West Michigan, Represent

I lived in Onondaga Twp (on Ferris rd just west of Aurelius rd – I love that spot) from ’98 – ’04 and spent summers growing up in west MI. Though born, raised, currently live in, and love Pittsburgh PA, your work always takes me HOME. Beautiful! With today’s post, I could no longer contain it. Thank you!

Thanks so much! West Michigan is a special place.

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Music As Commodity

Soon there will be no such thing as your music library. There will be no such thing as your music. We had it all wrong! Information doesn’t want to be free, it wants to be a commodity.

On Death and iPods: A Requiem | WIRED

I’m not shy about it: I still buy my music. Gladly.

Part of it is philosophical: I like the artist to directly benefit, however small their slice of the pie is. It’s like a vote for them.

Also, I’m old school in that I like to collect and organize my music library. My music belongs to me. I paid good money for it. And if I stop paying for it, my music will still be there – either on CDs or in iTunes. It doesn’t vanish to The Cloud™.

I know, I know, I’m old school. And it’s hard to fight trends like this one. We don’t watch TV via antenna signal anymore, no one signs up for Netflix’s DVD subscription service (except guess who!?), etc. The world of music is changing.

But for artists, they still have the same bills and responsibilities. They need to make money, and selling t-shirts doesn’t work for everyone.

I’m not sure what the answer is, exactly, but if you care about the artists that make the music you like, buy their stuff. Vote for their music with money.

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Question Authority

If we can’t think for ourselves, if we’re unwilling to question authority, then we’re just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power will work for us.

Carl Sagan, The Demon Haunted World

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Photographers Directory

photographersdirectory:

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!

Creating Lightroom Presets

Argus

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!

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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.

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