If you know me, you know I’m always ready to share with anyone, and this is especially true in terms of education. While I claim to know very little in terms of formality with regards to photography, I’m happy to present a viewpoint from a self-taught, cowboy photographer who has learned by trial and error. I presented to a Michigan Tech Summer Youth Programs group as a guest lecturer (I taught this class a couple years ago) and had a great time doing this. A quote below from Stephanie:

Hi Meg, Adam,

The students weren’t the only ones learning– my TA and I learned a lot as well.

So, yeah… this sucks. A tree trimming company came to do some work in our yard and got their vehicle completely stuck in the yard. I refused to even watch out the window, let alone offer assistance considering how completely trashed the yard was becoming - it was clearly a lost cause. Well, they asked for help to push their wood chipper trailer out of the way and I gave a try at it. Pushing with all my strength, I felt and HEARD something pop in my right calf and I hit the ground. The workers described it as sounding like a flip-flop slapping the ground. My good buddy Chad Arney showed up as he does for all of my accidents and injuries and monitored the situation (and a sleeping Kora) while Robyn and I headed to the ER. It took a shot to each butt cheek to temper the pain, and I finally quit thrashing around on the trauma room bed. Todd & Jessie Brassard showed up to offer sympathy and helped me get into the car, and thus began the ridiculousness.

Long story short: I have a partially torn Achilles tendon and Soleus (calf) muscle. It means a non-walking fiberglass cast for 4 weeks (on my driving foot!) and a torturous pair of crutches for the duration and therapy afterwards. I can’t say thank-you enough to everyone for being helpful and sympathetic, and it is an interesting experiment to have one leg, and makes me value the working one – which is getting nicely built up while my right one wilts inside the cast. Seriously, thanks to my family, friends, co-workers, clients, and strangers who are genuinely helpful, concerned, and encouraging.

You’ll notice a slight shift in the number of us on photo jobs for the next couple months. Instead of the standard intern and myself, you’ll see a full crew: dual interns & photographers, a personal assistant, and sometimes even a dedicated driver / sherpa. I admit that I’m getting pretty spoiled by the extra support, and I notice that our clients are getting spoiled as well – while I can’t wait to heal, I just might keep this going!

One thing I love about living in the middle of Lake Superior is the dramatic weather; clouds and sun are especially fun to watch up here, and I have go no further than my back lawn, or around the corner to get shots like these. It is no secret that the other thing I love is shooting Kora. She is a natural, and she should be; she’s had a camera in her face since she was born. Long-term, detrimental effects aside, she likes it, and helps often with photoshoots. We use her as a model often; she is flexible and her talent fees are low! Of the four shots below, two are with the point & shoot (so handy!) and the other two take advantage of larger glass. As always; no PS work; as fake as the clouds look, they are real.

From the earlier post, y’all (sorry, just back from Kentucky) know about the Houghton Spring Art & Music Festival. Along with others, I donate time and energy into the festival, specifically for me, into arranging the music, setting up the damn risers, making sure the show runs smoothly, then tearing down the damn risers. The effort was helped a lot by Todd & Jessie of Brassard Media who helped with poster design, distribution, and running the sound stage. Nice work! This was probably the best house (tent) sound we’ve had for the event, and an excellent, two-stage poster release; nice - nice! A few shots below for my Art Center girlfriends in downtown Hancock. Bonnie & Cynthia, always nice to do this; lets get going on next year’s plans.

My family and I had the fortune of joining my siblings and parents on an almost two-week trip to the Netherlands - the birth and childplace of my dad, Abraham Poot. Fun, fun. This was a surreal trip that would be hard to explain, let alone repeat. I pushed myself to keep a daily blog where you can look through the images and rambling text that outlines everything from our arrival to our departure. At first lamented the absence of the gear I’m comfortable using, which I left at home for reasons of simplicity, weight, discression, etc… Oh yeah, and Robyn made me; so there is that. I grabbed a new, ultra-compact Panasonic FX500 which I ended up loving, despite its inevitable compromises by being a tiny point & shoot. On the other hand, it prevented me from looking like a dork and allowed me to be subtle and flexible. Fun, fun. So, yes; check the blog here if you want.

The three images below are all shot with the camera on the ground; something I can’t do easily with the D3. Oh yeah, and I got a nasty sting of nettle leaves while lying in the grass in front of the windmill; damn those plants…

Check it: This year’s festival is around the corner - directly. Jessie rocked the buzz poster out and look for the final one in a couple weeks. Don’t forget to check the local-music mailing list for the local music scene. Artist booths and live, local music all afternoon; what could be more fun? See the Community Arts Center for more information about the event, and a press release.

Noon - 1PM New Zeeland Jazz Apples
1PM - 2PM Squeaky Clean Cretins
2PM - 3PM On-the-Spot Blues Band
3PM - 4PM Keweenaw Brewgrass
4PM - 5PM Blackflies
5PM - 6PM Hannah Bethel

Woo hoo! Got the package from Katie at USSA today. Katie, thanks for the gifts; everything fits and is keeping me warm!