That Time of Year
Welcome back, Jackson County Fair.
Return to Door County
Every two years.
From 2018 to now, we head up to Door County, Wisconsin, for our annual family summer vacation. With no better idea this year, we made our way back in July.
Some familiar sites, some brand new. Just in time for cherry season. And beautiful weather along Lake Michigan and Green Bay. Lucky us.
Greens and blues, reds and browns. Maritime cities and rural countryside. Beach days and quick day trips.
Along the way: memories.
Iconic Tumblr Photography by Yvonne Hanson
So true.
Just this week, I logged into Tumblr to see where it was. The algorithm heard me and presented Yvonne’s video, as if 2014 was calling us all back.
I loved Tumblr. It was a great mix of social and blogging. It was fun, easy to use, easy to post, and for a beginner photographer like me, offered tons of ideas and inspiration as I grew in my craft. Ultimately, I gave it up because of its walled-garden nature, but using the platform was a hoot. I still miss it.
Now, it’s a ghost town – at least the blogs I followed have mostly shut down or moved on.
Yvonne’s video is a great look back at the height of Tumblr-mania and what it inspired in all of us who were there at the time.
The New Photo Blog
I’m a huge YouTube user. I watch everything from badger documentaries to wrestling podcasts.
Lately, I’ve stumbled on the YouTube photography community, and YouTube channels have, in my eyes, taken over the role of photo blogs.
Gear? Lots of that. How-to videos? There are plenty of those. My favorites include discussions of craft, process, and projects. I want to know more about the work, not necessarily about what camera was used (though I do enjoy some gear-related videos) or a step-by-step instructional video. It’s the same stuff I would want to read on a photo blog, but now the good stuff seems to be on YouTube.
With a YouTube channel, we can hear from the artist directly, see their work, and learn about the behind-the-scenes process that often goes into projects. You can also hear from the photographer directly—which is still possible on a blog, but video makes it a little more personal. And thanks to the Almighty Algorithm™, it’s easy to click from one video to the next and easily find other channels.
A few of my favorites include:
- James Popsys – good thoughts on tips, strategy, and composition from a landscape photographer
- Max Kent – film photographer
- One Month Two Cameras – fun look back at the usefulness of “classic” digital gear
- Teo Crawford – another film photographer in Austria who dabbles in digital (video above)
- Tom Calton – more gear-based, especially around smaller budget cameras
- Zeek – the king of using the Canon EOS M for cinema shooting
- Sean Tucker – good philosophy of photography channel
I’m not switching to YouTube any time soon, and this blog isn’t going anywhere. I like writing and reading. But video is a modern, attractive approach to sharing photography insights that bring a little bit extra to the conversation.
Everything Means Nothing
Pentwater, Michigan, along Lake Michigan.
Shot on the OG Canon M with the EF-M 22mm lens.
Vandercook Lake
We took the first day of August and hit the lake: paddleboards, swimming, and catching the last sunlight of the day.
From here, we’re off to Door County, Wisconsin, again for our summer holiday. That means more sunsets, more paddleboards, and more time on the water.
Gotta love summer in the upper Midwest.
Canon EOS M As A Cinema Camera
Amazing.
One of my core philosophical pillars is the belief in using older gear to do creative work. And because the OG Canon M is still one of my favorite cameras, seeing it come back to life as a cinema camera using Magic Lantern warms my heart.
FoxTailWhipz’s video series has me exploring this option with my beat-up-but-still-working EOS M. While I can’t get that fancy M-Lite rig anymore, I can invest in a few other pieces of gear to make my M a video powerhouse.
Sheds of Summer
Some random summer evening shots around the neighborhood.
Out on walks, I noticed a surprising number of barn-shaped sheds. The light around 7:30 PM hit just right.
Coyoacán
As opposed to Roma, a more modern neighborhood, Coyoacán is pure history to the south of Mexico City.
A few coworkers took us down to explore the markets and chapel and walk the streets to Frida’s house. I also had the best popsicle I’ve ever had: pure, frozen lime juice with a bit of sugar. Amazing. I should’ve bought two.
This place felt like a classic Mexican neighborhood, filled with history and culture. Alive and ancient at the same time.
And just in case anything was stolen, I brought my classic Canon EOS M, paired with the 22mm f/2. She still runs like a champ.
Roma
My Mexican co-workers said I had a “Mexican heart.”
But maybe like anyone thrown into a new situation, new culture, new locale – it’s easy to fall in love with the “newness” of it all.
This is my second time in Mexico city in under a year. My employer has a corporate office in Mexico City, and I traveled there in mid May for a few days. I flew in a day early to walk around the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City – the posh, hip borough with lots of trendy shops and tons of Americans walking around. This is the “cool” part of the city now.
Roma gave me a chance to explore something new with my camera, and as before, Mexico City didn’t disappoint.
Web Power
I believe in the power of the web.
The second half of my career is based on websites: social media management, website building, email communications, and newsletters. Even my digital photography is mostly on the web.
Often, I see non-profits or companies (especially small, local mom-and-pop shops) without websites. I feel bad for them. They might be building their digital presence on sand.
Just yesterday I found out Workplace, the work-based social media management platform, is closing. It sucks for us companies that use it. But it also reinforces the stability, the always-thereness, of the web.
So many of these platforms and social sites have shuttered over the years. It’s enough to make one lose trust in anything other than the web.
Don’t Apologize
So you haven’t made anything in a while.
Maybe you broke a habit, or a long streak of productivity. Perhaps you haven’t taken your camera out in months. It could be you have nothing to share.
It’s fine. Don’t apologize. When it comes back – whatever it is for you – do it, share it, and keep going.
When you’re ready, we’re ready.
Spring Break in Chicago
Chilly, but always worth it.
Shot with my new Canon M200 and a few different lenses.
New Go-To: Canon M200 Review
Quick update: I switched! I’m now using the Canon M6 instead of the M200 – read that review here.
My original Canon M has been my go-to camera for 12 years. It goes almost everywhere I go: trips, family events, walks around the neighborhood. Its small size and stellar image quality, paired with the EF-M 22mm f/2, made it my everyday gear for more than a decade.
Right before the holidays, though, it started to show its age. In a few cases, I would go to turn it on, and it took a few extra seconds to wheeze into operation. When it did limp to life, it glitched or randomly powered off.
I don’t blame it! It’s worked very hard for a long time, taking tons of abuse at birthday parties and Lake Michigan beaches. It has never focused or shuttered quickly. And I know there have been a few rough bumps and drops that helped shorten its lifespan.
Seeing what was coming, I started shopping for a replacement camera. Even though it’s been discontinued, I have enjoyed the Canon M series for its punch-above-its-weight quality. These cameras are well-built, solid machines that deliver excellent image quality. Even if Canon never releases another M series body or lens, I felt that my investment in the system meant I could keep using it for another decade or longer.
My first pick, the Canon M6 Mark II, seemed like a solid unit—the best of the M series and the grand finale of the line. But it is more expensive and harder to find brand new than some of the more budget-friendly models.
Twelve years ago, I grabbed the Canon M during a fire sale, and have more than gotten my value out of that kit. Similarly, this time I opted for the budget camera – good enough is good enough. My choice: the M200 kit.
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- Canon M on the left, M200 on the right.
The Canon M200 is aimed at beginners and bloggers. There aren’t many buttons or options, it’s not the toughest model, and you don’t have the in-the-hand control you have on a more advanced camera. But coming from the original M, the M200 felt at home in my hands.
By buying the kit lens, I also went from two lenses (22mm and 32mm) to three, with a convenient zoom lens perfect for travel. I’ve never been a big zoom lens user, but the kit price was right.
Last weekend, on a sunny, freezing February morning, I took the M200 out to a local baseball field to catch the colors and sunrise. The sparse button layout and mostly touch-screen controls were much the same as the OG M, and I mostly set my M to P mode or AV mode and auto ISO to focus on shooting. That’s what I did here, playing around with focal lengths and testing the image quality.
The M200 has a handy flip-up screen for selfies, or flipping it up 90 degrees and looking down, twin-reflex style, to focus and recompose. It’s also great if you want to record video of yourself – set it up on a tripod, flip the screen, and you can see exactly what the camera is recording.
This is a stock feature for most cameras nowadays, but it’s a nice upgrade from the M’s frustrating touchscreen limitations.
A few other quick hits:
- One feature I do miss from the M is that you could hit the physical “delete” button to send the focus point back to the center on the touch screen. That was convenient. The M200 has a dedicated touch-screen button for this feature, but I miss the feel of hitting that physical button to re-center the focal point.
- Another feature I miss from the M: the ridge on the front of the camera that acted like a small handhold. The M200 is almost completely flat except for a thumb groove on the back, in the upper right.
- The M200 feels much lighter in hand. The M was a dense brick of a camera.
- The M200 comes with a built-in, pop-out flash. This might come in handy for family photos is dark situations.
- The button layout is taking some getting used to after 12 years of muscle memory. The on/off switch is now inside the top setting dial, where the M had a dedicated on/off button. More settings seem to be moved to the touchscreen, which isn’t my preference, but not unexpected on this consumer-friendly model.
- This could be the zoom lens I’ve been testing out, but the colors are different. Not bad, but not what I’m used to. I’ll have to try the ol’ trusty 22mm f/2, which is not only a perfect lens, but produces perfect colors, too, especially in skin tones – the classic Canon Look™.
Other than that, I like what I like, and for my needs, the M200 was a great choice. Time will tell how long it holds up or if it reaches 12 years’ worth of use like the M (Update: it didn’t). Until then, this affordable, easy-to-find mirrorless camera is all I need every day I need it.
Another World
Also on our California itinerary: Joshua Tree National Park, a long car ride on our last day so I could introduce the family to the desert.
“It’s like another planet,” my wife said, driving through the limestone boulders, washed clean by ancient floods.
Those were the exact thoughts I had 17 years ago, driving through New Mexico, Arizona, and eastern California. Another world.
Ray of Sunshine
We don’t get much sunlight in the Michigan winters. We don’t get much snow or freezing cold either, but it’s the lack of sunshine that’s killer.
This year, instead of taking our bi-annual trip to Disney World in Florida, we did something new and flew out to Disneyland in California. Three days in the park, but then three days doing other West Coast things, like driving up the Pacific Coast Highway and taking a road trip to Joshua Tree National Park.
It wasn’t exactly warm in California – warmer than home, which was hit by a major winter storm the day we flew out of Detroit – but there was sunshine.
Coming back home, and now a few weeks later, I can feel the difference a little bit of sunlight can make. I feel energized, almost manic, like I want to get all the things done.
And so I have. Everything from cleaning around the house, getting more things done at work, even picking up my exercise routine after the holidays…California helped.
Now I’m taking that feeling and running as fast as I can with it. I know it might not last forever – just like that trip up U.S. Highway 1.
Trees Most Lovely
Gwinn’s Christmas Tree Farm in Horton, Michigan.
Have a great holiday season, everyone.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
We’ve always been a musical family, but we officially became a musical theatre family this fall.
The women in our group all joined the cast of Center Stage Jackson‘s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – my daughter Madelyn taking a lead role as Jemima, Riley as one of the ensemble kids, and Jaime as the wicked baroness.
That meant lots of light nights, back and forth trips to rehearsal, and tired kiddos who aren’t used to staying up late for practice. But the last two weekends, it all came together.
The show’s director, Lisa, is a close family friend, and she let me hang out back stage for some behind the scenes photography.
Supporting the local arts in our communities means showing up, and lending talents where needed.
A Cider a Day
This time of year is busy: it’s apple season, and that means lots of picking, juicing, and fermenting apples.
Each fall, I’ve looked for and picked apples wherever I can find them. Family trees, random trees in the park, and this year, I met a neighbor who had a half dozen McIntosh trees. So we went one early Saturday morning and picked apples.
The McIntosh apples, a half bucket of sweet yellow apples from my father-in-law’s yard, and a collection of bright red crabapples from our own backyard helped create about eight gallons of unfiltered apple juice.
From there, I split up those eight gallons into a few batches of hard cider.
The bright red juice is from the crabapples, which helps create a cider with a kick – a little something extra. When you ferment all the sugar out of juice during cider making, you have to have a little personality, and the crabs – with their acid and bitter tannins – helped add complexity.
From here, I stick a bit of yeast into a fermenter, sit the juice in a dark, cool spot, and let is sit for a few months. In the juice, the yeast turn all the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
And I had a bit of juice left over to enjoy with the kids – some “family-friendly” sweet cider, like what you buy at the orchard.
I officially started making hard cider in the fall of 2019, but this really became my pandemic project. I practiced, made hard cider out of store-bought juice, added other fruits and flavors to it. Now, I have it down pretty pat, and have even started making mead (fermented honey) and cyser (fermented apple juice mixed with honey).
There are lots of guides out there on how to make cider, but my favorites come from the folks at City Steading Brews – here’s a good starter recipe. Just know you’ll have to invest in some equipment and supplies: fermenting jugs, funnels, sanitizer, yeast.
But the juice? That’s the fun part. You can do like I do: pick and juice your own, using a standard home juicer. Or you can pick up a simple gallon of cider from your local orchard (just make sure it has no preservatives in it – ascorbic acid is okay), bring it home, and have it start bubbling into hard cider in no time.
Much like photography, the process is just as fun as the final results – except with cider, you get to drink it.
Ferry Tale
While I don’t use Instagram as much as I did years ago, every once in a while I find a photographer whose work says, “yeah, that’s the good stuff.”
Kristopher Shinn is one of those, sharing scenes from Pudget Sound ferries. It made me think of my recent summer vacation trip to Mackinac Island aboard Shepler’s Ferry.
The light is everything. We rode along at the perfect time of day, zipping along Lake Huron.
Pure Michigan
Swimming and hiking and bonfiring.
Drinking and s’more’ing and eating some more’ing.
Finding the nature therapy you’ve long needed. Spending time with family. Introducing places like Mackinac Island to the kids, and bringing back memories with you on the ferry ride across Lake Michigan.
Climbing to the top of a 10-story lighthouse along Lake Huron. Braving the pouring rain or the biting mosquitos.
Grabbing your camera and capturing the last remaining light of a busy day.
It’s more than a checklist. These are all the elements of a great summer vacation.