It was a Friday afternoon and we drove north after shortened work days, which are the best work days. We traversed the Straits of Mackinac via the 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge. Our stomachs were rumbling so we decided to stop at the Village Inn in St. Ignace. Every time we’ve been to this cozy diner …
Finding Calm, and Photographs, in Trout Lake, Michigan Read More »
It can be the most difficult surrounding to photograph. Out of nowhere, you may find yourself stopped in the tracks of creativity before you even know what hit you. Or, it may hit you right away. You may walk, or drive, for hours looking for something to take pictures of, and return home with nothing. …
Detroit has stolen our hearts…again. With its history, character (and characters), food and architecture, it won’t be the last time, without a doubt. And, that’s ok. Steal away Detroit, steal away. After visiting there for a weekend earlier this year, I wrote a post here covering what we’d done during that magical short trip. I …
How to Spend 48 (Incredible!) Hours in Detroit (Oct. 2022) Read More »
Few things are as enjoyable as loading some film into a camera and exploring a small, unfamiliar town. It’s the basis for how I came upon the name ‘Village Voyager’, after all. The, often, slow and methodical approach to composition and the new elements of a village not-yet-explored is an almost meditative process. It’s definitely …
There are times when the need to create burns inside. If that need, that feeling, wasn’t there, life would be so much easier. But, life wouldn’t be as beautiful and fulfilling. I suppose this is the artist’s dilemma. One of them anyway. If I haven’t taken photos in a while, I can tell that my …
To drive into Houghton, Michigan—a small college (Michigan Technological University) town in Michigan’s upper peninsula (U.P.)—is to be welcomed by a tidy, small-business-filled-main-street downtown. It had been years since I’d been there. It didn’t look like a lot had changed, but that’s a good thing. Change is too frequent for me and a lack of …
When I was going to school for photojournalism, the importance of constantly having an image-making device prepared to photograph was made very clear. Having a camera always ready means that whenever something happens where you’re at, you’ll be able to document it. I remember biking to class through all seasons and weather conditions, my camera …
In the middle of Michigan’s coveted and short summer season, in the state’s northwestern sector, is a city where the almighty cherry is celebrated officially for one week. The town is Traverse City and the event is the National Cherry Festival. Traverse City is my hometown so I’ve been to it a couple times. The …
When the weekend that we would travel toward Illinois and the mighty Mississippi River drew near, we knew that the eight-hour voyage by car would require us to find a stopover. Breaking up any trip makes it more enjoyable, so that’s exactly what we did. Our first step was to pull up maps on our …
A little more than one week ago, on Friday, May 20, 2022, an EF3 category tornado touched down in Gaylord, Michigan. It caused two fatalities, numerous injuries and widespread destruction due to the 150 mph wind speed it reached. It’s extremely rare that such a natural disaster would strike in northern Michigan. Tornadic activity has …