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Obama and Nigel

In the Presence of Greatness... that was the topic on one of my morning radio shows (I'm a channel surfer). Today I felt like I was in the presence of greatness twice. First and foremost, Barack Obama was in Grand Rapids today. Regardless of your political views, seeing either one of the presidential candidates in person is an amazing experience. I felt very fortunate that I was able to sneak out of the office today to catch a sneak peek, and listen to his message of hope and change.





We were really far away. The plaza was packed!
I can't believe I forgot my zoom lens at home! Ugh, stupid. ::smacks forehead::

Here are a couple very bad crops - but still fun to see :)




Yikes!


Danielle, holding her front-row spot to watch him get in his bus :) We did see him!





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THEN, as if that wasn't enough to make my day, I had the unique opportunity to meet an amazing fashion photographer, Nigel Barker. He was speaking at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, a lecture about Richard Avedon, a very influential fashion photographer and one of my personal favorite artists. It was fun to hear him speak, he was very passionate about it, honored to be speaking about him. Looking through Nigel's work, it is obvious that Avedon was influential to him personally. The lecture was part of the Member's Preview Party for the extraordinary exhibition, Richard Avedon: Larger than Life. If you're in the area, I highly recommend heading over to the GRAM to see the gallery. It truly is amazing to see.

Flying!

I'm back in Michigan! I was supposed to take the train back home from Minneapolis again, but a couple days before I was supposed to leave, Jamie's co-worker called and asked if I wanted to hop on the company plane from Duluth instead.... um... YES! :D Woohoo!!

We got up early, watched the sun come up from the condo on Lake Superior.
(LOVE! Can I stay here, please?)







* * * * * * * * *

Then off to the hangar... time to fly!!!
Look at the control panel.... holy schnikies!



Todd (Pilot Extraordinaire) was a little sleepy after his first flight.... (Lol!)



It's okay, I'll drive.
Oops, I mean pilot. Fly. Whatever... you trust me, right?



It's cool, Todd. Enjoy your coffee. I've got this ;)





Flying over Lake Michigan!







Approaching the runway at GRR



Back on land!











Thanks again, Todd! I had an absolute blast! Can't wait for the next trip!!


* * * * * * * * *


Jamie, love and miss you baby :)
~ xoxoxoxoxox ~

On the Tracks

I'm blogging tonight from a hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I'm here to see our new niece, shoot a wedding, shoot a couple's anniversary session, and visit with family. Rather than flying or driving, I rode the train for my very first time. I spent the entire day in rail cars - no seriously, the entire day: from 7:30am Eastern time to 10:30pm Central time. It was such an experience! I'm so used to going-going-going, it was actually a unique sensation to be forced to simply sit and gaze out a window.

For the first few hours, I did just that. I watched the world float by from a completely different vantage point. To see everything from the back: the rail yards, junk yards and the backs of buildings was just so different from the blacktop and billboards that we're so used to seeing, I couldn't stop staring. The ever-changing landscape of exposed and peeling brick walls, boarded up windows, piles of scrap metal, rusting pieces of junked automobiles and rail cars...to the fields of wildflowers, wide open plains, and swollen rivers was enough to make me actually physically ache inside. I wanted to yell to the conductor to Stop the Train! I wanted to photograph everything, all of it, every bit, every rock, every flower, every rusted nail. I wanted to capture it, collect it in my small hands, in this little black storage container, to be exposed, relished, savored later. My head is abuzz with inspiration tonight (and admittedly a bit dizzy from 16 hours on swaying railcars...)

I can't wait for the rest of this trip.
In fact, I better get to sleep....
It's well into tomorrow already, and I don't want to miss anything ;)



*** I will have limited access to email and phone calls for the rest of the trip. ***
I'll be back in Michigan on Tuesday, September 23rd, but will be checking emails and voicemails when I can. Thank you for your patience and understanding if I don't answer your call or email right away :)

Just Us - Traverse City

Last weekend, Jamie and I headed up to Traverse City for some much-needed R&R. We had wonderful weather and gorgeous skies as we made our way through the local wineries on Old Mission. We took Lexi with us, and she had fun too - who knew she was such a swimmer? Here are just a few pics - check out the slideshow for more :)










(Uff-da, I needed a haircut! Thank goodness for my fabulous friend/stylist, Erin... I should have called her BEFORE the Traverse City trip! Lol!)



TraverseCity


We also met this great couple on scooters at one of the scenic overlooks! They had gotten engaged the night before! They were SO cute, all smiles, full of that newly-engaged buzzy glow.




( Lookin' tough on their bikes ;)



Hope you two enjoyed the rest of your weekend - it was great to run into you!

we become

"We become what we think about all day long."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson





(photo of me by my mom, Denise :)

Going North

I'm heading home for the 4th of July! I'm planning on taking lots of pictures, but I'm not sure what kind of internet connection I'll have, if any ;) I'll be everywhere between Duluth with friends, Gilbert with my family, in Eveleth celebrating with the entire town, and Lake Vermilion with my extended family. In spirit, I'm already there! I pretty much grew up on Lake Vermilion at the cabin, it's where we spent our summers my entire life, and where I have countless good memories! My heart has been absolutely aching to be there - it's been two years! (I was there over Christmas, but it's just not the same ;) I can't wait to relax, rejuvenate, and reconnect with the lake, the trees, the sky, my family, and my soul :)

...So goodbye for a while I'm out to learn more
About who I really was before
Yeah I'm Going North

Up where the hunted hide with ease
Under the arms of eye-less trees
Up where the answers fall like leaves
Oh and your love is all I need
Yeah I'm Going North

(from "Going North" by Missy Higgins)

I apologize in advance for not answering emails in a timely fashion! I'll be back on July 7th :)

In the Darkroom

"Window Lily"


I've been taking a Black & White Darkroom class at Kendall College of Art & Design for the past few weeks. While I do very much enjoy the art of black & white photography, the darkroom and I have a love/hate relationship. Being a digital photographer and graphic designer, this has been a huge lesson in patience! (What? You mean I can't plug in my USB and instantly have hundreds of images before me?!) Film and darkroom processing is definitely its own art form, and I have a ton of respect for those who choose to stick with it. While I love learning about the process and trying new techniques, I don't think I'll be hanging up my Digital SLR any time soon ;)

I do, however, truly enjoy shooting with my Canon AE-1 Program. It is the camera that my parents bought shortly after I was born. I lost my dad a few years ago, so using his camera has really meant a lot to me. Not only is it the camera I learned with, but the manual has my mom's handwritten notes in it, and the lenses and cumbersome carrying case are the original ones that my dad picked out and was so proud of. That case also holds the bittersweet memory of childhood... it is stained with smoke from the house fire that took our home and most of our belongings when I was 4 years old. The camera survived, and has taken many photos of us kids growing up, and has been with me since I left home for college. I love shooting with it... regardless of the darkroom being a tedious process. It's true what they say though, there is something special about film photography. There's nothing quite like seeing your image slowly and magically appear in that tray of developer ;)



"Jamie" - alternative process - high contrast filter, laid objects on photographic paper while exposing negative in enlarger



"Vintage Daisies" - alternative process - high contrast filter used with thick fibrous light diffuser, dirty glass over photographic paper while exposing

Red Bull Air Race :: Detroit River

On Sunday, a group of us drove out to Windsor, Ontario to watch the Red Bull Air Race over the Detroit River. The Detroit side was sold out, so we had to venture over to Canada, but I think we ended up with a better view :) I'm in love with the Detroit skyline, and we had a great time in Windsor! If you don't know what the races are all about, basically, it's these super fast planes that have to run this course set up. They try to beat each others times while correctly performing their maneuvers. It was impressive. I couldn't believe how fast they were going, and SO close to the water & buildings!

The spectators on the Detroit side

This helicopter was filming us (the crowd)... so I captured him too  ;)

The guys, enjoying the show


Us!

After a long day of walking around, watching planes, and taking pictures, it was time for some lattes, cigars (not me, ick!), and good music. This was actually my favorite part of the day - we just chilled and listed to the band play in the street. It was awesome.