Exploring Boundaries

Over the past months that I’ve now spent living in Michigan, I have realized the diverse photographic potential in many opportunities. Beyond the norm of daily life in a metropolitan area, I’ve been able to get out more to explore the backcountry of this State. I recently visited the Upper Peninsula’s beautiful Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and was refreshingly stimulated.

This was a long-anticipated trip and, once there, I found that the beauty and variety was overwhelming beyond what I had imagined. In order to prioritize my focus and attention I made a shoot itinerary for visiting specific locations and destinations. The sublime and impressive cliffs that create the shore of Lake Superior are not the only thing in the area well worth seeing. There are literally dozens of waterfalls to hike into and capture, not to mention numerous historical landmarks, various towns and wilderness in between.

    

The 15 miles of cliff and rock coast is shown in part here with this dramatic angle and perspective of one of the many coves and bays. The curved face of the cliff shows the layers of many years- the effect of the erosion and water activity of centuries.

Due to the sheer quantity of amazing raw material available in such vast presentation, it may seem it would be all too easy to get good shots . By the same token though, this made it all the more difficult to know where to start with the camera and not become too tied up on one subject for too long. In order to view the cliffs, it is necessary to get out on the lake itself, most commonly by kayak, canoe or cruise boat, so timing and opportunity are crucial. A certain balance, self-discipline and moderation are needed in order to achieve a good number of successful images rather than just a rapid-fire collection of snap shots!

ReLocation and Resonance

It was a straight up trade. The Rockies for the Great Lakes.

 

Making the move from the Pacific Northwest clear across to the Lake-land Midwest was quite a decision. A freelance photographer living in the Inland NorthWest most of my life, in some ways I’ve been spoiled with the various photographic opportunities. Unfortunately I had begun to take it for granted, that is until I had considered moving my family to the Detroit area of Michigan. Once I made this decision to move, I began to realize how much of the mountains and wilderness of Idaho I would be missing out on. But I also anticipated the new territory that was mine to discover.

With this new location came the advantages for urban photography, something I couldn’t get so readily in the NorthWest. Now since I’ve been here for a few months finding great image opportunities has actually been easier than I had anticipated. It has also broadened my horizons on branching out more from Landscape photography to integration of urban with landscape and beyond.

 It was a straight up trade. The Rockies for the Great Lakes. The differences are many but the challenges constructive. I find myself having to work a lot harder at times to get the shots I want. This has been a good way to stimulate new creativity in myself and even discover new interests or even talent I didn’t know I possessed.

I find myself relearning a whole area while finding out the expanses of beauty as well as the small nuggets of interest that may be found in unsought for spots within the viewfinder. I am satisfied as I realize more and more that my options here for shots are seemingly limitless and I can now visit home to the Panhandle of Idaho with a different view of it and perhaps see more for photography there than I did before.