festival

Divine Pine Gathering 2026

Divine Pine Gathering Photography

There are times when I feel like an archeologist, or one of those National Geographic reporters who delves deep into the Amazon rainforest to discover a long-lost tribe.

For instance, I often go to heavy metal concerts. If you’ve seen me, I tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Maybe it’s all in my head, but I’m the average guy in the crowd who’s not covered in tattoos, chains, or sporting a mohawk haircut. 

After photographing Abby Dawson for my Artists In Jackson project, I learned that she, her husband Phil, and her friend Gracie host a bi-annual festival called the Divine Pine Gathering:

Divine Pine Gathering is focused on traditional skill shares, ancestral knowledge, healing, arts, live music and movement.

DPG is as much a retreat into nature as it is a chance to connect to and learn from others. Divine Pine shows the power of love and community that results from gathering in an intentional way.

I love music and the arts, but for the rest of that description, I’m a newbie. So I came to this festival to take photos and learn something – another chance to be a relative outsider looking in. 

And don’t get me wrong: I love this kind of experience. Since everything is new, everything is interesting, and I love using my camera to discover new ways of living. Of being. 

And Divine Pine offered newness at every turn. 

First, the land. Phil and Abby’s property in my hometown of Brooklyn, Michigan, was amazing. And huge. The festival sprawled across fields, under trees, up hills, and around wetlands. 

I got my steps in walking from how-to classes to concerts to sound healing sessions.

Second, the people. Everyone was there for love and community, to learn and to live, and you could feel that in every concert, every talk, and every gathering that took place. 

The vibes were everywhere, and those vibes were great. 

I offered to take photos of the event in exchange for tickets to attend. This opportunity highlights that having a camera and offering your services will give you access to new experiences.

Selfishly, I wanted to be there, and if trading photos for tickets was the method, then I was up for it. 

On Friday and Sunday of the festival, I brought along my Canon 6D with the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 as my general walking-around lens. It was flexible for most situations and, looking over the photos, did a bang-up job. 

On Saturday, I brought along the rest of my family, so I traveled light with the Canon EOS M6 and mostly used the Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 for the reach. Sometimes I would switch to my kit zoom EF-M 15-45mm lens for extra flexibility.

In both cases, I made the right call. I got what I needed and never felt hampered by my photography gear. 

What I came away with was an awesome new experience, some reconnections with old friends (and a few new ones), and a series of photos that I’m proud to share.

Those photos will help Phil, Abby, and the event team promote their next event on the Divine Pine website and social media. 

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Show Time?

Casler Hardware

Our local art and history museum has an annual summer event, the Art, Beer, & Wine Festival, which features those three things on a (usually) beautiful June day. I often wonder about participating in the festival – maybe as a way to get some of my photography out there, promote my books and projects, and meet more people around town.

But then I think about the whole art fair crowd, and what you need to do to appeal to a mass audience like that, and I wonder if my work is the kind of stuff that would be interesting. My portrait projects might be good conversation starters because they feature local creatives doing interesting things – many of whom are usually at the fair. 

The cost is fairly minimal, but you do have to devote an entire day to standing out in the sun. It’s a fun event, one of the big draws on Jackson’s summertime event calendar. And there’s always the try-it-out-and-see-how-it-goes philosophy, where if it goes well, great, and if it doesn’t, I wouldn’t do it again.

The benefit would be spreading the word about my latest musicians project, as well as reminding people about my artists project. I might sell a few books, and get some subscribers to my email list. Would I make some photo prints to sell as well? If so, how many, and how much do I sell them for? Do I want a bunch of inventory sitting around after this festival is over? 

When I approach a project like this, it’s best to keep a clear goal in mind.

This year, it would be to promote Musicians In Jackson, and remind people about Artists In Jackson. In conversation, I could ask for suggestions on my next project, too. Have some photos of the musicians and artists on hand to see the final products, and offer the book for purchase.

Keep it narrow. Keep it focused. 

Many artists are fine with making their work and leaving it at that. For my projects, since they are about the community I live in, part of my job has to be to let people know about the work. A bit of that is personal outreach, a bit is letting the musicians and artists promote the project to people they know, a bit is local media efforts.

The festival could be a new way to get the word out: taking my photography directly to the community, in person, where I can talk about my goals and spark discussions. 

The art fair-type approach to selling my photography is not appealing; I don’t think I’m that type of photographer. But if I look at the festival as a public relations tactic, I can keep the whole experience in focus with clear goals.

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