Sparta Fire Deptment. Waterball Contest

Every year the Village of Sparta holds an event they call "Town and Country Days".

Activities start the middle of the week and wind down on Sunday when the have the fire works

display.

There are so many things going on it's hard to decide what to see and do.

This year I made it a point to shoot the fire department waterball competition.

The idea of waterball is to move the big metal ball down to your opponent's side using a fire hose.

The Sparta fire fighters invite other area fire departments to play in the water with them.

It is a lot of fun.

Dirt and Speed

It looks as if I am turning into an action photographer. This was not intentional, I blame my daughter. If she hadn't started playing soccer..........


















My Friend Steve and I have been talking about trying to shoot Motocross for some time now.

So Sunday we did.

Blues on the Mall

A local radio station has hosted a blues series for the past 18 years. The music is great and there is always an eclectic group of people to photograph.

Here are a few for your enjoyment.


"Sure I'll sign"

"The Photo guy"


"Beaded Hair"

" High Five Kid"

" The Prom Queen and Her Date"

A Sad Day

Well it has finally happened, Kodachrome is no more.

http://www.insideanalogphoto.com/inside-analog-photo-kodak-retires-kodachrome/205

I will miss this great film but things do change.

Waterfalls in the U.P.

Here are a few of the waterfalls I had a chance to photograph on my recent UP trip.

More Images From Da UP Aye

Never Met a Yooper I Didn't Like

Just got back from a four day trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I like very much going there and on this trip I went to a part of the U.P. that I had never been in before. My oldest daughter went with me. I was hoping all three of my girls would go but the other two had other things they were doing so it was just the two of us.


The first night we camped at Baraga State Park. The next day we headed up the Keweenaw Peninsula and did a circle tour and saw and photographed a lot on interesting things.The Day's high point was when we stopped at "The Gay Bar" for a drink. The town of Gay is quite a metropolis. There is a old smoke stack left over from the days when the town was a place copper was smelted, about a dozen houses and of course the bar.

We had an nice conversation with the owner about alien abductions and he told us a few jokes about a Yooper couple taking a cruise. It was extremely funny and he spoke with a heavy Yooper accent which added to the fun.

Here's a couple more images I will post more when I get through them, but here is a taste for now.

The Preacher

I have really gotten into photographing people in crowds the last couple of years. Festival settings and outdoor concerts are great places to grab candid shots of people.

Many times when people take candid photographs of others, especially people they don't know, they tend to use a longer lens and are back away from their subject. I find that getting in closer and using a wider lens, works well for me. I will use a longer lens but if I can get closer I will.

I haven't yet had anyone give me any grief about photographing them this way, plus you can say hello if you like.

One thing if I'm in close generally there isn't anything between me and the subject I'm shooting to get in the way. Plus I seem to blend into the crowd this way.

These are shots I made at a local festival of the arts. I think there were more people in the crowd watching the interaction of this preacher guy with some of the folks in the crowd than were watching the performers on stage. He did have a few people in the crowd quite worked up. But it made for some interesting images.