Wake To Your Life
Horton, Michigan
Drip By Drip
Drip by drip, my experiment with making infused olive oils starts today.
And no, not those oils. These are homemade cooking oils infused with yummy things like jalapeños and garlic. Filtered through, yes, a coffee filter. It will be great in popcorn.
Sterilize the container, chop up whatever you’re using as the infuser, simmer in olive oil for 15-20 minutes, and then filter out all the non-oil stuff. Then throw it in the fridge and use it up in a week. Easy peasy.
And judging from a few sneak taste tests, delicious.
All things being equal, Oregon deserves to win just because of their…uh…vigor.
As true today as it was in 2011.
Abandoned Farm Field
Caught this in an abandoned farm field, along Michigan’s stretch of US-12, before winter really hit in our area.
The sunset was lovely that night, just after Christmas, and there was lots of exploring to do. More on that later.
Reader Question on Style
Hello Dave. I just recently created an account on Tumblr and stumbling through different photography blogs I’ve noticed that many people post pictures that have a certain style to them, one I haven’t really seen before. The style I would be referring to I noticed in your pictures “Sunrise on the Mill Pond – Concord, Michigan” and “Catching the Dew – Albion, Michigan”. I was just curious as to how you achieve this look, if it is achieved through Ps or Lr, or if it depends on the type of camera.
Those two (catching dew, and the sunrise photo) are two of my favs from the fall, and really a product of the right time of year, the right sunrises, and a healthy dose of custom VSCO editing in Lightroom. The macro lens helped, too, to really get in there and capture the details on the dew shot. And don’t quote me, but I think I used VSCO Film 03 for both. Thanks!
Inspired So Much
Dave,your cemetery photographs are terrific. Im abt to go out and take some photographs myself and im inspired so much! Thankyou!
You’re so welcome. My shots come from two time periods: this past fall, and the winter of 2011 during a magical sunset, grabbing photos while knee-deep in snow. Worth it!
Enjoy your shoot.
Photographers Directory
I’m an amateur photographer based in Jackson, Michigan, who does some pro work on the side, sticking to mainly nature, abandoned sites, and street landscape photography. Capturing light, shadows, seasons, colors — this is my bread and butter. But I don’t shoot bread and butter; others can do the food photography thing.
The platform and tools matter, but only a little. I shoot Canon (DSLR and the M mirrorless) and Fujifilm, with some iPhone and 35mm film thrown in here and there.
I take on personal projects, like old guys who collect model trains, or local abandoned theme parks, or mottled light in dark woods, when a brainstorm strikes. And I use my blog to share my work, not others’ (mostly).
All of my photo work is on Flickr, and I share the best on my blog, natch.
Thanks, Photographers Directory!
Pure, Bright Color
Sometimes, the best thing to photograph is pure, bright color – as was the case at this abandoned restaurant in Austin, Texas.
Creating Lightroom Presets
Messed around making my own Lightroom preset, after seeing these images from the Kage Collective.
I’m not into the whole matte black, faux-film look so much, but there is a trendy appeal to it. And I’m usually Mr. Bright Colors guy, but something a little more soft and restrained is good for variety. I made a black and white version, too, just for fun.
This isn’t all that different from the stuff you see sold for $20-50 a pop nowadays. But dig in to a preset you like and you’ll learn enough to be dangerous, and start making your own.
Strong vignettes FTW!
Difficult to Tell
There is such a huge amount of brilliant photography coming from all corners of the world that when I glance through highlights on VSCO, flickr, or Instagram It has become difficult to tell the difference between photographers.
All The Things – 50 Foot Shadows
Agreed. There’s so much good stuff out there, it’s all blurring together. Great portraits, great landscape shots of the Pacific Northwest, great shots of guys with beards in flannel at a bonfire living out of their car.
Lately, I’ve started to follow more photographers focusing on unique portraits, conceptual work, and urban landscapes. For this year, I want to try to find photographers who are not from New York / Portland / SanFran / etc. How about some more Midwestern shooters, or folks from the south?
If you have any follow suggestions, let me know.
Some Clean Up
An abandoned house down the road from me. Seems like the (eventual) new owners will have some clean up to do.
Delicate Home
Catch the full quote from Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot here. It’s a good annual reminder of how delicate our home is.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Top Music Picks for 2014
This has been a pretty memorable music year for me. I can’t think of another year, except for maybe 2004-2005, or 1994, when things have lined up so well (maybe you need a 4 in the year number?).
Here are a few albums/songs/artists I enjoyed this year.
††† (Crosses) – The Epilogue
While not exactly new this year, and maybe not so witch house, Crosses is a great mashup of the best of Deftones and electronica. Grab a few samples and check it out – definitely sexy stuff.
The War on Drugs – Under the Pressure
This was on a lot of people’s “best of” lists this year, including mine. It only took about a minute into the lead song on Lost In A Dream for me to hit “buy.” Even better is “An Ocean Between The Waves.”
Flyings Colors – Mask Machine
I’m actually a bigger fan of their first album, but Flying Colors – a prog super group I should’ve known about their first go-‘round – had a second great album with Second Nature. The breakdown at 3:28 is great with Neal Morse taking over vocals. Also check out “One Love Forever,” my favorite from the album.
Mastodon – The Motherload
Definitely NSFW after the 0:40 minute mark, but man – what a song, and what an album. I finally got to see Mastodon live this year, and while there was little to no twerking, they’re a great band.
“If you want you can will it. You can have – I can put it right there in your hands.”
View on YouTube
TV On The Radio – Careful You
Apparently everyone else has heard of TV On the Radio except for me. But now I get it. Especially with “Careful You” on their latest album.
Tycho – See
Pretty amazing video for a great song – just like all of Tycho’s stuff. Think early morning on a west coach beach, set to music. Great for working, or relaxing. Tycho does a great job of mixing analog with digital to build these lovely soundscapes – all to a catchy beat.
Beck – Waking Light (Live on The Tonight Show)
The whole “Morning Phase” album is a gorgeous piece of mellow gold (pardon the pun), but it starts so perfectly with “Morning” and winds through “Waking Light.” A lot of people are calling it the spiritual successor to Sea Change – I like to think of it as Beck doing John Denver.
Gwinn Tree Farm
Tree Canon
Load ’em up.
Ready for delivery.
Red and green.
Merry Christmas, everyone, from Gwinn’s Tree Farm in Horton, Michigan.
Burr’ed
Did some exploring yesterday, and got covered in burs. Even my camera strap was festooned with little scratchy hangers-on.
It wasn’t from this photo, but a good reminder.
True to Your Roots
However I have discovered over time– the best photographic opportunities are in your own backyard (neighborhood, city, community) and staying true to your roots is really important. There are tons of photographic opportunities waiting to be shot where you already live.
