photography

Home New Home

Out of the blue, we bought a new house.

As always, I use my camera to explore new places: see how the light changes, assess the space, and catch the little details you miss on your first pass-through. I picked a day before we moved much in and caught the empty house on a quiet weekend afternoon.

A bit of peace and silence before the packing and shuttling begin. 


A Walk Outside With the Canon R

I had a chance to walk around with a new Canon R – one of the mirrorless, full-frame cameras set to take over from the SLR series – on a mid-March evening with the family.

There are little pockets of snow still hanging around, but you can feel spring in the air: the birds are chirping, the crocuses are poking out of the damp ground, and it’s no longer freezing cold outside. This happens every year, when we take our first tentative steps outside and stroll around the neighborhood. 

The camera is slick. It’s so light, it reminds me of my much older, much more creaky Canon M. This one was paired with the 50mm f/1.8, a typical walk-around lens. With the two together, I had a lightweight, easy-to-handle bundle. Snappy and crisp, the lens was perfect for capturing the family and the scenery at golden hour.

A few things I noticed while shooting with the R:

  • I missed the optical viewfinder – the digital viewfinder was decent, but not like looking through a mirror
  • I also missed the instant “on” of an optical viewfinder – the digital version took a second to detect my eye and switch on
  • The grip was perfect for my hands, and the smaller size and weight was a welcome break from my hefty 5D
  • Image quality and classic Canon colors were all there – no need to switch from my Canon-trained eye

This was the camera system of my future. Unfortunately for Canon, I have no plans on upgrading anytime soon. My 5D, 6D, and Canon M aren’t broken, and while I feel a bit of gear lust, it’s not a strong enough pull to make me spend anything on a new camera, let alone new lenses. Someday, sure, but my investments in the EOS system keep me grounded in what I have.

Still, it was nice to get outside and try something new – a rite of spring. 

 


World of Disney

My wife’s family is a true Disney Family™ – the kind that go to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, every two years. Like clockwork. 

It is a nice break from the cold Michigan winters, and a good way to burn off all those holiday calories. My daily step count, at minimum, triples when we’re walking the parks. 

This year we had COVID to worry about, but Disney handles the pandemic crowd with clear expectations. Everyone is on their best behavior in the Most Magical Place on Earth.

For me, there are parts of Disney World that I love to photograph. The Africa and Asia sections of Animal Kingdom, for instance, or the optimistic futurism of Epcot, my personal favorite park. The Florida sun helps the bright colors and faux landscape truly shine. This year, the weather was perfect every day, and I checked off sites on my photography bucket list again this year. 

Yes, the Mexico pavilion is a fake Aztec temple, and yes, the art deco architecture at Hollywood Studio is a rose-tinted reproduction of Hollywood’s glory days. But I tend to photograph light and shadow as much as the scenery in front of me. Even if the background is Disney Fake, the light is real. That sunrise and sunset are real. The people moving through the parks are all real. 

We go to Disney World to escape. For me, one reason I go is to focus on my photography – something that usually takes a hit during the winter. 


Real Winter

Real Winter

It’s nice to have real winter weather – freezing cold, snowy, and a bit sunny – instead of our as-of-late damp and cloudy winters.

Working from home, I appreciate looking out on lovely January day. 


At Year’s End

At Year's End

Is there a word for “guilt over not making something?” I’m sure there’s a German word out there that expresses this sentiment perfectly: That feeling of remorse for not making or doing anything in a while. 

There’s productivity guilt, but that’s not exactly the same thing. I’m talking hobbies and interests, not work. 

Here at the year’s end, that’s been me. Sure, I make photographs all the time. But I feel guilty for not having any big projects in the works. I have ideas, but I always have ideas.

Instead, I have to tell myself it’s okay to take a break. Recharge my batteries. Start anew.

My bet is that once I start again, it’ll be hard to stop. 

Have a great, safe holiday season and a very happy new year.


Cancún

We don’t take vacations like this – so sunny and so tropical.

But when a friend turned 40 and invited us to a trip to Cancún, Mexico, with a group to celebrate, we enthusiastically came along. The warm Mayan Riviera climate when Michigan is facing down another long, cold, gray winter? Count us in.

Then the friend got COVID, and the rest of the couples bailed and took the trip credit for next year, leaving just us two. 

We never did get a honeymoon. This is as good of a chance as any.

There were reservations about airplane travel across an international border. We had to leave the kids for six days just as Michigan’s COVID-19 numbers were spiking. And after my grandmother passed away and we took on a kitchen remodel project, we were leaving an awful lot of undone. 

In the end, it was well worth it. The resort community in Cancún took guest health and safety very seriously (even wearing masks on a windy beach – a bit overkill if you ask me). We did all the adventuring we could fit in a few days, and we took advantage of quiet, warm beach days to simply breathe and enjoy the view. Cancún was a mix of old and new that was a lot of fun to explore with my camera – from the Mayan ruins to downtown Playa del Carmen’s shopping district, with a lot of peninsular jungle in between. Plus lots of tequila.

Maybe this tropical stuff isn’t so bad. 


Wet October

We’ve had a very wet October.

So wet, in fact, that our street flooded on a rainy Friday evening. We got back from a family gathering and there was a city worker out in the street, knee-deep in water, clearing out the storm drain. 

“It’s like this all over town,” he told me.

When the leaves fall, they clog those drains, and with all the rain we’ve had, it was a recipe for a river.

After one rainstorm, everything was glistening and damp in the yard, so I headed outside with the trusty Nifty 50mm to grab a few photos.