Travel by Any Means Necessary

Tag: St. Joseph

2018: A Year in Review

2018 has been one of the biggest years for photography for me so far. While I feel like my landscape work has been pretty stagnant over the last few years. I definitely improved my portrait game this year. We continued our photography tours in 2018 and we are looking at how we can continue and come up with new classes for next year.

Catwalk at frozen St. Joseph Lighthouse

We had our biggest portrait job ever this year, photographing over one hundred families for our church directory. We also shot a wedding this year and I did my first ever infant shoot. We even got a few senior shoots in too and did a little more sports photography.

In terms of landscape photography, we started off the year with a trip to frozen Lake Michigan lighthouses (left). Early in the summer, we explored the Hocking Hills region of Ohio which really blew me away. I really want to return there when the colors change. That would be beautiful!

We also returned to a favorite campground, Straits State Park in St. Ignace and took a day trip to Sault Ste. Marie to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Michigan’s oldest city. Of course, at the end of the summer, we took a great road trip to Boston,  Acadia National Park, and Watkins Glen. As unbelievably beautiful as it was at Acadia, the sheer vastness was difficult to capture. Watkins Glen (right) was one of the most stunning places I have ever visited and I have been telling everyone I meet that they need to check it out. It really isn’t a bad drive from Michigan. If you would make the drive to the U.P., Watkins Glen is a similar distance.

Us at Watkins Glen

We finally upgraded our camera this year to a Nikon D7200. I can no longer say that I shoot with an entry level camera. We had rented them a few times so I was excited to finally own one. When you hit the top of your camera’s abilities, it feels so good to upgrade and be able to do the things that your camera was keeping you from. In this case the biggest thing was ISO sensitivity and low light capability. Even with the new camera, I think my favorite photo I took all year may be the Jordan Pond House photo I took with my iPhone (top).

This has been a good year for photography and exploring new places. I am looking forward to 2019 for more of the same! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Lighthouse

St. Joseph Light

Wordless Wednesday: Tugboat

Tugboat

Lighthouse in Winter

Lighthouse in Winter

By now, I’m sure my regular readers are aware of my love of Michigan lighthouses. Many of my summer days are spent exploring the coastline and its beacons. Until this past weekend, I had never explored them in their winter splendor! So, even though the temperature was in the teens, this weekend I ventured to the west side of the state to see the frozen St. Joseph lighthouse.

This lighthouse is known for its beautiful ice formations in the winter and one shot of it actually showed up as my Windows 10 lock screen the other day. If you haven’t seen any pictures of it, check it out here. Even though it had snowed for the past eight days, there was a path worn through the snow on the pier out to the lighthouse. While it was cold and there were ice floats in the water, the lighthouse wasn’t as covered in ice as I was hoping. I didn’t get the shot that I was hoping for, but I was glad that I ventured out in the cold with my camera!

I encourage you to follow my lead and get out this winter! It is so easy to sit inside out of the cold, but that is not how memories and photos are made! This winter, get outside, explore new places, and go shoot! If you decide to venture out to lighthouses this winter, I suggest bringing along ice cleats (like these ones) so you don’t fall into the lake!

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 information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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