The Red Watcher
Mackinaw City, Michigan
photography
Picking Up a Fallen Star
Spring Arbor, Michigan – shot on the Canon M and the EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 lens.
Austin, Texas: Street Photography
Here’s something I don’t usually do: some street photography around downtown Austin, Texas.
With all my work travels this year, I’ve had the chance to do more of this style of photography: Philadelphia, Mexico City, etc. And even with my recent practice, I still find it hard to do well.
But there’s nothing like practice. Austin’s perfect weather, manageable downtown, and good light all around helped.
One challenge was focal length. Either I wasn’t close enough, or my 22mm and 32mm on the Canon M6 didn’t get me close enough. Another challenge was traffic blocking some key shots.
Still, a good photowalk out and about, exploring the city.
Austin, Texas: Shapes and Shadows
I’ve traveled a lot this year.
On the way to the airport, this time to Austin, Texas, for a conference, I thought, “I’ve used this parking garage an awful lot lately.”
It’s not a bad thing. I love to travel, and these trips have allowed me to try out more street photography than I usually do.
Back home, my pictures are mostly people-less. A city like Austin, though, lets me walk around an urban environment and practice in the streets.
My Austin trip was so inspiring (and warm – it was a perfect 70-80 degrees and sunny in mid-November, much warmer than Michigan) that I went out to shoot every chance I could. That gave me a ton of photos to select, organize, and process.
Consider this the first post in a series of albums from Austin – this time focusing on light/shadow, my usual go-to when out shooting. Look for more traditional street shots, with people, and others from around Austin in the next few weeks.
Shot on the Canon M6 and EF-M 22mm and 32mm lenses.
A Good Case for the Everyday Carry
Ali from One Month Two Cameras discusses her needs and wants for her everyday carry camera—the one you use for just about everything.
For 12 years, that was the Canon M for me. Earlier this year, I upgraded to the Canon M200, but I’ve had second thoughts. And those thoughts came right as Ali’s video went live last week.
Put shortly: she’s on to something…
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.
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.
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.
Back to Normal
It was a constructive summer. Especially in the last few months, I’ve made a go at getting out more and more, trying to fill my photography buffer so I have plenty of material to edit and share as we move into the cold and gray months.
I feel like I’m getting back to a familiar sense of normalcy, photographically speaking. In some ways, I’m recreating my work commute from 10-12 years ago. On the weekends, I get up early, hit the road to a local town, and shoot in the morning light. A few things have helped, like:
- Making a conscious effort to get out and shoot more – actually dedicating time to doing so.
- Creating a running mental list of photography opportunities and locations.
- Good weather! Now that we’re into autumn, I know the sun and warmth are ending, so it’s been nice to have bright mornings.
- Testing out lenses and cameras. Last weekend, I grabbed my 28mm because I rarely use it, and it provides a challenge.
Back into the groove. Back to normal – or at least a new normal (I say one day before the U.S. presidential election).
For now, it feels good.
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.
Stockbridge, Michigan
On our way up north this summer, I took the scenic route (as I often do) through the little towns of Stockbridge and Perry, Michigan. Along the way, I made a mental note to stop by both towns and take photos.
I picked a foggy morning on the first day of autumn to head up to Stockbridge. I’m glad I did, because the mist gave the town square a vibe. I made a whole morning out of it, shooting along the way and back home, and it ended up being a really productive (and fun) day out.
Shot on the Canon 5D with a combo of the EF 28mm and 40mm.
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.
Parma, Michigan
Parma, Michigan is a little burg on the west end of Jackson County – quiet and empty the day I was there.
Shot on the original Canon M with the EF-M 22mm f/2.
Philly in 50mm: Museum District
More 50mm shots from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this time near the art museum (made famous in Rocky).
The hike from downtown to the museum district is a pleasant one, lined with sycamore trees and art installations along the way. At the start, you have the Barnes Foundation, and then halfway down the path you have the Rodin Museum – a space that looks like an ancient Roman edifice left behind by millennia and plunked down into a sprawling, modern American city.
Then you get to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with its Rocky statue and iconic stairway, and you can tell this is where people gather. Especially dudes who just jogged all the way here to run up those steps.
I haven’t been to Philly in years, not since my big Revoluationary War tour of New England in 2008, and it was great to see some places I didn’t catch on the original trip.
Shot on the Canon R with the RF 50mm f/1.8 lens.
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.
Grass Lake, Michigan
Capturing small towns around mid-Michigan is an ongoing project. A few weeks back, I grabbed a sunny morning in early September and went to Grass Lake, Michigan, a little village on the East end of Jackson County.
A powerhouse in local football, and an old railroad stop along the I-94 corridor to Ann Arbor and Detroit, Grass Lake has a quaint downtown district with some alleyways great for exploring. It was quiet the morning I was there – very few walkers or browsers on the square – but E Michigan Ave is always busy with traffic.
For this trip, I took the Canon M6 and a mix of 22mm and 28mm EF-M lenses.
This fall, I plan to try and visit more little towns around this area of Michigan. So far, I have visited Springport, Parma, Homer, and Brooklyn.
Embracing Shadows
“I could take the limitations of the camera and use [shadows] to create something even more interesting.”
I feel like that’s a perfect distillation of my style: never be afraid of the shadows.
Friday Night Lights
Small town Friday night? That means football this time of year.
With Aiden in marching band, that means we head to Jackson High for a beautiful September evening and watch our hometown Vikings win against Tecumseh.
Shot on the Canon 5D and EF 50mm f/1.4.
Marching Band
It’s a false summer night – part of a week full of those final warm days before autumn sets in.
Autumn means marching band season, so Aiden and I headed to Jackson High’s football field for his first practice session. It gave me a chance to catch some of the light and colors around the stadium.
Shot on the Canon M200 with the EF-M 15-45mm kit lens.
Light Just Right
A note about waiting for good light.
The above is the same house taken at the same time of year, within a day or two of each other, just at different times during the morning.
I drive by this little house a few times a week. For months, I’ve thought to myself: “That would make for a good photograph.” Finally, one morning, I had time enough to pull over and take the shot. The first attempt is the one on the left.
The light is okay. There’s a touch on the front porch and a bit on the left near the chair—that golden morning light hitting halfway between the front door and the stairs.
But something felt off when I got back and imported the picture into Lightroom. The house itself is too much in the shade, while the lawn and the trees on the right have a neutral, even light. The fluffy clouds in the upper left are a nice touch though.
So I gave it another try, this time earlier in the morning when the sun was hitting the entire house on the side, coming from the East on the left. Angled shadows hit the lawn and the front of the house, and the sunshine lit up that (cursed) Ohio flag. The porch is a bit more in shade, but there’s still a touch of light hitting the chair.
The temperature of the light, too, is different in the second shot: it is more golden and a bit harsher, painting the scene with a more dramatic brush. I do miss those fluffy clouds from the first image, though.
Both are fine. I’m glad I took another stab at it. The light was worth waiting for.
Here’s the final photo:
Both images shot with the Canon M6 and EF-M 28mm f/3.5 macro.
Using Older Camera Gear
“Rebelling against the standard” – that’s all the excuse I need.
Martin Castein makes a good case for using older gear, but one point he missed:
Save money.
Instead of $1,000-4,000 for a new camera, how about using a five- to 10-year-old camera for $500 or less? There are so many great deals to be had on fantastic cameras.