2024

Austin, Texas: Night

I always want to do more night photography. Living in a small city, there’s not a lot of opportunity to grab night images like I’d like to.

Thanks to Austin, however, I had a great chance to tour around a decent-sized city to capture light, shadow, and color. My co-worker and I also stumbled on a commercial filming shoot taking place on 6th Street, near Voodoo Donuts, which provided an interesting behind-the-scenes view into a commercial production.

This night out inspired me so much that I thought, hey, Detroit’s not that far away. It might be worth a visit to get more of these kinds of photos. 

The trip also inspired me to continue working on a long-term night photography project closer to home. More on that soon. 

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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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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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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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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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Around the Block

Quiet fall evenings are a chance to get outside, get some fresh air, and end the day on a high note.

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

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Philly in 50mm: Downtown

Quick work trip last week to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.

My coworkers and I had a chance to visit downtown Philly briefly. With only my work camera – a Canon R with the RF 50mm f/1.8 lens – I snagged a few pictures around the historic district and the art museum stairs (made famous in the Rocky movie). 

These are the downtown portion, in and around the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

I don’t often do the street photography thing, but it was nice to explore a busy urban area and capture the people and scenes around this important American city.

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Grass Lake, Michigan

Capturing small towns around mid-Michigan is an ongoing project. A few weeks back, I grabbed a sunny morning in early September and went to Grass Lake, Michigan, a little village on the East end of Jackson County.

A powerhouse in local football, and an old railroad stop along the I-94 corridor to Ann Arbor and Detroit, Grass Lake has a quaint downtown district with some alleyways great for exploring. It was quiet the morning I was there – very few walkers or browsers on the square – but E Michigan Ave is always busy with traffic.

For this trip, I took the Canon M6 and a mix of 22mm and 28mm EF-M lenses.

This fall, I plan to try and visit more little towns around this area of Michigan. So far, I have visited Springport, Parma, Homer, and Brooklyn.

 

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Friday Night Lights

Small town Friday night? That means football this time of year.

With Aiden in marching band, that means we head to Jackson High for a beautiful September evening and watch our hometown Vikings win against Tecumseh. 

Shot on the Canon 5D and EF 50mm f/1.4.

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Marching Band

It’s a false summer night – part of a week full of those final warm days before autumn sets in.

Autumn means marching band season, so Aiden and I headed to Jackson High’s football field for his first practice session. It gave me a chance to catch some of the light and colors around the stadium. 

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

 

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Flavor Fruit Farm

Meckley’s Flavor Fruit Farm is a local institution.

Think apple-cide-and-donuts orchard in the fall, and Meckley’s is the place to be.

But instead of trying to beat the gigantic crowd that gathers here in late September through October, we visited the farm in August to see the nearly-done apples and sunflowers in full bloom.

A warm summer night, the sun setting, and hard cider off the tap? Hard to beat in all its midwestern glory.

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Brooklyn, Michigan

I moved around a lot as a kid, but I call Brooklyn, Michigan, my hometown. It’s the place I lived the longest, went to school the longest, and really grew up.

Brooklyn is a small village in southern Jackson County – the home of Michigan International Speedway, the Irish Hills, and Hometown Pizza, my first jobby-job through high school and even into college when I came home for breaks.

My family still lives in Brooklyn, but not in town, so I don’t get to see the village square every day like I used to. That’s why I took a hot August night, grabbed some pizza at Hometown, and hit Main Street for a photo walk using my trusty Canon 5D and 40mm f/2.8 lens.

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Jackson County Fair

Even though I feel like it’s the same-ol’, same-ol’ each year, our local county fair never disappoints.

Shot on a mixture of EF-M 22mm and 32mm, with the Canon M200.

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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. 

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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.

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