That time of year, when we’re begging for Spring.
vsco
Ice Storm
Before the polar vortex, there was the ice storm.
Some hanging-on oak leaves in my backyard.
Snowed In
We here in Michigan were walloped this weekend – bitter cold, freezing winds, and tons of snowfall.
So what better to do than head out and grab some photos?
Below-zero temperatures and a hazy cloud cover made for some lovely light, especially around sunset. During the day, I had to head out and shovel my driveway, and grabbed some images while knee-deep in snow.
To cool off (ha!), I took a walk down the road to see what the rest of the neighborhood looked like. Luckily most of my neighborhood roads were plowed, but some areas were still untouched.
I didn’t get very far down the road before the conditions turned me back home. But weather like this doesn’t happen like it used to, even here in Michigan.
So why not capture the day?
Sweet Home Chicago
I often tell people that I get to Chicago at least once a year.
This year? It’s more like five or six.
A fun trip. Another fun trip. A business trip. A work trip. A conference. It seems I’m heading to the Windy City, on average, every other month.
And boy, I don’t mind. Every time I head to Chicago, whether for personal trips or business, it feels like a getaway.
I’ve said it before: I feel like I know Chicago better than I do my nearby metro area. That goes mainly for the downtown areas, because once I get out of the main hub of Chicago I’m not so confident – whereas in Detroit, I know the surrounding areas fairly well.
But since taking up photography as a hobby, Chicago has been one of my favorite subjects. The people, the architecture, the city life – it’s a smorgasbord of photo opps.
For a work trip back in October, I hit the streets to specifically grab more street photos than anything else.
(Most photos taken with Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2, edited in Lightroom with VSCO Film 03)
Popular In Chicago
From my October trip to Chicago: “Framed Spire.” This one was good enough to reach the Popular page on 500px, so that’s cool.
Really Winter Now
It’s really winter now. The high temperatures have been in the 15-20 F range, and the snow and ice are starting to stick around.
Nothing will grow until March. There will be nothing on the trees until April. Any sunny day is the best Michigan will look for a few months now.
Despite the bitter cold, I do enjoy getting out when it’s sunny and taking photos. The slants of light, the position of the sun – everything is different this time of year. It looks like winter.
So it was with these faded milkweed plants. The sun was setting and lighting the cotton in a wonderful way. It was one of those pull-the-car-over moments.
Even though the wind chill is about zero, and the snow is starting to blow, there’s still beauty out there.
Breakfast In Boston
It doesn’t take much to be a great breakfast spot. Good service, a constant flow of coffee cup refills, unique and/or tasty meals.
And a jar of homemade marmalade.
Pentax K1000’s Beach Day
Oh, you know. Just a Pentax K1000 hanging out on the beach.
Just about done with this roll of black and white film, finally. It’s getting to the point where I hardly remember what’s on it. But on this day, Labor Day, it was on the beach.
For a long while, black and white photography was all there was. Then came color, and the color film pioneers, and – like the television – most people went that way.
Recently, I started playing around with monochrome, especially with some of the VSCO presets that look decent. I see what others do with black and white, and have the thought: “I should try that too.”
Good artists steal, etc. But really, it just gives me a reason to experiment with a new process. I’ve toyed around with black and white before, but setting out to grab specific B&W images is something new.
When I finally finish with my first roll of black and white film – that’s when things get interesting.
One of my favs from the One Hour Photos project I did back in September. More to come.
Leslie has such a great look and vibe – a sweetheart and a fun model.
With Daylight Savings Time coming around again, it’s been nice to have a bit of light in the morning. I’d rather trade the darker evenings for a glimpse at dawn.
This one, though, was back before the gloom and ugliness of November took over – when the leaves were just turning, and that beautiful September light made the commute a wonderland.
Honored to have my “Nixon vs. Elvin” VSCOCam photo picked for VSCO’s curated Grid.
Follow me on my own VSCO Grid.
My work commute has kept me entertained for going on three years now.
Every day, the rural scenery is lovely – not matter what season it is. And I always pass things that I think to myself, “I’m going to pull over and grab a shot of that.”
Sometimes it takes months. Sometimes it takes a year or two. But eventually, I pull over and take the photo.
This barbed post, for instance, is something I’ve had my eye on since this summer. Now, with the autumn colors, I felt like it was the perfect time to capture it.
Patience. Weather. Observation. Scenery.
A Rare Landscape
I don’t take many landscape photographs. Landscapes are lovely to see, when done right (read: not obnoxious HDR), but it’s probably the patience required that turns me off. You have to wait for the right combo of weather and subject.
But toward the end of summer, things line up just right, especially in my daily commute, and especially near where I live. The fall light, the earlier sunrises, the mist covering the fields – it’s all great for photos.
This one is a country block from my house. I caught it on the way home from the Jackson County Fair, in early August, and snapped it with my Canon EOS M (and edited with VSCO Film 04). Not bad for a little mirrorless camera with a pancake lens.
Landscapes still don’t interest me all that much, but I take advantage of the scenery when I see it.
Abandoned Irish Hills
Used to be that the Irish Hills, a section of US-12 between Detroit and Chicago, was quite the tourist attraction.
As a kid, my family often went to Stagecoach Stop and Prehistoric Forest, and played putt-putt and drove go karts at the little amusement parks. Even back then there was a level of hokeyness – but it didn’t matter. Those places were tons of fun.
But now, it’s all shutting down. There are a few attractions that are still humming along. The majority, though, lie in disrepair (or worse).
In high school, my dad and step mom were married at Stagecoach Stop’s little chapel, and their reception was held in the old timey tavern.
Stagecoach was a bustling place back in the day. You could watch a gun fight in the town square, grab some ice cream, pet a goat in the petting zoo, and even stay overnight in the motel. There was a working lumber mill, and horse rides, and a drive-through haunted Halloween tour.
Now those places are overgrown and fading away.
Driving down US-12 now, and passing through the Irish Hills, it feels like a ghost town. It’s almost like a run-down part of town, with all the windows broken out and no one left to protect it. Eventually, I’m sure, these roadside attractions will be mowed down completely.
Maybe the dinosaurs at Prehistoric Forest will survive. But more and more each year that place gets eaten by vegetation.
So last fall I took a drive out there, seemingly back in time, to capture some of those attractions I remembered from childhood. Before they disappeared.
At Stagecoach, I ran into a couple that was hosting a garage sale of sorts on the property. Most of the area was closed off, but I asked if I could walk around to grab some photos, and they said “yes.”
The Irish Hills Fun Center, a general amusement park with putt-putt and go karts, was completely abandoned. The kart track was still in decent shape, but the rest of the property was fading fast.
Prehistoric Forest, the true goal of my trip last fall, has been known as a target for vandalism. With motion sensors and cameras guarding the place, it was risky to try to grab photos of the place. When I drove past, there was a utility truck and a man taking measurements, so I played it safe and drove on.
Word is that the place has been sold. Who knows what will happen to it.
It was weird to see a place that was so bustling turn into such a dead spot. I may take another drive out there this fall to see what’s changed – if anything.
(See the rest of the set on Flickr)
About every year, I need a mountain fix. To fly away from our flat-ish peninsula state and land somewhere above sea level.
Luckily, I’ve kept to that pretty consistently. I’ve used mountain states to escape, to reflect – and to drive.
The driving is therapeutic, too. I take in the countryside by mostly driving through it – with little stops along the way to get out and explore.
It’s not my style to stay in any one place for very long while traveling. I hit the highlights and move on to the next thing in fairly rapid succession.
But it’s important to absorb the highlights. Especially with mountain scenery. Soak it all up.
Michigan is a fantastic state. I love living here and traveling here. Seeing the lakes and the woods and the wilderness. Michigan, though, doesn’t have mountains.
Colorado has mountains. Virtually a whole state full of them.
And every once in a while, I get the itch to see them.
(Photos edited with VSCO Film 04.)
Follow-Up on VSCO vs. Film Manufacturers
@davelawrence8 well @Kodak just recovered from bankruptcy and we’re liking the direction we’re going. @vsco is doing beautiful job.
— Fujifilmusa (@fujifilmusa) September 12, 2013
Fuji responded to my call for film makers (like themselves and Kodak) to run, not walk, into the digital film emulation and mobile photography business.
They’re right – and I said as much: Fuji is jumping into digital photography with both feet, and they should be commended. They’re making great stuff.
But in film emulation? Mobile apps? Not so much.
And Kodak? For crying out loud, they’re not even in the photography business any more.
So my point still stands: who better to do film emulations than the original film manufacturers?
And now with Totally Rad jumping into the game, the original film stock companies are getting further and further behind in the mobile/software arena.
Again, for Fuji, that’s fine. They’re doing a great business with the X-series of cameras.
For everyone else? Lots of luck.
UPDATE 9-13-13: Kodak responded on Twitter as well, suggesting that they’re still in the film business. However, my digging online found that while film stocks may have the Kodak name, they may not come from the original source. So what: film is film and it has Kodak on the box. For most people, that’s all that matters.
But again – whoever makes the film should be making the digital equivalent.
Also, kudos to Fuji for having some fun in this conversation.