Its officially spring and its starting to warm up around here. It may just be about time to come out of hibernation! While looking through my Lightroom library for a photo for today’s post, I realized that I haven’t taken a single photo in March (insert shocked emoji here)! I realize the month is not over so I’ve got work to do this week!
This photo was taken last spring during the Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan. Windmill Island Gardens is a sight to behold in spring with tulips as far as the eye can see, an authentic, 250 year old Dutch windmill, and beautiful flowering apple trees. Of course, during Tulip Time, you will also see wall to wall people. Immediately after snapping this photo, someone came up to me and asked to take their picture with their smartphone. Its funny, when you seem to know what you’re doing when it comes to photography, people trust you with their electronics. Just because I can use a DSLR, it does not mean I know how to operate your smartphone camera or your weird point and shoot.
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Its always exciting when you go through your old pictures and you find one that slid under the radar when you looked at them before. Since its been a few years since our Disney trip, I was going through my photos and stumbled on this shot for Monorail Monday! Between the Disney groups on Facebook and the ads for Pandora: The World of Avatar, I’ve really been missing “home”!
It is nice to go through old photos and realize how much you’ve grown as a photographer. I was still pretty new to the DSLR game back then and I really relied heavily on auto ISO. This photo was taken in the middle of the day in the sun at ISO 1250 and f/20. Why did I do that? I can’t wait to go back there with my new knowledge and (hopefully) better gear and see what I can get!
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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
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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
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A few weekends ago, we had the opportunity to photograph the State Games of Michigan. I’ve never photographed sports before but I wasn’t about to turn my nose up at press credentials for a sporting event. We knew we wanted to try to catch skiing so we rented some longer telephoto lenses. Chris shot with a behemoth 150-600mm lens which allowed him to see people’s nose hairs at the top of the ski hill (ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration). I shot a 18-300 mm that allowed me to reach about halfway up the hill, but I found it was better for catching the end of the runs. I really enjoyed capturing when they stopped and sent the snow flying. Photographing skiing was a lot of fun and would love to be able to do it again some time, but something tells me I’m going to have to wait until next winter.
When shooting any kind of sports, freezing motion is key, so you want a fast shutter speed. We were lucky that this was a sunny day so I was able to keep my shutter speed quicker than 1/1000 second at ISO 100.
Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with Nikkor 18-300 mm f/3.5-5.6, handheld
Date Taken:
February 18, 2017
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. If you are interested in renting lenses, I highly recommend LensGiant. They have a great selection and reasonable prices. They frequently run sales too. If you are in the metro Detroit area, you are able to order from them and pick it up/drop it off at the Northville UPS store which can save a bunch of money on shipping.