From late October through early November, I spent 7-days in the Smoky Mountains photographing and camping. I went down to Tennessee with grand plans of 4 nights of backpacking and a few relaxed days of car camping. For some reason, I couldn’t will myself to head into the backcountry that week. Whether it was burnout or a lack of motivation, I simply didn’t have the energy to push myself through the mountains. Luckily, I snagged a car camping site for the rest of the week. It had been well over a year since I dedicated an entire week to photography, so I was excited to finally get extended solo time with the camera.
Read MoreThe River
There is a river in northern Michigan with some of the best backpacking the state has to offer. If you’re an avid backpacker from the Midwest you probably know the river I speak of. The first time I ventured to hike along the banks of the river I was on a mission for the “shot”. An epic photo of the horseshoe bend in the river; which also happens to be one the first images you see on google maps for this location. At the time over 3 years ago, the prospect of getting a beautiful sunset or sunrise to nail the “shot” was very exciting. I pre-visualized the amazing light I would get over the top of the cookie-cutter composition, leading to a feeling of accomplishment. What ended up transpiring all those years ago was not remotely close to what I envisioned.
Read More1/2500 sec., F/6.3, 500mm, ISO 180
Photo of the Month | March 2021
I awoke to the soft tapping sound of rain falling outside my cracked open bedroom window. I could feel the cold air rushing into my room. It was well before sunrise and the conditions were not looking great. If I’ve learned anything over the years of taking photos, it's that you should never let the weather deter you from getting out with the camera. So with this in the back of my mind, I gathered my gear, changed into my hiking clothes, and headed out to one of my favorite local locations.
Read More1/2 sec., F/11, 33mm, ISO 64 - 3 Shot Focus Stack
Photo of the Month | February 2021
Just as I had lost all hope for true winter conditions to hit Michigan, in February winter struck back, bringing tons of snow and freezing temperatures. These conditions were enough to form ice on the Great Lakes and freeze over many of the lighthouses that call these waters home. I knew these conditions would be fleeting, so I escaped over to Lake Michigan to capture the beautiful scenery.
Read More1/2500 sec., F/8, 500mm, ISO 400
Photo of the Month | January 2021
January brought a lot of exciting aspects to my photography. First, we were finally treated with the wintery conditions I have been longing for, although I haven’t made the best use of the conditions yet. The snow is forecasted to keep falling, so fingers crossed I’m able to be out when the snow is good. Second, I finally took the long-overdue plunge and upgraded my camera body and lenses. I’m not one to talk too much about gear, but I’m toying with the idea of dedicating a blog post to the gear upgrades and discuss what I learned from using an entry-level DSLR for 4 years.
Read More“Ready for the Morning” - 1/800 sec., F/5.6, 500mm, ISO 3200
Photo of the Month | December 2020
As the year winds down to a close, I have one final photo of the month to share. The above photo is a simple shot of one of the most common birds I see on my hikes out in nature, the Tufted titmouse. The small, curious little bird is never shy to come say hello, especially during the winter months.
Read More“Empty Space” - 2 sec., F/9, 50mm, ISO 100
Photo of the Month | November 2020
Like many mornings out with the camera, I allow the conditions to dictate where and what I will shoot. On this particular morning, the temperatures dropped and snow began to fall. So, I decided to head to one of my local locations to shoot the many little islands out on the lake.
Read More“Never Ending Battle” - 1/4 sec., F/13, 36mm, ISO 100
Photo of the Month | October 2020
I’m back again with another photo of the month blog post. I missed last month due to me injuring my ankle which stopped me from getting out to do any shooting in September. Luckily, I was able to recover enough to get out on a 3-day backpacking trip to the far North of Michigan in early October. It was a wonderful trip of great views, awesome hiking, and amazing company. We were fortunate enough to hit the fall colors just perfectly on this trip. I took many different photos on this hike but only walked away with a few I think are gallery-worthy photos. At the end of the day this doesn’t matter to me much, what’s important is I had a wonderful experience hiking the large sandstone cliffs of Northern Michigan.
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2021 Michigan Calendar Announcement
I’m proud to announce the release of my very first photography calendar for sale. Over the course of this year, I have been working on the design and selection of the photos for my 2021 calendar. When I decided to make this calendar I knew I wanted to do something a little different. So, each photo in the calendar is accompanied by a short story that describes my experience while I was on location taking these photos. All the photos in this calendar were taken in my home state of Michigan.
If you would like to learn more, please click the button below that will take you to the product page for the calendar. All proceeds from this calendar will go directly to supporting my photography.
“Peek a Boo” - 1/1000 sec., F/8, 500mm, ISO 800
Photo of the Month | August 2020
The blog post for this photo of the month will be short and sweet. The photo of the month for the month of August was taken and showcased in one of my videos posted up on my YouTube channel. I really enjoy the bit of character and behavior that this bird was kind enough to share with me. Though this bird was actually just scratching his head, it looks like it is trying to play peek a boo with the other birds hanging out in the reeds.
Read More“Bleed Green” - 6/13/20 | 1/250, F/5.6, 380mm, ISO 200
Photo of the Month | June 2020
This blog post will be short and sweet. I’m currently out in the field on a trip again. Originally I was planning on being on the road for 4 days but turns out I’ll be gone for 10 days. This was a much-needed departure from this crazy world. I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity to be out traveling with my camera again and I feel I have not wasted my time. I’m producing some of the best work I have made in a long time (at least that’s what I feel as first impressions). I hope in the near future you will see the photos I have taken up on my website and in my next few YouTube videos.
Read More“Next Generation” - 5/5/20 | 1/60, F/5.6, 200mm, ISO 200
Photo of the Month | May 2020
I returned home after a peaceful walk around my neighborhood and conditions were perfect for a backyard photoshoot. The wind was calm and the temperature was mild, exactly what I love to shoot in. I grabbed my camera gear from inside and went out to the backyard to check on the many plants starting to come up. We had received a good amount of rain and sunlight leading up to this particular afternoon, so many plants were beginning to grow toward the sky. Many of the plants grabbing my attention were the big, green leaves growing up on the bushes and the tulip plants beginning to blossom. I planned to take intimate and abstract photos using the patterns created by the many layers of leaves.
Read More“Confined” - 4/8/20 | 1/500, F/9, 50mm, ISO 100
Photo of the Month | April 2020
There isn’t much to be said about the photo of the month for April. I simply wandered around the house observing how the light shined through the windows, creating abstract shapes as it came in contact with the objects in the room. I used these shapes created by the light and resulting shadows to create this abstract black and white photo. It was a great creative exercise to keep the photography muscles in my brain active and responsive while stuck in lockdown. Since we have been given a little bit extra time due to the lockdown, I figured I would use that time to go through my Lightroom catalog and reminisce about past trips and outing with the camera.
Read MoreLessons From the Field | How to Plan a Better Photo Trip
I will be the first one to admit that I’m a planner, whether it be my meals for the week, my daily itinerary or a photo trip, I simply love to plan. This trait can have its benefits, but can also be a hindrance. It’s great when things go to plan, which we all know rarely happens, so when it doesn’t, I’m left feeling frustrated. Naturally, throughout my journey in photography, I have done everything I could do to plan shoots, trips, and hikes. Over time I have learned making detailed plans for my photography wasn’t always beneficial. I learned there was a time and place for trying to plan, and a time when I should be spontaneous. In this blog post, I want to share my experiences and share what I have learned about when to plan and when to be spontaneous as it pertains to photography trips. My hope is whoever reading this can learn from my mistakes and experiences to better utilize planning for their photography trips.
Read MoreEarth Day | Being an Ethical Nature Photographer
Today is a day to show our support for the protection of the amazing planet we live on. Too often we take for granted the place we call home and forget to look after it. In modern history, we have done a particularly poor job of protecting and taking care of our planet. We must also remember we are not the only living beings that call Earth home. Millions of other species of life reside on Earth right along with us in many different ways. Some live in the water, some in the trees, some in the air, and some in the ground. We must protect Earth for the future of our species and the future of the many other species of life on this planet.
Read MoreLessons From the Field | My 5 Most Important Nature Photography Lessons Learned
I have taken some time to reflect on the many lessons I have learned throughout my photography journey and landed on what I feel are the most important lessons I’ve learned so far. The purpose of me writing this blog is to share my experiences with these lessons and how I implemented them into my photography. I hope by doing so I can inspire others to reflect on their own photography or even learn a thing or two from what I have to share. Photography is a very personal creative pursuit and because of that these lessons can be used in many different ways with many different results depending on who learns them. So without dragging this intro on for too long, let's get into the most important lessons I’ve learned so far.
Read More“Routine Visitor” - 3/8/20 | 1/1250 sec, F/6.3, 380mm, ISO 3200
Photo of the Month | March 2020
It’s 1 hour and 45 minutes before sunrise and my alarm sounds. I get out of bed and quietly walk to the kitchen to start the morning coffee. I return to my room to find my already laid out hiking clothes from the night before. I quickly change, grab my camera gear, fill my water bottle and finish making my coffee. I softly walk out the side door of the house and get to the car. I put my gear in the trunk, place the coffee in the cup holder, start the car, begin a podcast, and drive off to my desired location.
Read More“All in Line” - 2/2/20 | 1/10 sec, F/11, 92mm, ISO 100
Photo of the Month | February 2020
February was a very up and down month for photography. The weather here in Michigan continued it's trend of not so great wintry conditions. We had a few good snow showers but nothing too exciting. The temperatures fluctuated from high to low so most of the snow that did fall didn’t stay for longer than a week. These kinds of conditions are not very inspiring to me, so as a result, I struggled to capture many photos that I liked. In my January Photo of the Month blog post, I talked about how I visited a new location for the first time and saw a lot of potential in it. A week after taking my January photo of the month at this new location I was back for more.
Read More“Lonesome” - 1/25/20 | 1/3 sec, F/9, 80mm, ISO 100
Photo of the Month | January 2020
I began the New Year very hopeful for the future of my photography and excited for the remaining months of winter. As the first month of the year flew by, I began to be uninspired by the landscape around me. The weather was just short of miserable except for the one snowstorm that blew through Michigan. This mid-January snowstorm felt like my only chance to capture a compelling photo during the month or even the entire winter. I watched the weather forecast very closely in the 24 hours leading up to the storm hitting. The storm was due to hit in the middle of the night and would continue through the following morning. With this forecast, I knew exactly where I needed to go to shoot. Since October I have had my eye on a tree that stands on its own on the top of a hill. I envisioned a snowstorm blowing through, causing a whiteout, allowing me to take a minimalist photo of the tree. This forecasted snowstorm had all the ingredients for the photo I wanted to capture.
Read MoreRetrospective of 2019 | A Year of Failure, Success, and Discovery
I sit here at the beginning of 2020 and the end of 2019 reflecting on a year of failures, successes, and discoveries. The last 12 months flew by in the blink of an eye, but as I look back I remember all the awesome and not so awesome things from the year. I was faced with a lot of good, bad, and scary situations, both photographically and personally, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Through the many experiences I had, I have slowly begun to learn to roll with the punches and take challenges head-on. I plan to take this mentality into 2020 to continue what I feel is an upward trend in my photography.
During the last year, I took a lot of good, bad, and ugly photos. I want to take some time to walk through a few photos I believe me or any one reading can learn from. Either that be from the mistakes I made or hammer home what elements make a great photograph truly great. I will start off with some photos I consider to be failures.
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