| January 2009 |
Vol 3, Issue 1
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| Dear Reader, |
"We will open the book. Its
pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book
is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." - Edith Lovejoy Pierce, Poet b.1904
And
so here we are - on the doorstep of 2009, ready to knock on its door -
not exactly sure what lies on the other side. In 2008, we experienced
the downturn of the economy, witnessed turmoil in many foreign
countries, and heard countless reports of corruption in business. It's
no wonder we're all holding our collective breaths waiting to see what
struggles lie ahead for our world! We can only try to rally around the
upcoming changes in government and hope for the best.
Interestingly
enough, I've come to discover something - downturns are an open
invitation to focus on the things that really matter in life, such as
religion, family, friends, inspiration, creativity and art. When you
can't control the big picture, it's comforting to control a bit of your
immediate choices and surroundings.
You can win a FREE 8x10 print for forwarding this email to a friend
who appreciates photography and the outdoors. I only ask that you play
fair - no one likes to receive unwanted email. If you haven't picked up
a calendar for yourself this year, check the end of this email for a
very special offer!
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| Winter Wonderland |
 Photographing
outdoors in winter can be a tricky endeavor. Brightly lit snow is about
1.5 - 2 stops brighter than 18% (medium) gray - which is what your
hand-held or built in camera meter expects to see. Therefore, when
metering a scene with large expanses of snow the meter (which doesn't
know the difference between water, grass or snow) - simply exposes it
as medium gray. As a result, your images will just look flat, dull and
lacking in contrast.
It's
a great idea to bracket all of the shots you take. This means - taking
several different exposures of the same scene. Change the ISO settings
and the exposure settings to 1 and +2 of what the camera automatically
wants to set itself, and see which works best. Bracket your
images whenever possible, and just deleting the
files that were obviously over or under exposed. Just keep the good
ones!
 Obviously,
you must take care with camera equipment in frigid conditions. The
problem, surprisingly, often isn't taking the camera from the warm
indoors to the cold air - but rather, bringing your camera back
indoors. Once you're
out in the cold, the best thing is to keep your gear out there until
you are finished shooting. If you must bring
your gear back inside, you need to protect it from the condensation
that will appear. You can place the camera inside of a plastic bag, and
the condensation will settle on the outside of the bag. Often, I bring
my bag in and leave it zipped to allow it to gradually warm up to room
temperature before opening it up. I also keep my extra batteries in an
inside pocket next to my body to keep them warm - nothing seems to
drain batteries faster than cold temps!
Here's a great article on capturing great cold weather photographs from the New York Institute of Photography online.
 In
Michigan, photographing in the winter months can be a difficult task.
This year, it hasn't been due to lake of snow - but the lack of light!
Us Michiganders had only about 8 hours of sunshine the entire month of
December. That's 3.6% of possible sunshine! Thankfully I managed to get
out there on a Saturday afternoon where there was a little bit of
light.
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| Your Moment is Here |
Experience a daily photographic journey though some scenic locations throughout the
Great Lakes State - from backyard settings, local parks and our
beautiful lakeshores! |
| Upcoming Events |
No January Events Currently Scheduled
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| Retail Locations |
FRENZ COFFEE
4 E. Bridge Street
Rockford, MI 49341
Phone: 616.863.8750
ROBINETTE'S WINERY
and ART GALLERY
3142 4 Mile Road NE
Grand Rapids, MI
Phone: 616.361.7180
NEW HOURS:
Jan. 6 - Mid March:
9-5 on Tues-Sat
(closed Sun & Mon
during this time). Visit the Apple Haus for wine tastings and sales. The red Gift barn will reopen
mid-March.
the SPECIALTY SHOP at Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion
Mon - Fri:
8:30 am - 5 pm
145 Michigan NE
3rd Floor
Grand Rapids, MI
Phone: 616.486.5910
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| It's Magic! |
Hosting a corporate party or special event? Give your celebration some real flair!
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| Pure Michigan Photo Contest |
The
New Year brings an exciting new opportunity and challenge to my
photography career. I'm pleased to announce I have been chosen as one
of ten photographers to compete in the first annual Pure Michigan Photo Contest (Pro Division).
Each selected photographer
has been partnered with a Michigan Convention and Visitors
Bureau (CVB). We will be photographing in that designated geographic
area for four months, "hosted" by the CVB, who will assist in providing
photographic opportunities as
often as is reasonable.
Four months are dedicated so photographers have the opportunity to
photograph throughout the entire spring season.
At
the end of the four months, each photographer will submit their 30 best
images. Those images will appear online and in a hard-cover book
titled, Pure Michigan-Spring Scenic Places along with the photographer's bio, photo and web site information.
The following photographers were selected to compete this spring for the chance at the $5000 cash prize:
- Benzie County: Drew Smith of Arlington, VA
- Blue Water / Port Huron: David A. Vore of Flint, MI
- Flint & Genesee County: Kent Miller of Bay
City, MI
- Frankenmuth: Sam Tang of Wixom, MI
- Grand Rapids: Steven
Walker of Kalamazoo, MI
- Kalamazoo: James Ramirez of San Francisco,
CA
- Marquette: Brent Kauth of Minneapolis, MN
- Muskegon / White Lake: Stacy Niedzwiecki of Rockford, MI
- Saginaw: George Faerber of Columbus,
OH
- Traverse City: Jon Holderer of Remsenburg, NY
I'm very much looking forward to assisting the Muskegon / White Lake
area to capture photos of the best their area has to offer. I'd love
for you all to cheer me on - it appears I may be the only female
photographer in this very accomplished group of competitors!
The competition begins on March 1, 2009 and ends on June 30, 2009. I'm sure I'll be writing more about this event later in the year. I get to meet my Chamber team on Wednesday, January 14th.
Meanwhile, I invite you to enjoy the online portfolio (requires Flash) I assembled for the review. If you happen to be interested in any of the images featured, please feel free to contact me.
Additionally, for those of you who are shutterbugs... there is also an online photo contest open to anyone - both amateur and professional photographers. There are some very good prizes - give it a try and submit your own! |
| The REST of the Story... |
 The
photos and stories from our Washington, DC trip are finally finished.
In November, we won a trip to the 2008 Adventurer of the Year Gala for National Geographic ADVENTURE magazine. So many readers have asked about our trip details - that I've decided to
do a trip summary on my blog rather than attempt to re-tell the story many
times over.
 The
full stories and a number of photos have been posted on my blog in five
sections - one for each day of the trip plus the event itself:
To recap, in November 2008 - I learned I had won the Grand Prize in an email contest sponsored by National Geographic ADVENTURE Magazine. We received two all-access passes to their third annual Adventurer of the Year Celebration,
to include our flight and accommodations. I was chosen after submitting
a short email statement describing a favorite adventure destination in
150 words or less. Many of you have asked if the statement will be published -
truth be told, I'm pretty sure this was random drawing. We were just
plain fortunate enough to have been selected.
  The
highlight of the trip, of course - was meeting the Adventurers
themselves. You can't really appreciate the scope of why they were
being honored, unless you read their amazing stories in detail. I
strongly encourage you to do so. You can pick up the December 2008/January 2009 issue of ADVENTURE (on news stands now), or see their stories online: Meet the 2008 Adventurers of the Year.
 Sadly - at the time of publishing this eNewsletter, I learned of the tragic death of one of the Adventurers - Mr. Rob Gauntlett. He fell while climbing in the French Alps along with a friend, on Saturday, January 10th.
My
husband Russ and I only met him briefly, but the loss of someone so
young and courageous is just so sad. We offer our condolences to all of
his family and friends.
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Michigan Moments
2009 Calendars
Special Offer! |
Still
wondering what day it is? Didn't manage to get 2009 calendar for your
home or office? Here's the solution! Grab a beautiful calendar on sale
while supplies last... and enjoy Michigan Moments all year long:
Shop with a secure PayPal transaction - or send me an email to let me know you'd like order a calendar.
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Offer Good While Supplies Last. Coupon not valid for any other artist featured at the www.MichiganMoments site.
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| Investing Locally... |
 The human
desire for pleasure and fulfillment is no less than it ever was, even
when there are financial worries. Some people have finally discovered buying locally
is an
extremely smart investment. It supports the good stuff that makes a
community livable. For example, a piece of artwork can bring aesthetic
comfort to home, when a trip to an exotic location is currently out of
financial reach. I've personally made a point to shop at smaller retail stores,
farm markets and refer to local talent. It's
very heart-warming to know many of you are also doing what you can to help our local economy.
Happy Birthday wishes go out to my husband Russ (see his very special cake!), sister-in-law Maria Kieliszewski, great-nephew Kaius Peters, our aunt Darlene Cimochowicz - and to friends Tad Smedes, Maria Bucek Orr, Teresa Newmarch, and Todd Marlette!
Remember, if you'd like - remind me of an important date so I can include your special day in the next newsletter!
With much appreciation for your words of encouragement and continued support!
Stacy |
Stacy Niedzwiecki
Creative Solutions
Web: www.StacyN.com
Current News: www.StacyN.com/wordpress
Your Daily Michigan Moment: www.MichiganMoments.com
Look around and experience the natural beauty surrounding us each and every day.
You'll be pleasantly surprised by what you find!
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