Waking Up in Michigan

Lake Michigan Recreation Area Photography

I close my eyes and all I hear are the leaves being slowly pushed by the wind. This is where I am most at ease; the most myself. I enjoy it. Waking up with the trees above your head, cooking a meal over a fire, listening to the wood crackle as it burns while breathing in the fresh air. A couple of weeks ago, I drove up to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area. There was no reason in particular, I guess it just seemed like a good opportunity to get away for a day; to keep it simple, no distractions and to just be. I knew I was getting close as both window seats were filled with views of endless trees. A bumpy, dirt road gently carves it way through the forest as to leave the least impact of it ever being there. Once I opened up my door, there seemed to be a sense of relief. The air carried the soft sounds of laughter with a backdrop of the lake meeting the shore. I smiled with every step closer to the beach, and as my feet hit the sand I felt like a child again. Whenever I road trip, hike or just wander by myself, I always feel like I’m at peace, like I have the world in the palm of my hands. Maybe because I can clear my head of every thought and just live in that moment. Here are a couple of those moments that made me smile.

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See More Travel Photography:  Living Under the Stars | Pictured Rocks | A Nature Walk

    

Home is Right Where You Are

Home is where the heart is. Home is where you make it. Home is wherever I am with you. Home is family to some, friends to others; a sense of nostalgia. Some are still searching for home while others do not know what home is. For me home is a feeling. It’s not a specific street, a set of random numbers placed on my mailbox, but more of laughter, smiles; a sense of being on top of the world. It’s not one specific place but a plethora of places, although I feel at home in Chicago quite often. It’s that feeling you get while you are standing at that place. The sense of excitement, enjoyment, calmness. It’s as if nothing else in the world matters except for this moment. If you are smiling right now, laughing, curious, or in love. If you are happy, you are home. Home is right where you are.

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See More Chicago Photography:  The Way We See | Up Up & Away | Ripple Effect

    

Set the Sky on Fire

I could see in the sky that a storm was approaching quick. The air even had a different smell to it. I was on my way to Chicago to do some night shooting, thinking that just as long as I keep driving that Mother Nature wouldn’t be able to catch me. In that instant I saw a part in the clouds, light came shining through and just like that, the sun set the sky on fire. It lasted  a couple of minutes before one raindrop turned into two and two in billions. Mother Nature caught me.

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See More Nature Photography: Garden of Waterfalls | At the End of the Day | Somethings Never Get Old

    

Happy Mother’s Day

All that I am, or ever hope to be I owe to my Mother. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you and your’s!!!

See More Nature Photography: Watching the Waves | Little Things | Chasing the Sunrise

    

A Walk on the Beach

I was recently fortunate enough to travel to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. White sand and blue water; it was beautiful. Every morning I would wake up and travel down the beach. I would try and focus on photography but would quickly get distracted by the endless scenery. My girlfriend and I would sit and watch the tide come in, drop off a shell or two and then quickly disappear. Even though I brought my camera, it seemed hard to take as many photographs as I wanted to. Traveling has always been a love of mine and I hope there’s many more adventures to come. I never thought a walk would be as majestic as this, but it was. Simply put, this was just a walk on the beach.

Between the Flowers

Walking back from the Milwaukee Art Museum, a small patch of purple flowers caught the corner of my eye. I quickly walked up to this miniature field of lavender and extending my camera into its world; a little slice of nature. Although I was viewing a sea of purple, there was one individual that stood out among the rest. I don’t know why this one sparked my curiosity but it did. Looking between the flowers was a way for me to explore different perspectives. I often find it difficult to break from my own conventional way of photography, and often seek new ways to look at the world. Looking past of what’s in plain view, finding that diamond in the rough. It made me happy while at the same time it made me think. I could take a picture of all of these flowers in focus and it would have been very beautiful but it wouldn’t of said anything. I was interested in focusing on the beauty of the part while neglecting the whole. Each flower is part of this field, framing the ones around it; but without each one, it would have ceased to catch my eye. And that’s the beauty of looking between the flowers.

Summer Breeze

Summer Breeze

Happy first day of summer! Time to enjoy that summer breeze.

A Sliver of Nature

I’ve often use macro photography to spark my imagination.  I can walk through the forest, and it forces me to get up close, closer than I ever thought I would. It’s an intimate feeling, almost as if I’m exploring a never before seen world. I look down at a sea of color and it’s quite amazing. It allows me to gain such a shallow depth of field that I often lose track of exactly what I’m photographing at points and it doesn’t bother me a bit. I’ve always been captured by abstract art and I often use macro photography as a way to paint my own abstract photography paintings. Sometimes you just have to lose control; forget about everything that’s happening around you and focus on one thing. This is a sliver of nature.

A Sliver of Nature | Abstract Macro Photography

A Sliver of Nature | Abstract Macro Photography

A Sliver of Nature | Abstract Macro Photography

A Sliver of Nature | Abstract Macro Photography

From the Passenger Seat

I hit the road this weekend to attend a wedding that was about 4 hours south of Chicago. It was a long drive but the scenery was so relaxing that it made the ride go by quickly. The landscape was beautiful and serene while the country sunsets filled the sky with dramatic hues of orange and yellow. We didn’t have time to pull over and explore and I didn’t want to miss a moment, so I just quietly snapped photographs while we drove. These are some of my snap shots from the passenger seat.

As the Sun Goes Down

The grass is always greener as the sun goes down. The warmth is beginning to fill the air and the color in the field is becoming rich again. It’s almost summer and I can definitely feel it. I can’t wait to enjoy those nice summer walks as the birds are chirping as the light summer breeze cools you off. Maybe I’ll take some pictures too.