When Eric and I were up in Leelanau a couple of weekends ago, we visited Christmas Cove Farm in Northport to pick up some apples. And, while we didn’t pick them ourselves, this place is more than you would ever imagine stumbling upon. They have hundreds of different varieties of apples for sale in their barn, sort of a little apple wonderland. I was in heaven taking photos… of apples. To me, it was a perfect way to spend a fall morning enjoying all of the little things I love about the fall in Michigan. So cheers to apples and orchards and perfect fall days! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

It was fascinating reading about all of the different kinds of apples they had and all of the colors were so brilliant!

Apple. Wonderland!

I loved something about these containers… just waiting to be filled up with some more bright apples at any minute.

It took us a while to read about all of the different kinds of apples and decide which we wanted to take home but we walked out with Macoun and Bread & Butter apples (which, as they noted, are great with bread and cheese!). Macouns are delicious!

I’m also taking the opportunity to meet up with some friends that I hiked with back in 2007 and some new friends that just finished the trail last month. It’ll be a whirlwind but I bet I’ll get to photograph some pretty amazing things along the way!

Until Monday, I may be a little slower than normal to respond but don’t fret, I’ll be back. For now, here are some images from my introduction to New Jersey when I saw it for the very first time along the Appalachian Trail. It really is a beautiful place.

Shortly after seeing this sunset, we stopped hiking and camped amidst these tall grasses. The next morning, I found the most incredible spiderweb which you’ll see in the image below it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Here’s the view from the cottage:

So, I couldn’t choose between the next two. I love the big, bold sky in the next one but I also love its reflections on the lake in the one after that.

These colors make me happy! I’m so lucky I was able to explore and find them all. When I was in Leelanau in the summer, it was a totally different world. It’s amazing how different a place can look.

Pumpkins! All kinds of pumpkins!

We stopped to take some photos of these guys specifically for our nephew, Nathan, so he could say, “moo.” He makes such cute animal noises.

And this last one I just love. Yes, it’s on an angle and no, that’s not perfect. But it was pitch black outside and I was hoping for the best! Those stars make me think I’m dreaming…

Happy fall to you! Hope you’re enjoying the colors and the wonder of the season.

If I’m a little slower to reply to emails, forgive me. But I’ll get back to you as soon as possible and maybe even on the drive home as the red, orange, and yellow leaves whiz by me…

And while I’m here talking about places that will never get old for me, I leave you with an image from Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park in Maine, all three of which can be added to my list of places I will never tire of in their respective order of specificity. I took this photo when I was there in the summer of 2008 for the third time. It just keeps getting more majestic.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and get to visit some place that makes you happy!

Hope these make you daydream a little.

During the month of September, families of deployed soldiers are welcomed to work with local photographers to capture some amazing images that will be sent to their loved one in time for the holidays – all at no cost to the family. This is an amazing opportunity and I’m so excited that I will get to help show my appreciation to our soldiers in this way.

If you are part of a military family, click on the photo below to get some more information and learn how to get connected with a photographer.

I’m going to try to get this right and keep it at least semi-interesting. I’m still not sure why anyone would want to follow my random thoughts contained in 140 characters on Twitter but, if you do, you can find my tweets here.  And if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings via Facebook, you can find my page here. I would love to stay connected with you this way! Maybe we can swap dinner descriptions.

I will also get to hang out with one of my very best friends and college roommate, Paula, just before she moves out of the city and down south to start talking with twang and brewing homemade sweet tea for the rest of her days (love you, P.Vev).

I’ll be back next week with lots and lots of things to blog! For now, here’s a shot of one of the bridges in Central Park and one from my walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Both are from my first visit to New York City. Happy weekend to all!  

I posted an image on my blog that had what I thought was an endearing amount of flare but I wasn’t sure how anyone else would feel about it. And then I received a comment from a complete stranger who actually liked my flare. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, I went on to check out this commenter’s own blog. That’s when I knew I was in for something good. One of the first pages I visit on another photographer’s website is the “About Me” page so that’s where I was headed.  The first image I saw was of Sean Norman surrounded by blocks of ice. I immediately knew the photo had been taken in an ice hotel so I started exploring for more details. I had never actually known anyone who had been to an ice hotel! Every page was better than the next and I took each one in as my jaw dropped lower and lower. I closed Sean’s site completely inspired. And my coworkers can tell you about the small obsession I had with ice hotels for a few days there.

So for the past couple of weeks, I’ve gotten to know Sean of Norsea Photography through emails and blog notes and have found lots of inspiration just oozing off the screen each time I’ve checked out his images. Imagine my surprise when I was visiting my Google Reader yesterday morning and read Sean’s “Confessions From Behind the Glass” as he talked about using artificial light and the challenges that some of us have dreamed up about mastering lighting techniques. My jaw dropped just like the first time I’d visited his blog when saw the note he’d written about me.

I share my excitement here only because it gave me yet another jolt of energy about the world of photography that I am entering into and I’d love to have a record of that thrill here. I’m so glad to know that I’ll be working in such a generous and kind industry and that I’ll be able to meet all kinds of people – no matter how far away they are. So, thanks to Sean for the kind words and larger than life images. Here’s one I grabbed off of his blog. I bet it’ll make you look at the sky differently next time you see it! 

It was a great time and it was great to meet several other photographers from around the state. A special thanks to Jackie at MTPPA for putting the event together, Jeff and Anna for humoring us all on such an unseasonable day, and Jason for spending the day sharing some photo wisdom. Here’s the lovely couple: 

I loved how Jeff kept trying to warm up Anna’s hands for her…

You’d never know how truly cold they were, would you?

Congratulations on your engagement, Jeff and Anna!