The Parting

Boy I've really been neglecting this whole blogger thing haven't I? Not really sure often any of you readers return to visit but I apologize for not updating often. I'll try to be more on the ball with this.

The Parting


Living here in west Michigan, you never pass up an opportunity to rush out to Lake Michigan and grab some shots of just about any storm. Luckily for me I was late on this one and it turned out for the better I think. It really wasn't quite done spitting out a little rain but I wasn't concerned about the camera since it was very light. One of my favorite spots near the water is at the channel light, which is on the path in and out of the harbor. I never find anyone there and it's close enough to the lighthouse to get good shots. This was really nice to just plop the tripod down and watch the beast roll on by.

Warmth of Tree and Sun

Some great friends of mine recently returned home from Yuma, AZ just in time for the holidays. As I said in my previous post they live right on the shores of Lake Michigan, so they always get the best views. They still had their Christmas tree up so I thought it might be cool to take a shot of the tree and the sky through the window. I felt very warm taking this photo.

Backyard Buoy

I know I know, you're about to say, "Man it was a long time since your last post!" That's when I say,"I know I know!" I've been helping out some friends of mine shooting an indie film here in Grand Rapids and I haven't exactly had the time to write on this thing. But the film has been a blast and the blog hasn't been exactly high on the list of things to do. That being the case, it doesn't leave me with a ton of time to shoot new stuff. However, the last few weeks have been kind to my photo needs and I was able to shoot and process a bunch of new stuff that I can't wait to share with you all. Here is the first of the batch....

Backyard Buoy

After visiting my parents over Christmas, I stopped at a friends house to pick up a belated Christmas gift I had shipped to their house. They live right on the shore of Lake Michigan and it was an awesome sky that day. Long story short, plopped the tripod down and spent about an hour and a half shooting. There is more to come from that day at a later time. Enjoy :)

Google+ and Kites in Cold Water

So I've been recently pretty active on this whole Google+ thing and loving it! I'm not that great in keeping up on uploading new photos, but am on the lookout for Google Hangouts. I've been learning so much from other photographers and even had the pleasure of meeting a few of my photog hero's!! It's been an awesome ride so far and can't wait for more.

Kites in Cold Water


A couple weeks ago I decided to head to the Ludington State Park and attempt to find and interesting set up for a time-lapse. Needless to say it was a total failure. I was on top if the skyline trail and noticed some kites down on Lake Michigan and immediately knew they were boarders at the ends of those lines. I got so excited because I've been itching to learn how to kiteboard for such a long time. I've got the kite, harness, and board and all I need is a wet-suit and a life vest. I'm making it official that I'm going to learn next spring. Before some of you tell me that I said that last year, shoosh. I'm really going to this time. Anyway, I booked it down there, threw the 55-300 lens on the camera, and ran to the shore to start shooting. I had such a fun time with this because it was something completely different than the normal stuff I usually shoot. Also cause it was so cool! It was the perfect time of the evening. It wasn't too cold and the sun was just going down so it was golden hour. I had some trouble exposing it right sometimes but I think I got some good shots. After they were done I met both Eric and Alex and helped Eric with his kite. They were both really nice guys and even gave me some info about were to take lessons. This is also the first time I'm really learning how to touch up and process photos since I downloaded the 30 day trial of Adobe Lightroom 3. It may look inconsistent but again I'm just learning. Here are just a few of the shots I took that night. Thanks for allowing me to shoot guys!!

(Alex)

(Alex)

 (Eric)

 (Eric)

(Eric)

I'm Back and Fall Fog

Yeah it's been awhile since my last post but I'm still here and with lots of new material to show you. Instead of bantering about what I have and have not been up to, I'm just going to jump in with the photos.

Fall Fog

A few weeks ago, I got up around 6 in the morning with a temperature of 36 and headed out to Sgt. Sands near the state park. I figured I'd go there to check out the fog on the lake. I just about stopped heading there to shoot some other spot that had some crazy fog, but I had a mission. Once there, I ran up the hill to see if there was any fog coming of the lake at all and to see if there was a decent angle from there. There was fog but no good shots. I took off back down the hill, tripped, and landed right on my tripod cutting my hand open. yeah it hurt. A lot!! No matter though, I just got back in the car and headed down the road to where people park and go to the tiny beach on the lake. In retrospect, I wish that I had shot a time-lapse. That fog was so thick and just rolling right off that lake. It would've been awesome. Oh well, here are some shots from that morning. Enjoy the multiple shot I give you today!!

 

A Harbor Timelapse and A Harbor View

Here is a quick timelapse I did last week of the Ludington harbor. I wish I could've gotten on the breakwall but it was closed that day because of rough seas. Don't mind the jump in the framing towards the end, I took a quick HDR and forgot to turn the auto bracketing off when I resumed my intervals. Oops.

A Harbor View

This photo was taken the same day as the White Tree. I had forgotten about this one until today while looking through photos with Shawn and his shots he took of the Pentwater homecoming fireworks. I think I'd have more to say about this photo but it's 1:40 am. I'm going to bed. 

 

My First Frame and The Grand Rapids Sky Flowers

I finally got the opportunity to have my photo overlooking the city of Grand Rapids framed up at Timeless Framing here in Ludington. Robert does all the framing here at his local shop and is an absolute pro. If ever you need something framed, send it here. This is my original post of the photo and below is a photo of me, Robert, and my finished frame. Thanks Robert!!

Grand Rapids Sky Flowers

Unfortunately, Shawn and I were supposed to shoot Grand Rapids 4th of July fireworks from the top of the Riverhouse building. Ya know, the building I took the photo mentioned above from, but the fire marshall deemed it too dangerous so we settled for a nice spot here on the river.