michigan

Canon + Kodak T-Max Film Simulation

Canon + Tri-X

Black and white is tough.

You’d think shooting monochrome with only two “colors” – black and white – would be easy. But photographers’ opinions on black and white film and presets are almost as strong and varied as their opinions on camera companies.

Canon’s standard monochrome picture profile setting is…fine. It’s just not special or unique. 

But thanks to the power of custom picture profiles and film simulations, you can get the look of Kodak T-Max film on your digital Canon EOS camera. 

This T-Max film emulation comes from the Vision Wrangler collection – like the previous Kodachrome film style. 

I took a sunny, spring evening in downtown Jackson, Michigan, to try out this black and white emulation. Maybe it was the lighting, maybe it was the simulation, but this was good stuff. 

For a contrast-y film simulation, this T-Max picture profile was a good walk-around monochrome standard. If you want to shoot JPGs and not worry about editing, this film emulation is reliable and consistent. 

My one suggestion with this profile is to try cranking up the ISO setting on your digital Canon to get more of a filmic grain. 

But the deep blacks and good microcontrast? It’s all here. 

Here’s how to install picture profiles on your own Canon digital camera. 

Shot on the Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2.

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Spring Sunrise at Cascades Park

Sparks County Park - Jackson, Michigan

Spring has finally – and for real – sprung here in Jackson, Michigan.

I woke up early on a Saturday morning, just as the sun was coming up, to walk around Sparks County Park (popularly known as the home of the Cascades) to hear the geese fighting in the water and watch the last of the frost melt away.

Shot on the Canon M6 and EF-M 15-45mm. 

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Spring Break in Detroit

Detroit - Eastern Market

Much like last year, we stuck close to home for spring break – this time, to downtown Detroit, Michigan.

Eastern Market

One of the largest markets in the country, Eastern Market was fairly quiet in late March. It’s not quite farmers market season yet.

We still saw, and tasted, plenty.

Downtown Detroit

Mondays are quiet, so we took the People Mover downtown to stroll around the Renaissance Center and midtown. 

That might have been a mistake. First, it was chilly, with the buildings acting as a wind tunnel for a cold breeze off of the Detroit River.

Second, we had a few mishaps, including me dropping my Canon M6 and busting my beloved EF-M 22mm lens.

So we headed back to the hotel and just chilled. It wasn’t worth it outside.

Detroit Institute of arts

This was my jam. 

The DIA is a world-class art museum, and the light was just perfect inside to get some dramatic shots inside the main hall and near the Diego Rivera mural.

After the museum, we ate at Hop Cat and watched the Detroit Qline come and go.

Heading home

A few more photos as we finish up at the hotel, have some diner-style breakfast, and head back to Jackson.

All images captured on a busted-ass Canon M6 and a variety of EF-M lenses. 

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Birthday in Ypsilanti

Me with Bret Hart

Got to spend my birthday in Ypsilanti on Sunday and check off something on my bucket list:

Meet my wrestling hero, Bret “Hitman” Hart.

We also attended Astronomicon, a wrestling/geek culture convention.

Shot on the Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2.

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Dione Tripp - Artists In Jackson

Artists In Jackson: Dione Tripp

Dione Tripp doesn’t just make art—she builds it, reconstructs it, salvages it, and reimagines it. 

Growing up in a family of carpenters, inventors, and tinkerers, she was surrounded by the idea that anything could be created with the right tools and vision. Her father was into music, her mother into art, and somewhere in between, Dione found her own voice—one that blends mediums, textures, and emotions into something distinctly her own.

Dione Tripp - Artists In JacksonHer artistic journey began with singing, painting, and the idea that she might one day become an art teacher. But she quickly realized her passion wasn’t in teaching—it was in making. Hanging art at the old Thunderbird Café, creating gifts, and submitting pieces for Jackson’s Cool City initiative, she steadily built her presence in the local scene. 

Over time, her work evolved beyond traditional canvases into something more layered and more experimental. Even a routine car repair becomes an opportunity. When she gets her brakes changed, she keeps the parts, seeing in them a potential for reinvention.

“How far can you push an object to be a sculpture and not be too crafty?” she asks—a question that continues to shape her process.

Dione pulls from her environment—barn scraps, salvaged materials, even discarded brake parts—to create works that challenge viewers’ perspectives. 

“If you’re in a plane, you can see the world differently. I want to express that: the dangers, the fears, the freedom,” she says.

Jackson, Michigan, remains central to her creative world. She studied there, works there, and thrives in its grassroots art community. 

“It’s like a blank slate, and we can create our own answers,” she says. 

With two to three projects per year, she’s constantly exploring—be it through book illustrations, her new clothing store, or sculptural ideas. While she’s open to branching out, she doesn’t feel limited. 

“The only thing limiting me is myself—both in terms of my art and my success,” she says.

Looking ahead, Dione is driven by a desire to amaze herself and find collaborators and appreciators along the way.

“I want to be able to toss ideas around, learn new skills, and try things out,” she says. 

Whether it’s trading art, experimenting with new media, or diving deeper into sculpture, she’s on a path of constant evolution—one where every scrap, stroke, and salvaged element has the potential to become something memorable.

Buy the Artists In Jackson book  |  Artist Dione on Instagram

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Canon + Kodachrome Film Simulation

Detroit, Michigan street photos

Now this is more my style

I’m aiming to try out the popular film simulations for Canon cameras – like the popular Fujifilm emulations on the X series cameras. While Canon cameras do not come with film emulations baked in, they are available via Canon’s Picture Style editor and camera profiles. 

This Kodachrome-style film simulation comes from Cinescopophila: a giant pack of 150+ picture styles featuring a ton of favorites – almost too many to practically try out. But seeing Kodachrome in the list, I had to give it a spin on a recent trip with the family to Detroit.

Unlike the Fujifilm simulation from Thomas Fransson, these Kodak colors are more my vibe: warmer, much better skin tones, and a healthy amount of contrast.

And those reds? They POP. The greens are nice too. There’s none of that washed-out blandness from the Pro Neigh High series.

Overall, this is a reliable film simulation if you’re a JPG shooter or don’t want to worry about editing. Most of these came out correct as-is, with a little tinkering on a few images for exposure and contrast.

Do these photos mimic Kodachrome? Not really. But for my style of shooting, and even some video, these are a good film-like preset to get you started. With a bit of adjusting, you can get this slide film emulation looking just the way you want. 

There are plenty of other Kodachrome versions to try, although many come at a cost. This picture style from Vision Wrangler comes with 150 more to try, with everything from wacky out-there stuff to tried-and-true black and white film emulations.

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Artists In Jackson 2: The Sequel

Ten years ago, I introduced my first big creative portrait project called Artists In Jackson. Through that project, I got to know our local artists. Together, we told their stories and let our community know we have a talented bunch of people right here in our hometown. 

And – bonus! – I met and made some good friends along the way.

Since then, a lot has changed. I worked on a spiritual sequel, Musicians In Jackson, and then the pandemic hit. Here we are five years later, and I’m happy to announce I’m working on my next big portrait project, Artists In Jackson 2.

This one will be a little different. Instead of disappearing for six months and re-emerging with a fancy book and a bunch of pictures, I want to treat this project more like a platform.

Here’s how it works:

  • Over time, I’ll work on photo subjects and help tell their stories.
  • You will see these profiles periodically as I work on them and get them done. You don’t have to wait for a book – you’ll see my progress as it’s happening, either on social media or my website.
  • And it will just keep going. There’s no end, there’s no finish line. Artists In Jackson becomes a platform to tell stories, not a website or a book.

Dione Tripp - Artists In Jackson

At a point in time, when I have enough profiles done, I can collect them all and make a book or a ‘zine of some kind. 

But that’s not the goal. The goal is to tell stories about creative people in our community. 

And I have some profiles already set up to publish – one, reaching back several years, on Dione Tripp (above). Others I have a head-start on and you’ll see those soon. As always, I’m open to your ideas and tips on creative people in and from Jackson.

I hope you’ll join me in this new experiment. I’m excited to once again share these homegrown artists, their work, and their stories.

Get all the details at ArtistsInJackson.com.

 

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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.

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False Spring

False Spring

This early in March? We Michiganders know better.

Shot on the Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2.

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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.

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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.

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Talking Musicians In Jackson on JTV

I’m kissing Squarespace goodbye and moving my two portrait projects to my blog. Instead of sending web traffic somewhere else, Artists In Jackson and Musicians In Jackson—as they’re updated—will live here, where visitors can learn more about my other projects. 

As I was putting together the project landing pages, I remembered JTV’s Bart Hawley Show featured Musicians In Jackson late in 2019, but I never shared that conversation on this blog.

So here it is. And many thanks to Bart for having me on to talk about my musicians and artists portrait projects.

 

 

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Hello, February

Fog then rain then snow then sunshine.

Welcome to February. 

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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.

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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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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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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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