MyParkPhotos.com

For those of you who like to visit parks around Michigan (in fact - all over the world!), take a visit to MyParkPhotos.com.

MyParkPhotos.com is an online photography and Blogging community for those who enjoy visiting public lands from any country, including local, state, provincial, and national parks, wildlife refuges, forests and trails, and sharing their photographs and experiences with others.

I have submitted quite a bit of my work at this site over time, and even won two monthly categories in January 2007. Those images are now in the running to be featured in the beautiful wall calendar they produce.

For writing small comments at the site about the various parks I've visited, my name was put into a drawing for an American the Beautiful National Park pass. And - I won one in February! Now I can roam about at Sleeping Bear National Park this coming fall sans entrance and park fees - very nice!

Where Are You?

Well - I can be "found" in several locations around West Michigan! The following fine retailers carry an assortment of greeting cards and prints:

• Frenz Coffee
  Rockford
• Holland Area Arts Council Gallery
  Downtown Holland
• Robinette's Fine Art Gallery
  Grand Rapids

Stop by and pick up a wonderful Michigan image for someone on your gift list - including yourself!

Sleeping with the Bear - With a Snooze Alarm!

As if it wasn't exciting enough already...

The Glen Arbor Art Association informed me today that I can extend my artist residency for another week! There was a cancellation of sorts and they offered me the residency for two weeks instead of just one.

I now will be there from September 30 through October 14, 2007.

Artists who are chosen are asked to make a presentation to the community during their residency on the second Tuesday evening of their stay . If anyone is interested in taking a road trip to Glen Arbor and the Sleeping Bear Dunes - the presentation will be on Tuesday, October 9, 2007.

Come on up! The fall colors should be terrific! Yippee!

These are a Few of My...

Favorite Things! Some of my fav photos, in no particular order. Enjoy!

Eye See You...

And here's a few more Birds of Prey photos for you to enjoy:

Birds of Prey - Winter Workshop

A Wee Bit of Irish in All of Us...

A very happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you out there so inclined to celebrate this occasion!

Personally- I can't think of a better reason to drink a cold one, wear my favorite color, and listen to some GREAT music!

Some recommended listening:
Oxter/Mahone: A "mashup" of tracks from the CD "Pint of View" + 2 LIVE accrued!
OxterMahone_DemoSet2006_96kbps.mp3

Sleeping with the Bear...

Today, I was accepted into the Glen Arbor Art Association Artist Residency program! What a thrill for me to have an opportunity such as this.

The GAAA offers several creative residencies each year. In cooperation with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, participants work at Thoreson Farm, a farmstead in the historic Port Oneida district of the National Lakeshore. Its newly remodeled buildings provide studio space and overlook open fields and woodlands. The National Lakeshore includes several miles of spectacular Lake Michigan shoreline, wooded hills and the Crystal River. The goal of the residencies is to allow artists a respite in order to work and to leave the cares of the world behind to focus on their creative process.

For now, the plan is I will be in residence from September 30 through October 6, with a presentation to the community on the Tuesday evening of my stay. I plan to educate myself on the ecology of the Sleeping Bear region, and emphasize the importance of the Park as a place of pleasure and preservation via my photographic images. I hope my work will bring people new insights, enjoyment and understanding of such a wonderful place in our own state.

Here are some images I took one evening last June - when I decided I was completely smitten with the place!

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Snow. Oh. No?

Here's a photo of the snow. And a red barn. This blog post was a test to see if I could edit the blog from a remote location via my laptop. And it worked - I'm actually in the Black Rose Irish pub, drinking a beer in downtown Grand Rapids as I type this!

I'm pleased to know I can be mobile now and still maintain much of my ramblings. This should come in handy for quick uploading of photos from workshops, etc. But it's fun to do while having a nice cold draft from the tap as well...

We've had a lot of snow, considering it's now March. This image was taken Monday the 26th of February after another round of it. It's pretty and all - but I'm ready for a thaw and for the birds to return, the buds to bloom and for the soggy snow pants and wet boots to go away! Go ahead - tell me what you think about winter? Is it "thumbs up " or "thumbs down" for you?