The world is waking

As it happens every spring, life awakens and comes out or in some cases north. It is an exciting time where the gray and cold of winter is brushed aside and warmth and sun

bathes the earth. In most cases this is a nice and gradual flow, starting at the beginning of March and ending beginning of April. However in Michigan here it seems

to not follow the norm. One week it could be sunny and

warm and then go back to snow storms and frost. I don't quite understand it but then I guess I probably never will. Aside from that the animals still do decide to come out and make the world more exciting. It also happens that I got some new

camera gear around the same time that spring was happening. This meant that I had to use it and capture what life was roaming about. These pictures are form two different shoots. One was around easter on a walk with my dad around Reeds Lake and the other was at Calvin's

nature preserve. Both are great places to take walks and apparently see wildlife. I was surprised at how many turtles I found in such a short walk. I did love

the quality of the new lens and the way worked (70-200mm), but it did add some weight to the walk. The surprise of the walk was most hands down the snake and was also the hardest to shoot. It wanted to move around and I wanted it to stop and pose. Needless to say it won and just went on it's way ignoring me. I did find that in these walks I am a fan reflections on the water and really just how dynamic water can be in an image.

Wife and I

Living in Michigan has it's perks and downers. One of the perks is....ok so I might have to think about that one for a little. But one of the downers for sure is that the winter seems to last forever. Being that it is starting April and they have called for snow is just proof of that. Yet, not all is gloom and doom. On a very special day in March the sun was shining and the weather was bright. This day happened to be the anniversary weekend of my wedding to my beautiful wife. I find that as time goes she just continues to get more beautiful. So on this day to celebrate the beauty of good weather (and my wife) we went on a photoshoot in downtown Grand Rapids.




Setting out to explore down by the river for good photography spots. Bridges and a park make great backgrounds. Really anything that might be fun and different. The fence by the Gerald Ford Museum added a fixed prop to the pictures.









I also got the chance to use my 50mm prime for the shoot. This was the first time that I really had taken some portraits with it. The 1.8 aperture helped to create some fun depth of field pictures. Although I had to be careful where it focused. If I was focused on her hat then her eyes would not be in focus.


I know that I have said that I didn't like Michigan but it is not all that bad. I have taken great sunset pictures at the lake. But I do miss the rolling hills and winding roads of PA.

Also I have to give credit to my wife who took the pictures of me. Although of the two of us she is the prettier one.

Swim Meet

Swimming is not a sport that I have participated. Growing up at a small school without a pool it was not even an option. But it is very much similar to my own personal favorite sport, Track and Field. Having participated in that sport for 11 years I understand that it is an individualistic group sport.
That may seem odd at first, yet if you had the chance to participate in a sport like track or swimming you would understand completely. It is individualistic because preformance is almost solely based on your own performance.
One does not get better simply because he or she is on a great team. Soccer is a great example of a team sport. If your teammates are great than you also will do well because they make you better. (Granted that it may not make you a better player but you could go on and do well in the State) But if everyone but you is great on a track or swim team that does not mean that you will go places with your sport. Now many will argue that great teammates on a track team or swim team will actually make you better. Having been on good teams I understand that they can help push you to do better but they can not take you to States or Nationals because they are good. (Relays excluded because that does sometimes happen) With all that said about swimming and track and field being an individualistic sport. I will say that teams do affect performance and interest in the sport. I love watching and cheering my own team on when at a Track event and I think it is said that Swimmers get even more into cheering their teammates on. Track all by itself would be lonely and hard. The team is what makes some people strive on.
All of that rambling to let you know that these pictures came from a swim meet of a good friend's brother (which I would also call a friend) As a freshman in high school and first year swimming he improved greatly and this was the culmination of his season. From my standpoint I think that he did great and has set himself up well to continue into excellency in the next few years. And I will tell you that he is a man on a mission, a mission to conquer so Grand Rapids and Michigan better be ready.