university of michigan

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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Rainy Autumn Days

The fall colors this year have been a lot of fun to watch, especially here on campus. So I couldn’t let a little thing like a rainy day stop me from wandering and grabbing a few images.

Orange, yellow, green, muddy browns – all the October colors were there. Although the rain would knock many of the more colorful leaves down.

I haven’t had the time or energy to get out and take autumn photos like I’ve wanted to. We had the weekend up north, and lots of Halloween fun, but I feel like I’ve watched this autumn pass by. Thankfully, an umbrella makes dreary day image making possible.

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The Academic Life

The Academic Life

A recent episode of Roderick on the Line had me thinking about our aptitudes, and whether our vocation takes advantage of our particular talents.

For me, it’s all books and learning and research and art. If I have a life made up of some combination of those things, along with working with talented students to make things, then I’m satisfied. It’s not like I’m saving the world, but I am, in an indirect way, helping to make it a better place.

High education has been my calling since I was in college. I knew then what I wanted to do, and here I am doing it.

As I took a walk around the University of Michigan’s campus yesterday afternoon—sky heavy with rain clouds, early autumn leaves falling, EarthFest fair going on in the Diag, students heading to class—it hit me, as it always does, that I’m working my dream job. I value education, I value the search for truth, and so to lend my expertise to that effort makes me feel like I’m in the right place.

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Tim Kaine Comes to Campus

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine came to the University of Michigan’s campus on Tuesday.

I took my lunch hour to sit on the Diag and listen to his speech. It drew quite the crowd – even a half dozen pro Trump protestors (who didn’t find much sympathy here in Ann Arbor).

In America, a lot of politics is performance and theatre, both from those on stage and  in the crowd. It was a lot of fun to walk around and see the spectacle for myself.

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Walk About

University of Michigan Law Quad

It’s a big campus.

Luckily, my workplace is centrally located at the University, so branching out on my lunch hour is easy to do.

That’s what I do, usually, on my lunch hours now. I wander, and explore, and try to find a spot I haven’t seen before. It’s hard, because I’ve been here so many times, and walked around so much.

For one, it’s a great way to get some exercise on a beautiful summer day. For two, it really is a lovely campus.

And three, as I’ve mentioned, it’s how I explore. Grab a camera, lace up the walking shoes, and hit the road. Chicken out at asking people to take their portrait. Find little slants of light. Remember to look up at the architecture.

Keep walking.

Until time runs out, and I head back to the office.

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Exploring Ann Arbor

Liberty Street - Ann Arbor, Michigan

After starting my new job in March, I did what I always do: got out and explored.

I’ve been to Ann Arbor, Michigan, many times, and done a lot of shooting here. Now that it’s my jobby-job town, there are a lot more opportunities to get out and see the city. Lunch hours, in between meetings, after work – all good excuses to get out and make photos.

This is, at its most basic, the best reason to make photography a hobby. You get to really learn about and know a place through the viewfinder.

A new place also provides that little spark of freshness you might need to practice your craft.

Do your everyday surroundings get stale? Go somewhere new, and – bam – instant inspiration.

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New Camera Day

Low-End Shooting

Exciting news: Canon released a new camera today. More megapixels! Touchscreen! GPS!

For many people, it really is exciting. They have $3,500 burning a whole in their pocket, or they need it for professional work.

But for us low-end shooters, we don’t need latest and greatest. In fact, a new Canon 5D means that the previous models, Marks I-III, will be on sale here soon. You can buy an affordable used or refurbished model.

I’m not shy about it: I use a 10 year old 5D for most photo stuff. There are others (six megapixels? C’mon!) who are even more ambitious in their anachronism.

So you can use this New Camera Day as an opportunity to jump on something new, jump on something old – or maybe wait a bit, until it goes on sale.

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