Reflections and Moving On
It's strange looking back over the last three years and how I really didn't have the slightest idea of what was going to happen. Three years ago I was starting my senior year of high school just focused on graduating. Two years ago I was preparing to go back to school after getting back from a four month adventure to Alaska with my family. One year ago I had graduated from Hallmark Institute of Photography where I met a very special woman. Now I'm married to that very special woman and living half way across the continent in Seattle. We haven't been living in Seattle for very long though. We recently took two weeks to move from Michigan. With our camping gear and basic necessities back into our car we drove all 2200 miles plus side trips in two weeks. We stopped whenever we wanted seeing friends and amazing places along the way. The following images are just some of the things and places we saw on our trip.
MV Michipicoten docked in Marquette, MI
Sometimes the little things are important. Mushrooms in Temperance River State Park, MN.
Cascade Falls gorge in Cascade Falls State Park, MN
Rushing water in the Temperance River State Park, MN
Small lake at the top of Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, MT.
Mist surrounding Snoqualmie Falls in Snoqualmie, WA
Lake Michigan Windsurfing
One of the many great things about living in northern Michigan is the lakes around us. Whether you simply enjoy relaxing on the pristine beaches or getting involved in one of the many adventure sports on the water, we proudly have some of the best lakes in the world right outside our front door. Windsurfing is a relatively unknown extreme sport in this area with athletes far and few between. Any opportunity I get to photograph a windsurfer I gladly take. The wind on Lake Michigan was perfect this day; a strong, offshore, consistent wind was kicking about two to three foot waves. Below is the series of images I took of Chris Righi windsurfing on the big lake.
Back to Michigan Part II: Fun in the Snow
As much as I miss the Florida sun I have to admit that I'm enjoying being back in the north again. The first thing I did when I stepped off that plane was to take a deep breathe of the crisp, cold, northern air.
Shortly after arriving home I had scheduled a photo shoot on the ice of Lake Michigan not realizing that the Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights. Just as neared the end they started to appear leading to an amazing light show like I've never seen and ultimately an amazing image. Thank's to Gelli Javellana for modeling in the freezing cold weather a little longer than planned.
On second note I also managed to spare some time from tax season to take a trip even further north; crossing the Mackinac Bridge and into Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Waking up one morning to several inches of fresh snow to play in, we adventured through snow covered forests and along the icy Lake Superior on snowmobiles.
