Category: Michigan Page 32 of 37
This image is a composite inspired by one of my favorite stanzas from one of my favorite Easter Hymns- “Hail Thee, Festival Day.”
All the fair beauty of earth,
from the death of the winter arising!
Every good gift of the year
now with its Master returns.
Blessed Triduum and Easter to all. For those who have kept the fast and for those who have not, for those who have labored from the first hour and for those who only arrived at the 11th, the feast is richly laden for you.
About the Photo:
A composite of many images shot in our garden.
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens.
Date Taken:
March 24, 2016
Thank you for reading. You can see my best work on 500px and can also find pictures of the “trying my hardest to be good at this” type on Flickr or Pixoto.
Also, be sure to like the Go See Do Facebook Page, and follow Ashleigh on Instagram and Flickr! Check out our Gear page to see inside our camera bag!
I must continue to post pictures that are impressionistic. My last couple posts have been too realistic!
This one was taken at Island Lake Recreation Area, east of Brighton, Michigan. Island Lake is part of the Michigan State Park system, which is renowned for the quality of its parks and the skill with which they are administered.
Island lake has great opportunities for hiking, biking and boating. It also connects with Kensington Metropark, one of the gems in the HCMA Metropark System.
About the Photo:
As far as photo impressionism goes, this one is pretty simple. It is a single exposure of the reflection of trees on Spring Mill Pond, rotated 180 degrees. I did do some fairly heavy color adjustments, but that’s really about it. Nature did this one for me rather than Photoshop
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens.
Date Taken:
March 4, 2016
Thank you for reading. You can see my best work on 500px and can also find pictures of the “trying my hardest to be good at this” type on Flickr or Pixoto.
Also, be sure to like the Go See Do Facebook Page, and follow Ashleigh on Instagram and Flickr! Check out our Gear page to see inside our camera bag!
Someone on Facebook had recently posted some awesome photos of the birds at the Howell Nature Center and I had been dying to get over there and try to get some pics myself! Well, last weekend, the weather was finally nice enough to go outside without completely bundling up, so I dusted off my camera gear and made the trip to the Howell Nature Center.
All of the animals in Howell Nature Center’s Wildlife Park are animals that could not be rehabilitated and released back into the wild. Besides Keelee, this beautiful Bald Eagle, the Wildlife Park is home to bobcats, porcupines, and Livingston County’s Groundhog – Woody the Woodchuck. While the Nature Center is fabulous for photographers, kids love it too because of the beautiful, interactive nature playground!
About this Photo:
Since Keelee was behind bars, this was shot with a longer focal length to blur out the cage (this was trickier when the animals were sitting close to the bars). This photo was definitely not a one and done, I stayed and watched him for a while, and luckily someone he knew walked by and he started to talk! This was a single RAW exposure with basic edits done in Lightroom. Those basic edits didn’t remove or lessen the bar lines that were in the dead space (this is what’s tricky about shooting through a cage) so I pulled it into Photoshop and removed the background. Voila!
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens.
Date Taken:
March 2016
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Flickr! This month I am taking part of an Instagram Travel Challenge, posting a travel photo a day on Instagram and I’d love for you to follow along! For more information about the Howell Nature Center, visit HowellNatureCenter.org.
Chris photographing the Livingstone Lighthouse on Belle Isle.
I’m sure if you did a search for most commonly used phrases on this blog, the phrase, “you don’t need an expensive camera to take good pictures” would probably come out on top. This is something I mention a lot because I know the price of camera gear can hold photographers back from pursuing their hobby or make them think they can’t make good images on cheap gear and that is just not true. Yes, an interchangeable lens camera system (either DSLR or mirrorless) will make it easier to get quality shots, but the camera does not make the photographer. I figured its time to start a series of photo tips on the blog and I wanted to start at the beginning – choosing a camera. I won’t get into the Nikon vs. Canon debate (although I’m a Nikon shooter, only because it was cheaper that day) or DSLR vs. Mirrorless (there’s a lot out there on this topic right now) but just simply what specs to look for when purchasing your first serious camera. Let’s get to it!
In my opinion, one of the biggest things you want to look for is that the camera has the capability to shoot in RAW. I didn’t understand what RAW was when I first got my DSLR so up until recently I did all my shooting in JPEG. When I go back and look at those older images I’m frustrated because I’m unable to do as much to them as I am to RAW files. My friend Steve at Burnsland.com recently posted a great article about the power of RAW files that is a must read for anyone who is scared to switch from JPEG!
Another thing to look for when camera shopping, is manual controls – the ability to control your aperture and shutter speed and do it easily (a lot of cameras have the setting buried in menus and that’s no fun for anyone). To be able to get full control of your images, you’ll want to be able to control your depth of field and the motion in your shot and you just cannot do this in camera that will only shoot in fully programmed mode.
And then there’s the sensor size question but honestly, any camera on the market today has a big enough resolution for most of the things you’ll be doing and, if you ask me, some of these new giant megapixel cameras are kind of a gimmick. Go out on one shoot and your hard drive is full! It is important to note that with smaller image sizes it is harder to do any significant cropping to the image without taking a hit in quality. But, for the average photographer doing basic printing and online sharing, you’ll be fine with most any camera in today’s market.
Interchangable lenses like mirrorless and DSLR camera systems have are obviously a better but more expensive choice than a fixed lens camera. But, if your budget doesn’t allow for that, definitely consider something with a optical zoom (the lens comes out of the camera) over the strictly digital zoom (like an iphone camera). My first digital camera was strictly digital zoom and I hated it because the zoom was basically worthless; it made everything very noisy. But, if that’s all you can afford, you always have the old-fashioned zoom, your feet!
So, to recap, when looking for a camera look for the ability to shoot in RAW, manual controls, and optical zoom. If you’re looking for an entry-level DSLR, I highly recommend the Nikon D3x00 series (I have the D3100 but the D3300 has newer features). You can also get older cameras used for a good deal (although, this is where you’d have to watch out for megapixel count)!
Thanks for stopping by! Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Flickr! This month I am taking part of an Instagram Travel Challenge, posting a travel photo a day on Instagram and I’d love for you to follow along!
Today’s picture is of the Zehnder’s Wooden Bridge (Holz Brücke) over the Cass River in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
For most who know Frankenmuth, they think of it as a corny little town between Flint and Saginaw that is known for a humongous Christmas store, chicken dinners, and all sorts of Bavarian type celebrations and touristy shops.
For Ashleigh and I, Frankemuth is that, but also has a deeper, less kitschy meaning.
Frankenmuth (meaning “courage of the Franconians”) was founded in 1845 as a Lutheran mission to the Native Americans in the Chippewa Tribe. These missionaries founded St. Lorenz Evangelical Lutheran Church, the church at which Ashleigh and I were married.
So you see, Frankenmuth, for all of its crazy touristy identity, has historical import and authenticity. The chicken, cheese, fudge, and river boats may be products of tourism, but nevertheless, Frankenmuth is real.
About the Photo:
I took this photo at 18 mm, f/3.5, ISO 800. Honestly, there’s not much to say here; this was pretty much straight out of camera after I worked the angles a bit to get the right shot. I did do minimal processing in Lightroom including some color correction.
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.
Date Taken:
January 29, 2016
Thank you for reading. You can see my best work on 500px and can also find pictures of the “trying my hardest to be good at this” type on Flickr or Pixoto.
Also, be sure to like the Go See Do Facebook Page, and follow Ashleigh on Instagram and Flickr! Check out our Gear page to see inside our camera bag!
When planning our Belle Isle trip, Chris did some research into other photo-worthy spots in Detroit. One spot he found was the Windmill Point Lighthouse in Mariner Park, which is right on the border of Detroit and Grosse Point Park. This area is sometimes referred to as the “Venice of Detroit” and as we drove in, I could see why. The homes are situated on canals that run to the river. Every home seemed to have a boat on a lift. I never knew anything like this existed in the city! If I’ve piqued your curiosity, check out this photo feature on Daily Detroit from a few years ago.
So, I had no idea this “Canal District” or this lighthouse existed. And it seems like no one else knows it exists either. We visited on an unseasonably warm Saturday in January and it was just us and a border patrol agent on his lunch break. If you search online for Windmill Point Lighthouse, it doesn’t seem like a lot of photographers have discovered this spot either.
Like many Michigan lighthouses, this one has an interesting history. The original lighthouse with an light-keeper’s quarters was built on this spot in 1848. In the 1920’s the Public Health Service acquired the land for a new Marine Hospital. The main tower of the light was left standing and was converted to an electric light while the keeper’s quarters were demolished to make room for the hospital. The hospital was torn down long ago and the area is now known as Mariner Park. Looking at old photos, both the lighthouse keeper’s quarters and the hospital were beautiful buildings. I wonder what they would look like today if they were still standing. (LighthouseFriends.com)
About the Photo:
When we made this trip, I really wanted to get a shot of the ice in the river (I did get this one). When we got there, I really wanted to get both the ice and the lighthouse in one shot. Well, both the fence and my lens made that kind of difficult. This was one instance where I wish I had a wider lens! This was a single RAW exposure, with basic edits done in Ligthtroom.
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens handheld
Date Taken:
January 2016
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!
Today’s picture is the door handle on the Cotswold Cottage. The Cotswold Cottage is a building which now resides at Greenfield Village, part of The Henry Ford, a history attraction in Dearborn, MI.
The following regarding this cottage was taken from http://www.thehenryford.org/
The families who lived in this home had a variety of jobs. From the early 1700s to the mid-1800s, several generations of the Sley/Robins/Smith family worked as farmers and stone masons. Being a stone mason was a good job for the family because most of the homes in the area were made from stone.
About the Photo:
I took this photo right after I bought our 50mm 1.8 prime lens and I was getting used to the incredibly shallow depth of field made possible by the wide aperature. I focused on the interesting textures in the metal and just let it blur out on the edges. I also did some relatively minimal editing in lightroom including some color correction and a white vignette.
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 50mm 1.8 lens handheld
Date Taken:
September 26, 2015
Thank you for reading. You can see my best work on 500px and can also find pictures of the “trying my hardest to be good at this” type on Flickr or Pixoto.
Also, be sure to like the Go See Do Facebook Page, and follow Ashleigh on Instagram and Flickr! Check out our Gear page to see inside our camera bag!
