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Dreaming of Summer

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On March 13, 2017

In Michigan, National Parks & Places

Glen Lake

We had a warm up a few weeks ago that had me thinking spring was on its way. But, today its supposed to snow, so I’m sitting here thinking of summer and working on planning our summer camping trips. We are planning another week long summer road trip, but instead of heading north, we are going South to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. We also have weekend trips planned to Port Crescent State Park (on the tip of Michigan’s thumb), Wilderness State Park, and one night at the hike-in Jack Pine Campground at Ludington State Park. We are also planning on camping somewhere for the solar eclipse that is coming in August. It looks like it is going to be a busy summer and I’m hoping that being better about planning, we will make better use of those precious summer weekends!

About the Photo:
This photo was taken on our last trip to the Sleeping Bear Dunes for the National Park Service 100th Anniversary. It had been a while since we’d done Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive since it was closed when we visited the park in March. The first stop on the drive gives you a breathtaking view of Glen Lake. Because it was a free admission day, it was tough to squeeze in and get a shot, but it was totally worth it!

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18-55 kit lens, handheld

Date Taken:
August 28, 2016

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

McLain State Park

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On March 6, 2017

In Camping, Michigan, Project: State Parks, Road Trip

Superior Self Portrait

Last summer, during our road trip, we made a stop in the Keewenaw Peninsula on at McLain State Park. The park had breathtaking views of Lake Superior and allowed you to view both the sunrise and sunset over the water, but it was in desperate need of repair. In my campground review, I mentioned that the bathhouse was the worst of the whole trip and the fact that the park had a bizarre layout due to the fact that the old campground road virtually crumbled into Lake Superior. Well, as I began planning our camping adventures for this summer, I noticed McLain was not open for reservations. I did some digging and learned that the park is beginning a major renovation this spring. Well, it seems like someone at the DNR must read this blog, because the first phase of the construction is going to focus on all of my complaints.  The plans include a new bathhouse as well as 30 new campsites and a new road throughout the campground. I am very excited for the renovations and will have to make reservations once its all complete.

About the Photo
I posted a similar photo shortly after our road trip and once I set up for that shot, I realized, it would make a great location for an epic self portrait. Sometimes, its fun to put yourself in the landscape to give it perspective.

Camera Gear
Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm kit lens on a tripod

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For more information about the construction plans for the park, click here.

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Cruise Countdown

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On February 6, 2017

In Travel

NCL Gem
Its been a few years since our last cruise and finally we’ve got a cruise on the calendar! Its still over 450 days away, but it feels good to have it booked! I’ve never booked trip this far in advance and I don’t know what to do with myself. I want to work on planning, but its really too early for that.

We are sailing the Norwegian Getaway which is one of their newest ships and it will be our first cruise on a megaship. The cruise is sailing from Miami to Roatan, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize (Norwegian’s new private island); and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. This will be my first time in Central America and Chris’ first time in Mexico. I am excited to go back to Miami and to explore some new and exotic locations! If you have any advice for any of the ports or cruising on a megaship, please leave me a comment!

About the Photo:
This shot was taken on the Paradise Island ferry from Nassau, Bahamas. One of the funniest things about our last cruise was boarding in New York, the ship looked tiny when compared to the surrounding skyscrapers (and the megaship docked next to it). But, when we pulled in to the small Bahamian Islands, the ship looked massive! It was very cool to get to float by and get some detail shots of the ship!

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18-55 kit lens, handheld

Date Taken:
June 18, 2015

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Downpour at the Falls

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On December 5, 2016

In Hiking, Michigan, Project: State Parks

Falls in the Rain

During my summer road trip series, I shared about our day of chasing waterfalls between Munising and Sault Ste. Marie. What I don’t think I mentioned was how, when we got to Tahquamenon Falls, clouds had rolled in. We climbed all the steps to the Upper Falls and it began to sprinkle. People started heading out in droves. We headed to the Lower Falls and that is when the clouds opened up. We’re not the type to be afraid of a little rain, but I was getting concerned about our gear, so we headed into the gift shop and hoped it would pass soon. Cell signal is not great up there, so I wasn’t able to view the radar. After hiding out for about 15 minutes it seemed to let off a little, so we staked out a spot by the falls and as quickly as we could, got a couple of shots then ran to the car to dry off.

About the Photo:
To be honest, this was such a quick, don’t let the rain ruin my gear, kind of shot that I didn’t put much thought to the settings. Because of the rain, the colors were very muted and not very interesting, so I converted it to black and white in Lightroom.

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 55-200 kit lens, leaned on the railing

Date Taken
June 30, 2016

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. To plan your visit to Tahquamenon Falls (hopefully without the downpour), visit the Michigan DNR.

Wordless Wednesday: Ashland Rose

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On November 16, 2016

In Flowers, Travel

Ashland Rose

Veteran’s Day and a Battle Field

By

On November 14, 2016

In Michigan, National Parks & Places

This weekend, we decided to take a Pure Michigan trip to Monroe. We’ve wanted to visit the River Raisin National Battlefield for some time now, and we figured Veteran’s Day was as good of a time as ever to pay homage to those who died for our freedom. The River Raisin is the only National Battlefield in the country from the War of 1812.

The Battle of the River Raisin took place one morning in January 1813. British, Canadian, and Indian troops attacked the sleeping American soldiers .220 Americans were killed and 147 were captured. After the battle, “Remember the Raisin” became the battle cry that convinced more men to enlist in the Kentucky Militia and support the war efforts (NPS and Wiki).

About the Photo:
For being a photography blog, this was not a very photogenic location. Like you might imagine with a battlefield, it was quite flat and was definitely lacking foreground subjects so I left the camera in the car. But, when I realized this would be a good blog post, I pulled out the phone and took a RAW photo. Basic edits were done with Lightroom Mobile.

Camera Gear:
iPhone 7 shot in RAW with Lightroom Mobile

Date Taken:
November 12, 2016

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. To your visit to the River Raisin National Battlefield, visit The National Park Service.

Wordless Wednesday: Fall on the Natural Bridge

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On November 9, 2016

In Travel, Wordless Wednesday

On Top of The Natural Bridge

When a Short Trip Gets Extended

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On November 7, 2016

In Travel

Fall on a Mountain

Last week, I mentioned visiting Kentucky and touring Bourbon Distilleries. Well, our trip didn’t end there. After visiting Wild Turkey on Saturday, our car started making a clunking sound when the steering wheel was turned. We planned on visiting Natural Bridge State Park, but with our car in this state, we decided we would have to skip it. Luckily, our friends drove us around Lexington on Sunday when the Kia Dealer was closed. First thing Monday, we headed to Car City Kia. We waited for awhile, when finally the service manager came out and told us that our car was not drive-able and they wouldn’t have the parts to fix it until Tuesday. We were supposed to go back to work on Tuesday, so this put a bit of a wrench in our plans. Luckily, she explained, this was related to a recall that we had repaired this summer, so through Kia’s trip interruption coverage, they would cover our rental car, our hotel, and food for the night. So, we got an extra day in Lexington on Kia’s dime, they fixed the car, and we were able to make it to Natural Bridge after all!

About this Photo:
The hike to the Natural Bridge involves climbing an elevation of 420 feet. This photo was taken about a quarter of the way up on the Balanced Rock Trail (which is the steepest trail in the park and a reminder that research is important before any photography adventure) looking back over where we had come from. Even though it was the beginning of November, fall colors seemed to be at their peak this past week in Kentucky.

Camera Gear
Nikon D3100 with 18-55 Kit Lens, handheld

Date Taken
October 31, 2016

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. To plan your visit to The Natural Bridge, visit Kentucky State Parks.

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Touring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

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On October 31, 2016

In Travel

Bottles at Buffalo Trace

This past weekend, Chris and I decided to take a little last-minute trip down to Kentucky. Chris has been talking about going to a Bourbon distillery for quite some time, so I knew we would spend some time on the Bourbon Trail. First, we stopped at Chris’ favorite, Buffalo Trace. They offer a free tour that tells the story of Kentucky Bourbon at the longest continually operating distillery. I really enjoyed that this tour wasn’t all about Bourbon, it also gave a nice history of the area. Afterwards, we headed to Wild Turkey. For $10 per person, we rode a shuttle around the modern distillery and learned about the bourbon making process. I recommend both tours. Both of them included samples, although you do get more at Turkey Hill and the Turkey Hill Tour also included a rocks glass.

About the Photo:
This shot was actually taken with my iPhone 7 in HDR mode. I did basic edits and converted it to black and white in Lightroom Mobile. I uploaded it to Instagram and it blew up quickly. Before we even started the next tour, it had already received over 200 likes, making it my most popular picture on Instagram. It was taken in the hand bottling room at Buffalo Trace.

Camera Gear:
iPhone 7 in HDR mode. I meant to shoot in RAW but I forgot to open Lightroom ahead of time and with how fast this part of the tour was going, I was worried I’d miss my shot if I tried to open it. Apple, if you’re reading this, thank you for adding RAW photography to iOS 10. For the next step, please add RAW functionality to the native camera app. Thanks in advance!

Date Taken:
October 29, 2016

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. To plan your Kentucky Bourbon Tour, visit BourbonCountry.com.

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Kitch-iti-Kipi

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On October 3, 2016

In Hiking, Michigan, Project: State Parks

Kitch-iti-Kipi
Kitch-iti-Kipi, AKA “The Big Spring” is the largest freshwater spring in Michigan. When I heard about this place, I had to add it to our road trip. Yes, it added a few extra hours to our longest driving day, but the view was unlike anything else I’ve seen. The only way to see the spring is by large raft that is maneuvered onto the spring by a wheel that propels the raft along a rope across the spring. An interesting fact about the spring is that the water is always 45 degrees so even in the dead of winter, it does not freeze. In fact, when it is cold, the fish congregate in the spring because it is warmer than surrounding waters.

About the Photo:
The spring was very difficult to photograph. It was a dreary, rainy day when we visited so the sky in my pictures was unusable. The above photo the best one I got and I actually took it on my phone and did a little Instagram editing.

Camera Gear:
iPhone 6

Date Taken:
June 27, 2016

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. To plan your visit to the springs, visit the Michigan DNR.

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