2024

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.

, , , 0 Comments

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. 

, , , , , 0 Comments

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.

, , , , , 0 Comments

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.

, , , , , , 0 Comments

Home

Inside and outside, the light is changing.

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

, , , , , 0 Comments

Through the Ghastly Blank

Foggy fall mornings in Jackson, Michigan.

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

, , , , , , 0 Comments

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.

, , , , , , , ,

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.

, , , , ,

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.

, , , , , ,

1 2 3