I have a darkroom again (sort of)

Saturday my friend Steve invited me out to burn some 4x5 film.
We met at a restaurant in Grant, a small town about 10 miles straight north of where I live.
We shot all of the film we had loaded on the old grain elevator in town.

I decided to process my film that same day. It usually takes me weeks to get around doing it, but I changed my normal procedure and souped the film right away.

After they were dry and I looked at the images. I wished that I could make even just contact prints, so I went up to the barn dug all my equipment out of the boxes it has been stored in since I moved and set it up.
It's not as nice as what I had before I moved and there is no running water, but it will do the job until I come up with a better solution.

America's National Past Time

I Got a pair of tickets to the last regular season home game of the West Michigan White Caps. I took my brother's son and we had a nice time.
The seats were in the second row back right behind home plate so I brought a camera and long lens along.
The images aren't Sports Illustrated quality but I had fun shooting some of the game anyway.

Lawn Mower Races

I don't know if it's just an American phenomenon or if it happens everywhere on earth. If it has a motor on it they are going to race it.

July 20th Sparta Airport. Sparta MI.

Tiger Woods, Me and the Zone

This past weekend the village of Sparta had thier annual " Town and Country Days" event. It runs five days and there many things to see, do, eat and drink. But I couldn't get to any of the festivities until Friday night so there were a few image making opportunites missed to be sure.

Saturday night as I was roaming around the carnival trying to get some of that action, when I realized someone was trying to get my attention. My cousin Chuck who I don't see very often and his wife were leaving to go home, they saw me and called out. I didn't even notice them right away because I was in the "Zone".

I never noticed until this past weekend how oblivious I am to things around me while I am shooting, but still I am seeing the smallest details at the same moment. It's a bit freaky.

I'm sure this must be true for somebody like Tiger Woods, to tune out the rest of the world but be so into the shot or putt you are attempting.

The zone is a great place to be. At least for short amounts of time.

Shooting the Blues

A lot of the personal images I have been making during the past few of weeks have been of blues musicians.

I wouldn't call West Michigan a Mecca for the blues, but we have had some pretty good music around the last few years. Some of it local and a number of acts outside the area.








For quite a number of years now a local classic rock station has put on what they call "Blues on the Mall" in downtown Grand Rapids on Wednesdays.




I love the music but I really have a great time shooting people in the crowd. It is an eclectic group of folks to say the least.

The 4th of July

The 4th of July was a day of photography for me this year. I started in the morning shooting black and white film with my view camera and ended the day shooting fireworks at night.

I did spend a bit of time mowing the lawn in the afternoon. Then I went to Rockford MI, a small town a few miles east of my house. They had a blues band playing until just before the fire works started.

Here are a few shots of Cherri and the Violaters for you to look at.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Two weeks ago my wife, our youngest daughter and I traveled to the Upper Peninsula . It was mainly a family trip but I did manage to fit in some personal photography between the shopping expeditions and visits to the tourist traps.

CTS

My daughter Emily attends Chicago Theological Seminary. Like most grad students she works doing various things to make the rent each month.

One of the things she does is to work at school doing custodial kinds of things. She called me a while back and invited me down to photograph inside some of the interesting parts of the building.

" I have keys" was what she told me.

I asked my good friend Steve if he was interested in going along and he went with me. He brought a 4x5 and I brought a medium format camera plus we both brought DSLRs. I think we both got some interesting shots.

Thanks for the invite Em.