Detroit Sock City
Detroit, Michigan – Shot on the Canon M6 and EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3.
2025
Michigan Rocks
Took the kids to the Michigan Gem and Mineral Society‘s rock show at the event center this weekend.
One of my favorite photography topics in people showing off their niche. In this case, the stone people were all around us.
I’m more into geology—the study of the Earth’s crust and history. My family? They’re rock nerds.
Shot on the Canon M6 and Viltrox 23mm f/1.4.
Email Newsletter Update
So far, so good.
I’ve successfully launched four email newsletters this year. Not bad for starting totally fresh.
Content-wise, I’ve covered everything from sunshine to digicams and shared proud parent moments and books I’m into. Along the way, I’ve also added some new subscribers (thanks!).
Catch some of the action by subscribing here. I hope to see you in your inbox.
False Spring
This early in March? We Michiganders know better.
Shot on the Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2.
A Thousand Times
I often drive by perfect scenes or interesting settings and add them to my mental “I have to photograph that” list.
My list is pretty long, and the geography of it stretches across counties and even states.
When I’m on the highway, I must drive by this little one-room schoolhouse a thousand times on my way to work. When I do, I think, “I have to grab that little building out in that field.”
Sometimes, the light isn’t right, or I don’t have time on my commute. But on this day I did, so I grabbed an old Nikon D700 we have at work and tromped out into the snowy field to photograph the little schoolhouse around sunset.
One by one, I check these little scenes off my list.
No Pressure
Do you want to know the benefits of being a hobbyist photographer?
No pressure.
No client to please. No money to make. No expectations. No deadlines.
If I’m working on a big portrait project, the only deadlines or expectations are the ones I put on myself. And I do, but no one else knows that. It’s just me.
I can go out on a foggy winter morning, after dropping off the kids at school but before heading to work, and explore. Just me and my own desire to make something, see something, photograph something.
There’s no pressure. And it means everything.
Resorting to Arizona
My recent trip to Arizona included a stay in a sprawling resort just outside of Phoenix. Throughout the work conference, we never had to leave the place: golf, dinner, swimming, hiking. It was all there.
The sun was also always there, with light bouncing off the faux adobe façades. That, combined with the bright colors, made for a photography feast.
Winter makes the sun a little lower in the sky, meaning there wasn’t a bad time to walk around and make pictures.
And that’s fitting for my way of doing things: I use photography as a way to explore a new place. Walk around, look for good light, capture what I see – that’s 90% of photography for me.
Luckily, I had lots to see and photograph here in Arizona.
Shot on the Canon R.
Let the Sun Shine
Last year, we took a family trip to California that rebooted my whole year.
I’m still feeling the effects of that winter trip filled with gorgeous West Coast sunshine. A week full of vitamin D does a body, and a spirit, good.
That’s why I looked so forward to a recent work trip to Phoenix, Arizona. The forecast? Sunny and mid 70s. Perfect for this winter-worn Michigander.
We had a few chances to stroll through the Sonoran Desert surrounding our conference resort, through the Phoenix Mountains Preserve near North Moutain Park. One morning we traveled with a hiking company, through a tunnel under the road, and wandered around a valley to watch the sun come up.
On the other side, we watched the sun set over a nice BBQ dinner. In both cases, the desert light never left.
Shot on the Canon R and either the RF 50mm f/1.8 or 24-105mm f/4.
Painting
Nothing like winter to add a little more color into our lives.
This was the girls’ doing: a new bed, new paint, and new, big-girl furniture.
Shot on the OG Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2.
The Coldest Day
It’s cold out there.
Parts of the U.S. are facing an arctic blast – one of those goofy named weather phenomena. In the past few winters, we haven’t had much winter action in Michigan. So on this occasion, I laced up my snow boots and walked around the neighborhood to see what five degrees felt like.
The bright sun and crisp air were nice for a brief minute. But then the wind would pick up and I felt like my face was stinging.
Not much moves on mornings like this.
Shot on the Canon 5D classic and EF 40mm f/2.8.