2024

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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