I take plenty of people-focused street photographs, but some of my favorite photo outings include urban scenes without people—simply capturing light, shadow, and textures.
“What have people left behind,” Sean asks in this video, which is a great discussion about how street photography can include remnants of people if not people themselves.
So far, so good.
I’ve successfully launched four email newsletters this year. Not bad for starting totally fresh.
Content-wise, I’ve covered everything from sunshine to digicams and shared proud parent moments and books I’m into. Along the way, I’ve also added some new subscribers (thanks!).
Catch some of the action by subscribing here. I hope to see you in your inbox.
I’m back with another Thomas Fransson film emulation for Canon cameras. This time, it’s time for a Fuji film simulation.
Thomas released Pro Neigh High, a Fuji-inspired picture profile pack for Canon. I loaded Pro Neigh Standard, one of the options, into my Canon 5D Mark II and took a few laps around the yard on a cold winter morning to test it out.
And? It’s fine. Lots of strength in the blues, but otherwise, nothing remarkable.
Then I took a warm morning and drove up to Leslie, Michigan, to test Pro Neigh Standard, one of the other options in Thomas’s film pack. There, I was truly in my favored conditions: high contrast, lots of light:
And again, nothing remarkable except those bright, saturated blues. Especially against bright buildings and white/beige, the blues truly pop with this film simulation.
Fuji film – actual film – tends to highlight the cooler colors like green and blue. But with this emulation, it’s mainly all about the blues. Every other color takes a backseat.
One additional test I could do is in the summertime, with foliage and greenery, like I did in my Kodak test last summer.
Another test includes some people photos to test skin tones. I brought along Pro Neigh High to church with us to grab some images of the kids, both inside and outside. Here is where Pro Neigh High does not shine:
Skin tones are, frankly, not great. Everything has this beige undertone, not at all natural or pleasing. In fact, the Pro Neg emulation takes away everything I love about Canon colors. Instead, most everything is flat and unappealing.
After these tests, this pack won’t be one of my three custom Canon picture profiles on any of my cameras. But that’s no shade on Thomas – he does great work, and maybe there are Fujifilm lovers out there who think this film emulation is just what they need, especially for vide work.
Grab the profile on Thomas’s Gumroad page and test it out yourself. He also gives a quick run-down on how to install these film simulations on your camera on his YouTube channel.
This early in March? We Michiganders know better.
Shot on the Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2.
Our middle daughter, Madelyn, was born to perform.
Last year, she had a starring role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And for the past few months, she’s been working on writing and performing her own song for our elementary school’s winter concert.
In late January, she hit the stage – and nailed it.
The whole concert focused on well-being, kindness, and self-realization. Madelyn’s song centered on overcoming anxiety and doing your best in spite of obstacles. She stood there, spotlighted on the stage in front of the whole school, and sang her heart out.
My wife wrote about the community collaboration it took to get this concert up and running with the school’s integrated arts teacher, and the benefits of music for the kids:
The impact of music in elementary education—especially in today’s post-pandemic world—cannot be overstated. Children are facing higher levels of anxiety, decreased attention spans, and increased dependence on screen-based dopamine stimulation. Public schools, now more than ever, need programming that fosters resilience, emotional regulation, and connection.
Don’t we all need a bit more of those, too?
Thankfully, our elementary school was open to the idea, and we saw it pay off at the concert.
It’s a crazy world out there. Thank goodness for music.
It is golden not to have any rule at all. – Henry David Thoreau
The rules? The rules do not apply.
I often drive by perfect scenes or interesting settings and add them to my mental “I have to photograph that” list.
My list is pretty long, and the geography of it stretches across counties and even states.
When I’m on the highway, I must drive by this little one-room schoolhouse a thousand times on my way to work. When I do, I think, “I have to grab that little building out in that field.”
Sometimes, the light isn’t right, or I don’t have time on my commute. But on this day I did, so I grabbed an old Nikon D700 we have at work and tromped out into the snowy field to photograph the little schoolhouse around sunset.
One by one, I check these little scenes off my list.
Do you want to know the benefits of being a hobbyist photographer?
No pressure.
No client to please. No money to make. No expectations. No deadlines.
If I’m working on a big portrait project, the only deadlines or expectations are the ones I put on myself. And I do, but no one else knows that. It’s just me.
I can go out on a foggy winter morning, after dropping off the kids at school but before heading to work, and explore. Just me and my own desire to make something, see something, photograph something.
There’s no pressure. And it means everything.
I originally shared a list of projects photographers could tackle during the initial COVID lockdowns five years ago.
In my latest video, I take a colder take on that list, though the advice is the same: take winter time and do some photography maintenance.
I think the pain and frustration we feel when we’re confronted with our lack of talent and skill is also the path to overcoming our talent ceiling. The pain an athlete feels when exercising is the proof that they are getting stronger.
Shawn Blanc: Overcoming the Talent Ceiling
Bingo. I’m always thinking, “I wish I could do that.” So usually, I go out and learn how. And keep at it until I’m satisfied or move on.
My recent trip to Arizona included a stay in a sprawling resort just outside of Phoenix. Throughout the work conference, we never had to leave the place: golf, dinner, swimming, hiking. It was all there.
The sun was also always there, with light bouncing off the faux adobe façades. That, combined with the bright colors, made for a photography feast.
Winter makes the sun a little lower in the sky, meaning there wasn’t a bad time to walk around and make pictures.
And that’s fitting for my way of doing things: I use photography as a way to explore a new place. Walk around, look for good light, capture what I see – that’s 90% of photography for me.
Luckily, I had lots to see and photograph here in Arizona.
Shot on the Canon R.
Embrace the discomfort of going out alone, of putting the phone away, of talking to strangers, of existing through a time of rapid and overwhelming change. Remember that we are in a revolution, but that revolution itself is nothing new; it only manifests in new ways.
If you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, discomfort becomes the norm and is easier to process, while comfort becomes the exception to the rule. More importantly though, if you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, you can get in touch with the only thing that really matters in times of uncertainty and change: your humanity. Stay human. Talk to humans. Help humans out.
Ali’s Thoughts (Ali from One Month Two Cameras)
I’m kissing Squarespace goodbye and moving my two portrait projects to my blog. Instead of sending web traffic somewhere else, Artists In Jackson and Musicians In Jackson—as they’re updated—will live here, where visitors can learn more about my other projects.
As I was putting together the project landing pages, I remembered JTV’s Bart Hawley Show featured Musicians In Jackson late in 2019, but I never shared that conversation on this blog.
So here it is. And many thanks to Bart for having me on to talk about my musicians and artists portrait projects.
Last year, we took a family trip to California that rebooted my whole year.
I’m still feeling the effects of that winter trip filled with gorgeous West Coast sunshine. A week full of vitamin D does a body, and a spirit, good.
That’s why I looked so forward to a recent work trip to Phoenix, Arizona. The forecast? Sunny and mid 70s. Perfect for this winter-worn Michigander.
We had a few chances to stroll through the Sonoran Desert surrounding our conference resort, through the Phoenix Mountains Preserve near North Moutain Park. One morning we traveled with a hiking company, through a tunnel under the road, and wandered around a valley to watch the sun come up.
On the other side, we watched the sun set over a nice BBQ dinner. In both cases, the desert light never left.
Shot on the Canon R and either the RF 50mm f/1.8 or 24-105mm f/4.
Nothing like winter to add a little more color into our lives.
This was the girls’ doing: a new bed, new paint, and new, big-girl furniture.
Shot on the OG Canon EOS M and EF-M 22mm f/2.
Photographer Jorge Quinteros, with some good “keep a fun fund” advice:
The real challenge isn’t in upgrading your tools, it’s in upgrading yourself.
That’s when the investment shifts. Instead of pouring money into a new lens you don’t actually need, you start to invest in the work itself. The personal projects. The stories you want to tell, the places you want to explore.
It’s true that I upgraded my original Canon M early last year with the Canon M200.
As the year went on and I used it more and more, a little itch in the back of my brain started. The itch, which weirdly has a voice, started saying, “Using this camera should be easier – and more fun, like your original Canon M was.”
What the itch said was also true.
Some of those true things included:
Last March, I said:
There aren’t many buttons or options, it’s not the toughest model, and you don’t have the in-the-hand control you have on a more advanced camera. But coming from the original M, the M200 felt at home in my hands.
“Trust your instincts,” the itch said, and there I was with this 2019-era mirrorless camera that did not bring me joy.
With all these truths in mind, I went back and looked to see if I could still upgrade to a Canon M6 mark II. The price was still high, and it still wasn’t widely available. That’s when my budget-friendly brain had an idea:
What if I bought an original and used Canon M6?
It doesn’t have all the modern bells and whistles of the mark II, but it does have:
And, little itch, the silver version looks kind of cool, cashing in on the retro silver-and-black look of film SLRs and rangefinders.
So that’s what I did: I purchased a refurbished Canon M6 and sold off my M200.
Here are some glamour shots with the EF-M 32mm f/1.4, taken on the Canon 5D and EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.
So far? I dig the M6. I love the improved ergonomics, retro styling, faster speed, and manual controls – especially the bumpy, knurled dials for aperture or ISO.
A few things I don’t love:
Those quirks tell me that modern cameras, with so many hybrid demands put on them, are never perfect. My Canon 5D is perfect. Everything else has limitations or annoyances.
The above shot shows me using the M6 exclusively on a new photo project to learn my new camera.
This leads to the larger question about my camera strategy: what am I going to keep, and why do I need a different system than my EOS+EF system?
With the M6, it’s so far, so good. This combined with my old, clunky (but reliable) M as a backup, and I’ve got an old+new system similar to my Canon 5D plus 6D.
I brought the M6 with me to Austin, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico. It served me well during the holidays and on random photo outings. It feels so much better in the hand.
It also quieted the itch.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sharing more of my (rare) black and white work on Flickr this month.
It’s cold out there.
Parts of the U.S. are facing an arctic blast – one of those goofy named weather phenomena. In the past few winters, we haven’t had much winter action in Michigan. So on this occasion, I laced up my snow boots and walked around the neighborhood to see what five degrees felt like.
The bright sun and crisp air were nice for a brief minute. But then the wind would pick up and I felt like my face was stinging.
Not much moves on mornings like this.
Shot on the Canon 5D classic and EF 40mm f/2.8.
I always want to do more night photography. Living in a small city, there’s not a lot of opportunity to grab night images like I’d like to.
Thanks to Austin, however, I had a great chance to tour around a decent-sized city to capture light, shadow, and color. My co-worker and I also stumbled on a commercial filming shoot taking place on 6th Street, near Voodoo Donuts, which provided an interesting behind-the-scenes view into a commercial production.
This night out inspired me so much that I thought, hey, Detroit’s not that far away. It might be worth a visit to get more of these kinds of photos.
The trip also inspired me to continue working on a long-term night photography project closer to home. More on that soon.
This weekend, I made a thing.
It’s funny to see the recent digicam craze. Everything old eventually becomes new again, and sure enough, it’s the classic point-and-shoot camera’s time to shine.
So, after a big snowstorm this weekend, I hiked into the Kate Palmer Wildlife Sanctuary here in Jackson, Michigan, to take my trusty Canon PowerShot SD750 on a photo walk in the woods. I also shared a few classic and recent shots with the PowerShot – a camera I used for years, on many trips, from 2007 up until I bought my Canon Rebel T1i in 2010.
Bringing it out into the woods reminded me of a few things:
I can see the charm. These younger generations want something imperfect. Film is difficult and expensive, so classic digital is the practical (and affordable) way to go.
This PowerShot will stay with me until it’s dead. It’s still fun to bring it out once in a while and remind myself that, for a long time, this was the best I had.
Let’s try this again.
After I launched my Artists In Jackson project, I also launched an email newsletter to keep my subjects and buyers updated. Over time, it became a periodic vehicle to share what I was doing, interested in, or working on.
Then, midway through the pandemic, I lost it. I couldn’t bring myself to work on it like I wanted to, and the newsletter slipped away from me. Mailchimp closed my account for inactivity, and I lost all the momentum I had built.
Now I’m relaunching my email newsletter with beehiiv, and I invite you and anyone interested to sign up (or re-sign up) and join me as I get this thing started again.
I’m shooting for monthly or bi-weekly, and I may try out a few new formatting ideas, but mostly, this newsletter will be an update, a few items I found around the internet, and some new blog posts.
Subscribe here, and talk soon:
