images don't look so graphic as much as just a person with paint on their skin.

Camera: Nikon D70
Lighting: 1 Hot Light

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What do you get when you put together some thrift store clothes, a frisbee, some golf clubs, candy cigarettes, and a Vernors can? 

A really fun photo shoot!

For Carol's last night around town we did a photo shoot. Actually we went shopping at a local thrift shop and then decided to go to the park. From there all hell broke lose. I'm not sure what exactly we were getting at with the photos, but regardless it was a blast.

Blueberries

Went out and picked some blueberries around Spring Lake. Delicious weather and even better blueberries!

Late Night Music

Last weekend Carol, one of Leah's good friends, came into town from Chicago to visit for the weekend. Carol plays guitar and it just so happens that Leah does too. Together they jammed and made some beautiful sounds. It was great to hear some original music from good friends. This also gave me the chance to play around with a little light as well. Back when I lived in Marquette I started playing around with long shutter speeds and popping off some light. Although I didn't have an external flash with me, I did use a white piece of paper to bounce the built-in flash off the walls. That helped to cut down on the harsh flash, but still left me with a clean image. Because the shutter speed was slow it allowed for some fun with light streaks from the lamps in the room. All-in-all it was great to do a little experimenting again.

Coastguard Festival

Grand Haven, Michigan is home to one, if not the biggest, festival celebrating the United States Coastguard. I didn't come into town for the week of festivities, but I did manage to make it in for the weekend. Here are some pictures from the parade and the boating party in Spring Lake.

Also, while on my short weekend vacation at Coastguard I ran into an old man sitting on the side of the road. I stopped to strike up a conversation and learned that he sits in that same spot every Saturday. When it's hot he moves to the shade and as the day goes by and two o'clock roles around, he returns to his home to shower and get ready to go out. His friends pick him up around dinner time and after eating out they head to the bar for a few drinks.

So far every Saturday that I've driven by he's been sitting out.

Kiss

I've spent this past summer working at John Ball Zoo on the west side of Grand Rapids. I don't know if it's because it's a zoo, but there always seems to be something going on. Some times it's minor, say a lost child or a girl sticks her finger in a baby alligator's mouth, but on occasion something ridiculous will happen, like the day a Kiss cover-band showed up.

(Slightly terrifying in person)

Compost/Dinner

My favorite thing in the world is to come home and have dinner already waiting for me. It's rare, but when it happens it's always amazing. 

Menu:

Squash and Onion Soup

Stir Fry with carrots, cabbage, onions, special sauce

Fried Zucchini

Blues on the Mall

A couple of weeks ago I went downtown to check out Blues on the Mall in Grand Rapids, MI. I figure you can't go wrong with a little free blues music. Plus it was a great time for people watching!

Camera: Nikon D70

Lighting: Natural

Sunday: Tigers

After we left the farm on Saturday we hit the road and ended up at the Greektown Casino and Hotel in Detroit, MI. The hotel was beautiful and had a great view of downtown Detroit. That night we hit up a local bar for some drinks and then saw The Avett Brothers concert which was soul shakingly good. 

In the morning on Sunday we woke up a little tired from the night before, but we managed to get around and check out. Leah suggested something easy for lunch so we stopped at a sushi place on our way to Comerica Park to watch the Tigers game. The sushi was good, the game was good, and we had great seats for both. It was a great ending to an even better weekend.

Lighting: Natural

Camera: Nikon D70

Saturday: Down on the Farm

This past week I took the weekend off and headed over to Detroit, MI for some fun with Leah. Our first stop was on Friday night when we stayed the night with my grandparents in New Lothrop. In the morning we woke up and went to the biggest Christmas store around, Bronner's. After that we ate lunch at the Junction of Hope in Maple Grove. Then it was back to the farm for a quick look at the garden before we headed out for the tail end of our road trip.

Here are some photos I took while walking around the garden.

Also, check out the Junction of Hope, the only non-profit restaurant in the United States that employs and trains special needs adults.

http://www.junctionofhope.org/