“Empty Space” - 2 sec., F/9, 50mm, ISO 100
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“Peek a Boo” - 1/1000 sec., F/8, 500mm, ISO 800
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
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
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“Routine Visitor” - 3/8/20 | 1/1250 sec, F/6.3, 380mm, ISO 3200
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
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
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 MoreI 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.
Read More“Hang Tight” - 12/26/19 | 1/1600 sec, F/5.6, 500mm, ISO 3200
For my final photo of the month for 2019, I choose a shot of a Tufted Titmouse taken at one of my new favorite little spots to capture birds. This small area at one of my favorite local spots is always full of tufted Timouses and Black-capped Chickadees. They dodge and weave through the tall grass and reeds at a pace almost too fast to capture. They quickly jump from reed to reed, nibbling on the tops for food. It feels like a little game I’m playing with the birds as I try to capture them while they jump and fly through the reeds. It seems like they understand what I’m doing, it’s like they are playing the game with me. Almost taunting me as they hang briefly on a reed, pose for a photo, and fly away before I can take any shots.
Read MoreRoughly two years ago I took the above two photos on two separate trips. The first photo was taken in a rushed shoot during a peak autumn afternoon very far north in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The second photo was taken up on the northwest coast of Michigan during a very cold and windy morning on the dunes. I love how I composed both of the photos I took on these separate occasions, but as time has passed I started to ask myself these questions. How can I make the photos better? What time of year would better suit these scenes? What type of light would work best? What can I do to make the photos print-worthy?
I feel I have learned a lot and improved many of my photography skills since taking these photos. I learned how to better compose a shot, how to expose a photo with post-processing in mind, how to pre-visualize the light interacting with a scene, and how to slow down. Besides learning skills and techniques I also learned a lot about myself as a photographer. I learned what my favorite type of light is, what my favorite time of the year to shoot is, and what emotions and feelings I want to convey in my photos. All of these factors combined to help me take the following two photos.
Read More“Time Runs Still” - 10/12/19 | Three Shot Exposure Blend, .5 sec, .6 sec, and 30 sec, F/13, 95mm, ISO 100
I awoke on this morning to the soft trickle of rainwater falling from the vibrant leaves above my tent. It was cold, wet, and a bit windy, but in spite of these conditions, I was eager to get to the falls and begin shooting. I arrived at the falls just as it was light enough to see the perfectly autumnal trees begging to be photographed. I got out of my car and began the very short walk to the falls with the strong feeling it was going to be a great morning of photography. I was convinced I would come away with a couple of great shots, but what I got out of that morning was so much more than just a few photos. I walked away with a feeling of peace and a re-invigorated motivation for photography.
Read More“Painted by Wind” - 9/29/19 | 1/2 sec, F/20, 200mm, ISO 100
Scouting, discovering, and revisiting is how I spent most of my time out with the camera in September. With Fall quickly approaching, I went into full composition hunting mode. Fall was a struggle photographically for me last year due to the little time I had to go out shooting. I just simply didn’t have the time and to be honest didn’t have the energy to go out chasing Fall color. This left me feeling very disappointed by the time October ended, but this time around I want to change that. I returned to a few of the spots I frequent between Fall and Spring to see how the landscape has changed over the Summer. I even explored some new areas I previously have not spent much time in. I have a few compositions in mind that could turn out to be photos I would be very proud of. Needless to say, the outlook for capturing the beautiful Fall colors is much better than last year. Between heading North, and staying local, I should have two great windows of time to capture peak fall color. Now, I just simply have to believe in the compositions I have in mind and hope for great conditions and light.
Read More“Home within the Reeds” - 8/2/19 | 1/1000 sec, F/5.6, 500mm, ISO 400
During the month of August, I shot in a wide range of places. I went from local marshland, to mighty rivers, to one of the Great Lakes, and back to the local marshland. Now sitting here at the end of August looking at this month’s photos, I can’t help but go back to a photo taken at the local marshland.
I was on a very peaceful morning walk along the maze of boardwalks over the water of the marshland when I came across this Chipping Sparrow. Perched on top of a reed, enjoying the warm morning sun inside his little home. I like this photo because it gives me the feeling of looking into the world of this little bird, peering through a window into its home of tall grass and reeds. The late summer foliage gives this bird a small, momentary sanctuary from the outside world. At first glance, it may seem this is the perfect little dwelling for the sparrow, but what you don’t see is the garbage littered in the water and grass at this birds doorstep. Below is a group of photos taken at my local marshland during this last month.
Read More“When Time Blends Together” - 7/20/19 | 1/5 sec, F/14, 155mm, ISO 100
If you photograph nature you will probably agree with me when I say summer is the hardest season to photograph. The bugs are out, the sun rises far too early and sets way too late, everything is green and overgrown, and the light is harsh most of the day. I find it very hard to find much inspiration or motivation to shoot during the summer for the above reasons. In past summers, I have succumb to the lack of motivation and just stopped shooting nature expect for the bigger trips I took. However, I wanted to change that this summer. I wanted to push myself creatively, to see things in a different light (no pun intended), and continue to develop as a photographer. I have spoken about this before in a past Photo of the Month post, how I want to expand my creativity with the camera, and look at the finer details of a scene. And this month’s photo is the result of just that.
Read More“Against the Current” - 5/22/19 | 1 sec, F/16, 95mm, ISO 100
May’s photo of the month is my attempt at expanding my photographic creativity past the obvious. In the last few months, I have focused on looking at the finer details while out with the camera. Such as the shapes made by cascading water, the reflections of a rock, or in this case a small branch with fresh leaves flowing in a stream. I have really enjoyed the process of looking closer at the smaller pieces to the larger landscape.
Read More“What Really Matters” - 4/6/19 | 1/1000, F/5.6, 500mm, ISO 1600
I’m very proud of my photo of the month for April because it was the culmination of numerous things I have learned while photographing deer. I have failed more than I can count while attempting to take the perfect photo of this very skittish animal. Through my many failures, I have learned how to treat an encounter with deer to achieve the photos I’m after but, also ensure the comfort of the deer. The knowledge I have gained came together like pieces to a puzzle on this very chilly Saturday morning.
Read More“Eye Catcher” - 3/31/19 | 1/1000, F/5.6, 390mm, ISO 800
Taken on the last day of the month, my photo of the month for March is a minimalist style photo of a Red-winged Blackbird. This was also one of my first photos with my newly acquired Nikon 200-500mm lens. On this morning I was fortunate enough to come across a spot where someone had dropped a hand full of bird feed on the ground. This created the perfect opportunity for some bird photography. It also snowed a couple inches the night before, creating a very beautiful scene to work with. To take this shot I simply setup on the ground, sat back, and watched the endless stream of birds coming to feed. The hardest part about this particular shoot was walking away. It was one of those shoots that is so good you wish it never ended.
“Moon Rise” - 2/19/19 | Cloud Exposure: 1/160, f/6.3, 300mm, ISO 1600 & Moon Exposure: 1/250, f/6.3, 300mm, ISO 100
It was an easy choice for me when deciding what my photo of the month for February would be. This photo of the rising full moon was the result of a spur of the moment decision to got out to shoot. It was a very chilly yet very relaxing night of photo taking and moon gazing. I look back on this night as one of my favorite photo shoots so far this year. I wasn’t expecting to take any thing special that night, but I ended up walking away with a photo I really love. The clouds formed perfectly around the bright full moon to create a very moody and atmospheric scene. I took one exposure for the clouds and one exposure for the moon and blended them together in Photoshop. I love the eerie and moody look I was able to achieve with this photo.
I have decided to start a monthly blog where I share my favorite photo(s) from each month. Even though we are half way through April I thought it would be good to take a look back at my favorite photos so far this year. These photos of the month may not always be my “best” photos but instead will be my “favorite” photos. They may be my favorites because of the experience of taking the photo, the conditions on that particular day, or just simply because I really like the photo. I want this monthly blog to be a platform where I can share the background on some of my photos. I also want this blog to be a way for me to continuously review my work, ensuring I’m always learning and taking steps to improve as a photographer.
“Companions of the Void” - 1/18/19 | 8 Shot Vertical Panorama, 1/13, f/9.0, 86mm, ISO 100
I chose this minimalist panorama as my photo of the month for January because of the absolutely perfect wintry conditions I got to experience. The complete white-out was caused by a heavy Michigan snow storm, making for a calm, quiet, and peaceful morning out with the camera. I love shooting in these conditions because of the way it simplifies the landscape and allows for the creation of minimalist photos. I was originally unsure about this photo because of the visual tug of war created by the two lone islands. As time has passed I have grown to love this photo and love the connection created by the two subjects. I like to think of these islands as one an others only companions in a world void of anything else.