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!