The leaves are changing in Northern Michigan, Autumn is here again. Yesterday I took my father’s boat out for a spin and took my camera along as well. This photo was taken on Green Lake in Interlochen. When I loaded the image in Photoshop I thought that it would look nice as a painting so I grabbed the new mixer brush and decided to give it a whirl. This was my first time using the mixer brush. It is a new feature in CS5. I love the effect and look forward to exploring this feature with some of my other photographs. Stay tuned for more.

This digital painting is available on Canvas or as a print. Contact me for details.

I had the unique opportunity to photograph an art reception at the Interlochen Center of the Arts. The artist’s name is Diana Wege and her show titled, “The Land America Leaves Wild” was hosted by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. The reception was held at the Herbert H. and Barbara C. Dow Center for Visual Arts building at Interlochen.

Diana is a very talented artist and the show looked wonderful in that gallery setting. I brought my good friend and fellow photographer, Bevin Buchler, to help photograph the art works and the reception. We did both separately. Photographing the artwork was a fun and challenging experience. I took care of the lights, and final edits and Bevin photographed the artwork.

Bevin Buchler photographing Diana Wege’s artwork. The photographs below are mine.

Diana Wege and Glen Chown. Glen is the executive director of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.

Diana Wege speaking to her admirers.

Diana Wege and her father, Peter Wege

During the reception I overheard someone talking to Diana’s father about a book he had written. He was also signing autographs in the lobby at the end of the show. Peter Wege is ninety-years-old and Bevin was fascinated by his hands. She captured several photographs of him signing autographs. After the reception Bevin decided to do some research on Peter and discovered that his father founded Steelcase in Grand Rapids. The company is the largest manufacturer of office furniture in the world. Peter later started the Wege Foundation.  Here’s an excerpt from the foundation website;

Peter Wege started The Wege Foundation in 1967 out of his love for the Earth and all its people. In the book he wrote in 1998, Economicology: The Eleventh Commandment, Peter coined the word “Economicology” to sum up his environmental philosophy. A prosperous economy depends on a healthy ecology. Economy + Ecology = Economicology.

Diana’s show follows her through all the fifty states as she finds and paints scenes of nature. The show is a culmination of 15 years worth of work. You can find Diana’s book by clicking here

The shoot started at 3:00pm. Ten minutes before Leslie arrived the snow began to fall. It came down so hard you couldn’t see across the lake. Leslie, being the adventurous sort, agreed to go on the shoot anyway. We ventured out on the ice but most of the shanties were empty. I think we got some interesting shots regardless of the snow.

Wandering out on the lake proved to be very cold. We decided after a while to move into the Interlochen Center for the Arts to see if we could get some interesting shots there. We were also met by my assistant Jessica Lynn Nichole who came along to help with lighting.

Our first stop was the Interlochen bowl, a nice location for the shoot. Leslie’s red top was an excellent selection for a winter shoot.

After a a while we decided to come in and warm up. I live near the arts camp so we came to my house and set up a backdrop so that we could continue the shoot in comfort. I also had Leslie change and gave her a cowboy hat to try on.

Sometimes the day doesn’t go as planned when shooting on-location but I think we made the best of it.

Sue’s husband recently passed away and she and my dad decided they didn’t have much time left so they had better act fast and get married while they were still young.

I was their chosen wedding photographer. I created a cute wedding slide show for them. It’s a little long and probably not exciting for anyone other than immediate family but if you dare to watch it all the way though you’ll see a sweet love story and a happy couple.

Click on the photo below to see the show.