The Quiet Season

The Quiet Season by Dave Lawrence

I like my holiday season to be truly peaceful.

Quiet music, winding down the to-do list, cozy days at home catching up on movies, and looking back on the year that was – that’s my ideal Christmas.

Yes, we have the spirited family get-togethers and the hustle of Christmas morning with the kids. There’s all that shopping and cooking. But mentally, when I think of Christmas, I think of a quiet season—peace on Earth, goodwill toward men, that kind of thing.

This year, I’ll use the quiet to plan ahead to next year and develop some ideas.

  • One that’s been simmering for a while now is the idea of turning my creative portrait projects into an ongoing series. Instead of just artists and musicians, I could expand the scope into other creative arenas.
  • I also want to experiment more with video: how-to walkthroughs, on-location tours, and even video profiles of people. I do it all the time at work, so there’s no reason why I can’t try it for personal projects. 
  • Finally, I’d like to bring back the idea of a studio where I can invite people in and take their portraits. Hang a sheet, grab a light, and fire away.

There are always more ideas than time and energy to see them through. That’s just how I work.

But mulled long enough, like a fine dark wine or some spiced cider, good ideas get better with age.

Settle in. Enjoy the season. See you all in the new year. 

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Austin, Texas: Riverside

Here on the (other) Colorado River in Austin, Texas, it’s nothing but activity: boats taking tours up and down, joggers running past, couples getting their portraits taken.

Now we’re in the drab winter months, right before the holidays, and these photos – and this whole trip – make me miss the sunshine.

My conference hotel was on the south side of the river. A quick hop over and I was in downtown Austin.

The river made for a good orientation spot and a spectacular view.

Shot on the Canon M6 and a few EF-M lenses

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Christkindlmarkt

One of my favorite kinds of street photography is to show up in a busy place where a bunch of people are gathered.

It’s probably a dash of event photography, and a splash of being somewhere where you know it’ll be busy.

And ’tis the season, right? So I stopped by St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church’s Christkindlmrkt – a European-style Christmas market with delicious German treats and lots of merriment. I had to do some Christmas shopping, and last year I visited a Christmas market in Ann Arbor and really enjoyed it. This year, I figured it’d be fun to try something new.

Knowing it may get pretty crowded, I brought along my Canon M6 and a few lenses. I snapped on the 22mm, 32mm, and 56mm on each consecutive lap around the church, opening up my aperture as it got darker.

Lots of kids, lots of families, and tons of gifts for Catholics. And all around, the smell of bratwurst on the grill. Perfect.

While the rain melted all the snow, and the temperature was getting warmer, it was still festive enough to feel the Christmas spirit – and enjoy a beer and a brat.

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Austin, Texas: Colors

Back to Austin, Texas, and this time, I’m focused on the colors—especially these strong sunset colors that I saw on my walks around town.

I try to embrace black and white photography. I really do. But color speaks to my eye and heart. And when the southern sun sets on these vivid hues? Love it. 

What’s funny is most of these photos were taken within a couple of blocks’ distance. I didn’t have to go far to find the good stuff.

Shot on the Canon M6 and EF-M 22mm f/2 lens.

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She’s A Beaut

You know what time of year it is.

Time to drive out to the country, pick the best of the best, shake it off, wrap it up, and drive it home to decorate.

It’s Christmas tree time. Red and green time. Fresh air and pine sap scent time.

We finally got some snow time.

Shot on the Canon M6 and EF-M 22mm f/2.

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Austin, Texas: Street Photography

Here’s something I don’t usually do: some street photography around downtown Austin, Texas.

With all my work travels this year, I’ve had the chance to do more of this style of photography: Philadelphia, Mexico City, etc. And even with my recent practice, I still find it hard to do well.

But there’s nothing like practice. Austin’s perfect weather, manageable downtown, and good light all around helped.

One challenge was focal length. Either I wasn’t close enough, or my 22mm and 32mm on the Canon M6 didn’t get me close enough. Another challenge was traffic blocking some key shots.

Still, a good photowalk out and about, exploring the city.

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Austin, Texas: Shapes and Shadows

I’ve traveled a lot this year. 

On the way to the airport, this time to Austin, Texas, for a conference, I thought, “I’ve used this parking garage an awful lot lately.” 

It’s not a bad thing. I love to travel, and these trips have allowed me to try out more street photography than I usually do.

Back home, my pictures are mostly people-less. A city like Austin, though, lets me walk around an urban environment and practice in the streets.

My Austin trip was so inspiring (and warm – it was a perfect 70-80 degrees and sunny in mid-November, much warmer than Michigan) that I went out to shoot every chance I could. That gave me a ton of photos to select, organize, and process.

Consider this the first post in a series of albums from Austin – this time focusing on light/shadow, my usual go-to when out shooting. Look for more traditional street shots, with people, and others from around Austin in the next few weeks. 

Shot on the Canon M6 and EF-M 22mm and 32mm lenses.

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A Good Case for the Everyday Carry

Ali from One Month Two Cameras discusses her needs and wants for her everyday carry camera—the one you use for just about everything.

For 12 years, that was the Canon M for me. Earlier this year, I upgraded to the Canon M200, but I’ve had second thoughts. And those thoughts came right as Ali’s video went live last week.

Put shortly: she’s on to something…

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Take Me to Church

I attended a Methodist college, worked at a Methodist college, and orbited around the Methodist community over the years. 

Now, my wife is working with the First United Methodist Church in town on a music therapy program. It’s the church where she grew up, and her grandmother still attends Sunday service, so we have joined the worship service the last few weeks.

There’s something to be said about a classic pews-and-steeple church. New churches look more like warehouses or coffee shops. I prefer a church that looks like a church.

Hymnals backed by a legit organ – as opposed to a praise band – help give that old church vibe, too.

Church helps build a routine, encourages service to others, and fosters community. All of those things are precisely what we need right now.

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Encouraging Creativity

It was a rare moment of sibling collaboration—when all the kids put aside their squabbling, grabbed their markers, and made something.

This scene used to happen more often, especially before Aiden became a teenager. Our kitchen table was the family art studio, and the kids would take on a three-marker challenge or create handmade birthday cards for friends. 

Early on, we encouraged creativity. My wife is a talented musician, and I have a background in music and photography, so we made sure to give our kids a solid artistic foundation. All the kids took early childhood music classes, and we enrolled the girls in the local art school’s preschool program. Aiden is a talented musician in the middle school band, and the girls are musical theater performers. 

We know it will do them good. Art for art’s sake is a perfectly fine goal to me, but there are other benefits—like civic engagement and writing skills. And the arts are social: most of Aiden’s friends come from marching band (so did mine, back in high school!). The arts, combined with a love of reading, an appreciation of the outdoors, and a bit of Midwestern kindness, are a pretty good recipe for an enjoyable childhood and a successful adulthood. 

For some families, it’s all about sports and competition, or pure academic achievement.

Our kids? They were cursed with art lovers for parents. They didn’t stand a chance. 

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Ex Social Media

Family Friday: Rainy Season

With Tweetdeck’s subscriber-only model comes the death of Twitter for me. 

Yes, it was long in the tooth. Yes, it hadn’t been updated in years (until recently). But darn it, Tweetdeck was my version of Twitter: comprehensive, time-based, multiple accounts on one screen, and so simple to use. 

Up to now, all the drama around the sale of Twitter and its loathsome owner hadn’t affected me. I built a comfortable corner of the platform – full of photographers, Mac enthusiasts, and funny Simpsons accounts. It was quiet, and I only saw what I wanted to see. My Twitter break last February helped even more because I eliminated a lot of political Twitter that affected my mental wellbeing. 

Now that Tweetdeck is paid-only, I don’t see much value in the platform.

  • I want to see posts in the order they’re posted.
  • I don’t want to see random posts from accounts I don’t follow.

Those two simple requests alone leave much of Twitter useless to me now. And the lack of third-party clients, establishing some order and preferences, makes it worse.

For so long, I got Twitter. Unlike many of my IRL colleagues and friends, it seemed built for people like me. I built up a lot of good online relationships on Twitter. I shared my photos, got great ideas, and “met” tons of people with similar interests. I don’t know where those will go now, but maybe it’s back to following blogs and email newsletters exclusively. Another social media network isn’t what I need.

I need a good, reliable platform. Twitter’s not that. Not anymore. 

See you somewhere else. 

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Swim Surreal

Neat new music from the Zero 7 universe.

Their first three albums were amazing, then they just kind of fell off the Earth for a bit. Nice to see them collaborating with talent like Swim Surreal.

Let’s Go Blue

It’s tough being a University of Michigan football fan this season.

Last year? Easy. One of the best years ever.

This year has been challenging, with key wins, disappointing losses, and a lot of inconsistency. So when the number one team in the country, Oregon, came to visit, our expectations were easy to set: we probably weren’t going to win.

Instead, my buddy Don and I went for the atmosphere. We and 110,000 other fans descended on Ann Arbor on a beautiful autumn afternoon in November.

It was us and the big corporate sponsors, apparently. Mt. Dew set up a station a few blocks from Michigan Stadium, complete with velcro walls and a DJ. We popped in and grabbed a few (free!) BBQ sandwiches, and watched the college students come and go.

Inside the stadium was as festive as ever, and we got to watch the sunset on both the game and evening.

Shot on the Canon M200 and EF-M 22mm f/2.

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Disgust For All

Disgust For All

Not much to say on this, the day after the U.S. election, but a few thoughts I had this morning waking up to the news:

  • Info bubbles are bad—it’s so important to step outside of what you normally read about or hear and listen to other echo chambers.
  • “Vibes” alone aren’t enough to sway people who have legitimate concerns about the country’s direction.
  • Who shows up matters and ultimately determines the outcome. If you don’t have the votes, you don’t win – simple, but hard to execute.
  • America is a tough place to understand sometimes, and it’s getting tougher.

I’m sad and nervous. I’m also dumping my usual sources for information (Twitter – deleted my account, and Reddit for general browsing) and am committed to casting a weary, skeptical eye on news media reports that seem confident.

In the meantime, we all have feelings to process and art to make. Let’s get back to work.

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Back to Normal

It was a constructive summer. Especially in the last few months, I’ve made a go at getting out more and more, trying to fill my photography buffer so I have plenty of material to edit and share as we move into the cold and gray months.

I feel like I’m getting back to a familiar sense of normalcy, photographically speaking. In some ways, I’m recreating my work commute from 10-12 years ago. On the weekends, I get up early, hit the road to a local town, and shoot in the morning light. A few things have helped, like:

  • Making a conscious effort to get out and shoot more – actually dedicating time to doing so.
  • Creating a running mental list of photography opportunities and locations.
  • Good weather! Now that we’re into autumn, I know the sun and warmth are ending, so it’s been nice to have bright mornings.
  • Testing out lenses and cameras. Last weekend, I grabbed my 28mm because I rarely use it, and it provides a challenge.

Back into the groove. Back to normal – or at least a new normal (I say one day before the U.S. presidential election).

For now, it feels good. 

 

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Home

Inside and outside, the light is changing.

Shot mostly on the Canon M6 and EF-M 32mm f/1.4.

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Through the Ghastly Blank

Foggy fall mornings in Jackson, Michigan.

Shot on the Canon M200 and EF-M 15-45mm lens.

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Artoberfest

A smaller, much more manageable version of the behemoth Art Fest during the summer, Ann Arbor’s Artoberfest had us downtown on a lovely October afternoon, exploring Corktown and grabbing some prints from local (sometimes snoozing) artists.

It was my first time walking around downtown Ann Arbor since last year’s holiday season, and I had a chance to do some street work with the Canon M6 and trusty EF-M 22mm f/2.

And unlike the giant summer Art Fair, this festival had top-tier art worth checking out. Spending money on area artists’ work feels good – an easy way to freshen up our decor at home and shop locally.

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Stockbridge, Michigan

On our way up north this summer, I took the scenic route (as I often do) through the little towns of Stockbridge and Perry, Michigan. Along the way, I made a mental note to stop by both towns and take photos.

I picked a foggy morning on the first day of autumn to head up to Stockbridge. I’m glad I did, because the mist gave the town square a vibe. I made a whole morning out of it, shooting along the way and back home, and it ended up being a really productive (and fun) day out.

Shot on the Canon 5D with a combo of the EF 28mm and 40mm.

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