Listen Intently

We are nearing the end of the year twenty-oh-eight.  The time of year when many pause for a few moments to look back at what has been and start to prepare for what is yet to come.  I hope that the season is full of joy and laughter, family and friends, smiles and good times for each of you.

All Aboard!

It has been quite a year for me.  Just over a year ago, I found out that I would be a recipient of my school’s Dream Odyssey award, a stipend given to faculty/staff in order to help them live a dream.  It was my dream to travel around the country by train, visiting the national park made famous by the Great Northern Railroad–Glacier National Park.  In June, right after graduation ceremonies, I boarded Amtrak in Toledo and traveled for just over two weeks.  It was fantastic.  I met so many wonderful people, rode the street cars in New Orleans, sat in the Pacific Parlour car enjoying the view of the ocean railside, and spent five nights in a cabin in the woods of Glacier Park.  I got my own private guided hike in the mountains, and participated in a bear jam along the road in Alberta.  In every way, it was a dream come true.  And now I’m ready to do it all over again.

The view from our front window in Colorado

With my friends Scott, Amy & Paul, we revived our tradition of traveling to the NCAA Frozen Four–the college hockey semi and final games.  Much to our delight, our Michigan Wolverines joined us in Denver, but unfortunately lost in the semifinals.  We were traveling to the mountains, there was no way we would be staying just for a weekend.  Scott and Amy found a house in the foothills, and we enjoyed privacy, cloud & snow filled morning sunrises, and even a day of skiing in Breckenridge.  I got to spend a bonus day with Nick, Jill, Jeff & Ilze, and even got to ride the train home.  Another week to remember.

August brought about the return of the school year, but this year I was delighted to learn that I would be an advisor–a mentor and guide for our high school students.  I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my six freshmen advisees, and they have made this school year so much more fun to be a part of.  Thank you Dixon, Genna, Jared, Jonathan, Mickey, and Wesley.

October 1st now holds a special day in our family.  Ruby Grace, my brother and sister’s second daughter, joined us in this world, much to the delight of sister Mary (now 4).  Welcome!  I can’t wait to watch the years ahead with these two wonderful girls.  But I’m still not yet used to visiting the Barbie aisle in ToysR’Us.

MV Action Photo

November was a very special month for me this year.  It was time for MV Action Photography, a Winterim course that myself and Robin Norlén co-taught.  Robin was an exchange student at school a few years ago, and he and I hatched this idea to teach a month-long photography course.  We had 12 suckers students, sign up and off we went.  Lots of photo opportunities, a trip to New York City, and many, many inside jokes later, it was a month that I will never forget.  The students are wonderful photographers, and I expect to see their work on display in the future.  Especially delightful was working with Robin all month long.  I foresee a trip to Robin’s home Sweden in the coming year(s).

Outrigger Canoeing in the Ocean

But the excitement of tbe year wasn’t done yet.  A trip to Maui was on hand during the first weekend of December, for my cousin Ryan’s wedding.  What an incredible experience!  Staying on luxurious Wailea Beach, but more importantly, spending many moments with my mom and dad, Aunt Lynn, Uncle Bruce and cousins Devon and Ryan.  And several more new friends.  It was a wonderous weekend, magical and inspiring.

We never quite know what the days ahead will bring.  But I can look back and know that I am truly blessed.  A wonderful family, great friends, awesome advisees, and much fun ahead to be had.  Bring on twenty-oh-nine!

Peace! and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Tags: Christmas

The groom, Ryan, with my mother

I’m a little slow with this blog update, sorry.  On December 6, my cousin, Ryan, got married to the lovely Ashley in a beautiful ceremony overlooking the Pacific Ocean from Maui.  It was my first visit to the islands, and the timing couldn’t have been better.  I was fresh off of teaching a photography course and didn’t want to get back into the regular schedule very much.  I enjoyed, way too much, my opportunity to work with the students in my course.

So I began the process of “hurry up and wait.”  I drove to the Detroit airport and hurried to the line to check by bag.  Then hurried from there only to wait at the security checkpoint.  Then down the hall to wait at the gate.  Hurry up and get in line to board, only to wait in the jetway for those in front of you to find their seats and load their bags.  Then the ultimate wait, sitting in a airplane seat for 6 hours getting to Seattle.  And waiting only to repeat the process in order to get to Maui.  Oh, these things do make me long for the train.

Finally, I made it to Maui.  It lives up to its promise.  Weather, beautiful.  Beaches, soft and sunny.  Ocean, clear, blue and glorious.  I could get used to this.  Daily, I walked along the ocean-front path, a 3-mile roundtrip powerwalk to get the day going.  Then would sit along the beach, read, and just relax.  Not bad.  Our rooms and the wedding were at the Four Seasons Resort in the Wailea area of the island.  We ventured to Lahaina for dinner one night, but spent much of our time not far from the resort.

Myself, Uncle Bruce, Dad and Mom

We did venture out in the resort’s outrigger canoe, a fun experience punctuated by seeing spinner dolphins, a site not often seen this close to shore.  Humpback whales were also spotted, both from beachside and from our whale-watching trip Saturday morning.

Despite the long trip home, glorious memories reside from this wonderful trip.  Mostly from getting to spend a lot of time with my extended family, time that I wouldn’t trade for another few days in paradise.

Tags: Maui, Travel, Vacation, Wedding

Preparing for the free throw

I must admit that I am not really a basketball fan.  I simply have zero interest in watching NBA games; I can tolerate college games, but do have some interest in high school games, when my students are playing.  True, it’s really more of an interest in supporting the students than it is the basketball.  It’s a tough season for this photographer, because the typical high school gym is very poorly lit.  I don’t have the time or funds to invest in remote strobes and also don’t want to use a flash court-side.  Which means that I am stuck using a very high ISO (sensitivity) and wide-open aperture, often resulting in noisy and out of focus photos.  When I get a good one, though, the effort pays off.

This weekend, our freshman team had their first scrimmage–they got off to a slow start but once warmed up played pretty well.  I must admit, I’m very biased as many of them are my advisees (and my favorite athletes).  With our Winterim adventures the past month, they’ve not had too many practices where all have been present.

These are my favorite captures of the morning.  I didn’t get very many keepers, though.  I was feeling a bit lazy, to be honest, and didn’t work too hard at getting in the right spots. Just like the guys, I was gearing up for the “real” season, I guess.

In the first shot, the defender blocks some of the free throw shooter (Jonathan), but I think he adds some context to the scene.  The look of concentration on the Jonathan’s face as he lines up the shot caught my eye.  With the poor lighting in this gym, the non-motion shots such as this came out a lot better than anything else.

Out of my way!

Basketball is supposed to be a non-contact sport.  In shot number two, Jonathan (again) is climbing all over the defender as he’s driving to the basket.  I have a few more in this sequence, but I’m missing the ball in all of them.  I managed to capture the action with some sharpness, complete with lots of contact.

Many more photos to come.  It’s a long season and I am looking forward to working on my techniques and sharing my photos with the athletes, their parents, and all of my friends.

More photos from the scrimmage are available in this gallery on my photography website.

Tags: basketball, Photography, sports

It’s been quite a month. In addition to my normal duties managing technology at my school, I took on the challenge of teaching 12 high school students a 3 1/2 week intensive photography course.  My good friend, Robin, and I spent all day, every day, shooting, teaching and talking about taking pictures.  I’d like to say that I am a better photographer than I was at the beginning.  I know that I’ve learned from Robin, the students and the professionals we’ve met.  So, yeah, I am probably a better photographer than I was a few weeks ago.

The Action Photo Team in New York City

But I’ve gained so much more than photography skills in these 3 plus weeks.  Robin and I have solidified an excellent friendship that I hope will remain for many, many long years to come.  His adventurous nature complements my quiet cautiousness.  His outgoing personality helps prod me out of my shy shell.  Thanks, Robin.  For being my co-teacher, my colleague, and my friend.  I cannot express how happy I am that we did this.  And, you know what?, we pulled this thing off pretty damn well.

What great fun it has been, sharing this adventure with these students.  We’ve listened and we’ve learned, we’ve played (sometimes too rough, perhaps), but we’ve laughed so hard.   I hope my students understand just a little bit about how much I care about them.  Of how I want them to be so successful.  To be happy, to live.  And if I’ve given them a little bit of help & support along that path, I guess that I am doing what I want so much to do.  It’s not about the photos, is it?  Not for me.

Yours truly, with Jonathan and Margaux.

Just under my not-so-thick skin lives a lifelong summer camp counselor, and that’s the role I try to take when I am blessed with the extraordinary opportunity to be with “my” kids.  I thrive on being a part of their lives, however big or small that part can or needs to be.  To be included in the inside jokes, sometimes even starting them, and of being a part of the team.  To be close.  To be able to talk & share.  Not as the teacher, not as the adult, but as a member of the group.  Perhaps some of my peers would snicker at my desired role, “you’re not supposed to be their friend, you’re supposed to be their teacher.”  Sure, they can do that.  And some of my colleagues do that very well.  But that role is not for me.  My role is to be inside, in a leadership role.  At least, that is the role I hope I can play and teach.

So, gang, thank you.  Thank you for accepting me as a part of the team, for leaning on my shoulder and for letting me lean on yours.  You don’t know how much that means to me, even if you weren’t aware that I was doing it.  And though our class may be coming to an end, I hope and pray that our friendships, our laughter, our enjoyment of being with and around each other will continue.  You know how to reach me.  Winter, spring, summer or fall.  You’ve got a friend.  And I’ll come running.

Free inside joke at 8pm on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, when we are done and I am on my way home, it will be too quiet.

Photos by Robin Norlén.

Tags: action photo, friendship, Photography, winterim

I needed one more trip on Amtrak this year to achieve “Select” status.  Wow, I’m special.  So why not take a day trip to Chicago?  Boarded the Capitol Limited in Toledo at 6:00 AM, arrived into Chicago a few hours later.  Walked around town — and walked.  More walking in one day than should be humanly possible.  But had a great time.  I was prepared for a dreary, cold, rainy and windy day — which it was, except for the dreary part.

While walking towards the Museum Campus, I passed Grant Park.  Found my own piece of history to record:

Grant Park

Close Up - "Witnessing Change"

Millennium Park was my favorite destination of the day. In the amphitheater, they were playing an artistic interpretation of sounds from a train station. It was one of those things that show I’m not sure about some kinds of art. I just didn’t get it. That said, I did do something that everyone who visits Chicago does, and that’s taking photos of the “bean” sculpture (officially, the “Cloud Gate“):

Cloud Gate

At Night

I hiked up Michigan Avenue, found the Apple Store and decided that I really do want a new MacBook. All I can do is want, for now, though. At 8:00 PM, I ventured back to Union Station and boarded the Lake Shore Limited and enjoyed an excellent conversation at the sleeping-car reception before we left town.  Make it back to Toledo a bit early, at about 3:15 AM.   A few other photos from around Chicago:

More photos are on my Flickr page.

Tags: chicago, grant park