Modern Day Vintage

As I begin branching out more in my photography to include photographing people and not just the nature that I love so much, my mind is constantly filled with themes, ideas, locations, outfits, props...etc (I'm not going to lie, I keep a little notebook with me filled with these goodies). What better way to play around with some of these ideas than on willing friends :). My friend, Tori, is beautiful on any day, but she was radiant for this "folk inspired" vintage shoot. It was really just somewhat random that I used Tori for this set, but I don't think anyone else could have been any more perfect. I only wish I had a better laptop right now to keep editing more images from her shoot (and so that the ones edited would be that much better, as my current laptop set is..well...lacking), because there was very few "unworthy" photos.

Thanks again, Tori, for being my guinea pig for a couple of hours!

"Sailing" into Another Year!

Two weeks ago, the hubster and I celebrated our one year anniversary (of marriage that is). We were blessed with a beautiful day that we put to use by taking a sail on the Coaster II around the harbor. The day was further on our side when we lucked out by being the only two people for that afternoon's sail. Captain Nico, of the Coaster II, is a calm and soft spoken man, and he made us feel right at home on the boat. We were able to, and actually encouraged to, move about and enjoy the boat during the sail. We also packed a little lunch and snack to enjoy, as we were out on the water for two hours. It was a treat to be able to see the city from a view we don't typically get to see, learn the history of the boat, and watch the crew (Nico, his son, and another young guy). Mostly, it was great to share a new experience for our one year anniversary.

After our sail, we stuffed our faces at Elizabeth's Chop House (um...YUM), and then headed home to stuff our faces even more with an anniversary cake courtesy of Joe's Cakes. Joe is an amazing local cake baker/designer, and who we tried to book for our wedding to no avail. In passing, we mentioned this to Joe at a recent wedding and as a consolation prize (so to speak) he gifted us an anniversary cake!! AMAZING (if you have had his cakes, you obviously agree). No worries, we still planned on eating our freezer burned wedding cake in true anniversary tradition. We treated ourselves to Joe's cake on Saturday (the day of our sail and dinner), and ate our wedding cake on Sunday (our true anniversary). I won't lie, I feel guilty saying this... but our year old cake was amazing (as was Joe's, but I don't need to reiterate that for most).

What an amazing weekend! Beautiful weather, a sail, wonderful dinner, TWO cakes, but most importantly time with the hubbs and a toast to many more years to come. Did I mention TWO cakes? ;)

<3

Watching the sky and top sails. So relaxing

Raspberry Bomb - Thanks Joe!

Copper Harbor, the TRUE Gold at the End of the Rainbow

The Hubbs has the photography bug sometimes too! 

I submitted the following blog to Pure Michigan as a guest blogger regarding a "photography road trip" - and although the content and photos are almost a year old, I thought why not share on here. Despite my devotion and love to Summer, I have found myself craving a crisp breeze and Fall color lately. I know when it comes, I will miss Summer intensely, but why not at least dream about it as a little taste to cure the craving! :)

"I had been living in Marquette for seven years (a faux Yooper transplant from the other side of the Mason Dixon line) constantly hearing about Copper Harbor and the beautiful color there during the Fall season.  Last October,  I was finally able to convince my husband to embark with me on the three hour drive to the Keweenaw. It was a photogenic road trip well worth our time.

In Hancock, we were intrigued by the bones of what were once large brick buildings and pulled over at Quincy Mine to explore them.  A tour and tram ride while there…why not? We browsed the large gift shop and museum while we waited for our tram to depart down the mountain and to the mine entrance.  The color on the mountain, split by the tram tracks, was breath-taking!  From the tram, we boarded a wagon set-up and traveled underground into the mine (hard-hat included!) It is chilly underground, so a jacket is well worth it, but if you are without the mine supplies old mining coats (to coordinate with the hard-hat of course).

After the tour, we continued our drive from Hancock to the Keweenaw. At times the trees canopied over the twisting and turning road providing a tunnel of gold and orange.  Upon entering Copper Harbor, we pulled into the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge where we, again, had a beautiful view of color draped mountains.  Since it was getting late, we continued on straight to Brockway Mountain. The drive to the top was beautiful in and of itself, but the view from the top is really an experience best understood in person, and to this day one of the most memorable views I have been lucky enough to see. There was a faint rainbow visible only for a few seconds that made me laugh to myself and think we had found the “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow.  We stayed for quite some time and enjoyed the sunset.  To complete our day, we enjoyed a dinner of German/American cuisine at Harbor Haus. What a delicious meal, and another great view to boot! Beat from exploring all day, we found an available room at Lake Fanny Hooe Resort that overlooked Lake Fanny Hooe.  Don’t assume that no one else has planned to visit during peak color and that there will be plenty of rooms available, it is NOT true.  But, in the end it all worked out well for a room with yet another great view.

 The following morning we awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the lake. We treated ourselves to another delicious meal with breakfast at Tamarack Inn.  Don’t be afraid to get up and get there early, as it was another great idea that many others seemed to also have!  After breakfast we visited the local shops and art vendors (all within walking distance of lodging and eating), and hiked nearby trails to a waterfall.  We even managed to fit in a visit to Fort Wilkins State Park prior to driving back home. It was a quick trip, but for what we did see it was a photography enthusiast’s dream and definitely worth the drive!"

Remains of old stone buildings in Hancock

Another of Hubby's photography skills!

Adult playground!

Copper

Remains

 

 

A view from atop Brockway Mountain

Sunrise over Lake Fanny Hooe - seagulls in the distance bask in the steamy sunlight

Late morning on Lake Fanny Hooe

"V" is for "VERY adorable"

Saturday morning I had the pleasure of not only meeting little Miss Vesper for the first time, but also capturing some of her cuteness on film. Such a happy and curious little thing! Safe travels to Japan Lane and V!!