Tai chi sword

Over the years I have seen older people from China practice tai chi in the parking lot of a senior housing building in Ann Arbor. It has never worked out for me to photograph one of them until yesterday.
I was sent by me editor to look for, what we call, a "feature." It's a photo that can be published without an article, since it looks compelling enough just based on its visual properties. I know this is kind of a "heavy" explanation, but I think it gives you a good idea of what it is.
Just on a whim, I decided to drive by that place and bingo! - one guy was there doing his slow and graceful movements. I immediately ran over to him and after he gave me his permission in halting English, I started shooting.
To my extra luck, after doing his "regular" tai chi, he switched to "tai chi sword," as he called it.
Later I asked him why he practices tai chi and he said that it keeps him healthy. "I don't eat medicine," he said.

Dusty morning

Here's a shot I like from a recent morning on East Liberty Street, looking east at the Barton Tower.


Some construction workers were doing something that created this floating dust. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to capture that. Since I was in my car, I drove forward across an intersection with Division Street and stopped when the tower was framed between the two traffic-light poles. I had my emergency blinkers on and started shooting when this woman ran across the street and made a nice shot into a much nicer shot.

A street scene

Here's something from Saturday in Ann Arbor...




What caught my eye is the contradiction between this young woman in her nice outfit and the not-too-clean stoop she chose to sit on. And something about her wearing heels, while holding her feet in a somewhat childish pose.

Jordan and Elliot

Here is Ann Arbor News' former staffer and current freelancer Jordan Miller with her four-year-old son, Elliot, hanging out in beautiful downtown Ann Arbor.



Elliot is definitely wise beyond his years. When I asked him how old he is and he answered "Four and a half," he added seriously, "I'm tall for my age."

As we were walking down the street he chatted... "I like you camera," he said, "how many buttons does it have?" Two seconds later, "I like this van." Two seconds later, "Can we lift the world?" Jordan answers, "The world is the planet we're on, so we kind of cannot lift it."

They're so cute together!

Today my self-assigned challenge was to create photos while driving (actually while stopped at red lights). Just another way to keep the creative juices flowing.

Here are some of the results...

This is a scene from downtown Saline, Mich. It just says "spring..."




Here is a sign of the times (literally) from Ann Arbor.



Having a camera on the passenger seat as a drive between assignments for The Ann Arbor News, makes me keep an eye out for interesting shots. No more "I wish my camera wasn't in the trunk right now!"

A photo workshop in Santa Fe

Just came back from a week-long workshop in Santa Fe. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around all the pieces of information I picked up there. It was good to get away from my routine and spend some time with (mostly) other professional photographers.
I basically went to create some contacts in preparation for the demise of my employer, The Ann Arbor News. It's supposed to call it quits at the end of July and my 10th anniversary is in June. I hope that they'll keep me 'till then.
Anyways... Here's a photo I made at the plaza in Santa Fe.

I am back!

Sorry for the long hiatus from blogging. It has been a very busy few months.

I want to share with you this amazing wedding of a very fun couple I photographed on Halloween weekend.

After shooting around 100 weddings, this one still managed to surprise me...



This is Julie and Dave in front of a giant pumpkin at the Detroit Zoo.




Not your typical wedding portrait, right?

The ceremony and the reception took place at the Butterfly House at the zoo.

As you can see, in addition to butterflies, it has all kind of birds in a tropical setting.




Every detail of the wedding was different, whimsical and fun. Check out the special pins they made:



And the centerpieces:




and the amazing cake!!




The bride and the bridesmaids carried colorful fans instead of bouquets.




The setting provided quite a few unusual backgrounds for portraits (in addition to the giant inflatable pumpkin).




To top it all off, Julie surprised Dave, who is a huge Elvis fan, with a visit from an Elvis impersonator during the reception.




I really enjoyed the fact that they went out of their way to put their personal stamp on their celebration. Definitely a wedding to remember!