Well, I've been at camp for two weeks and sadly, am going home tomorrow. Had a great time, but didn't shoot or post nearly as much as I planned to. Ah well. Here is a picture of Emily and a friend, practicing a dance for the big camp talent show.
(Click the photo to see it bigger)

I shot pictures of a bunch of great kids at the IronMen Health Center in Mancelona this week. In addition to being an excellent model, Ashley was interested in photography herself and got a chance to take some pictures of her own. Kyle was a great helper all afternoon long and we shot his pictures with a cool vintage bicycle. Thanks Ashley and Kyle!
(As always, you can click the photo to see it bigger)

Well.... I had the best of intentions to blog every day while away at camp. Hasn't quite worked out that way what with less shooting than I planned, competing [recreational] responsibilities, and general laziness on my part. Here is a photo from today. It was Messy Day (Again! And yes, camp does have other activities besides Messy Day!) which reminded me I hadn't posted anything so here I am. (Click on the photo to see it bigger).

It summer, so I'm off to camp. I went to summer camp as a kid and liked it well enough. I fell in love with camp as a college student who spent summers as a camp counselor. Too old for that now, but I still go back to camp for two weeks every summer (now as camp doctor). I've been doing it for so long-- 29 years now-- that's it's become something of a home-away-from-home. I do shoot a lot at camp, though the pictures can be hit-or-miss. I'll try to blog every day, though internet access is dicey. Here's a camp picture from a year or two ago.

I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful young lady this past weekend. Here's one of the pictures. Click on it to see it full size!

I had the chance to take pictures of Lenore, her twin brother Larry, and their older brother Spike. OK.... So these are not their real names, but these are the names I used for them all afternoon. Lenore (really Isabella) had a ballet recital following our shoot, so had changed into her ladybug tutu. Couldn't resist shooting this, even though we were "all done". Lesson learned: You are NEVER all done.

Did pictures this weekend of this great little girl. She had just taught herself how to ride a two-wheeler and she was very proud of her new Strawberry Shortcake bicycle . She was a whirlwind of activity for the entire time we shot together, except for a few rare quiet moments. Here are some pictures....

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of my U.S. friends.

Remember the shy girl with the lamb? Well here she is after she warmed up a bit to the idea of being photographed. Gotta love those Dora-the-Explorer shades!

I've always loved small details like this pigtail on my cousin Gracie.

While doing portraits this weekend, this young lady was not at all interested in having her picture taken (at first), but she did allow me to photograph her lamb instead. She worked hard, without much success, to get the lamb to smile. Icksnay on the hands (again).

Had the chance to do a lot of shooting this weekend, including lots of brothers and sisters. This is one of my favorites from the weekend (something that I like more than the parents will). It's the hands. I have always had a thing for hands and I really like what the hands are doing in this picture.

After what seems like the forever winter, looking forward to days that look like this one....

Here is an outtake from the same shoot I posted from last week. This photo is clearly not a keeper, but I am strangely drawn to photos like these anyways. I like the feeling that the photo is happening in "layers".... I like the crazy movement through the foreground. And I especially like it when the foreground interest is wildly out-of-focus. Go figure.

Kerry and Abby again.... Kerry is sitting on the floor and the dancing fool is Abby.

During a recent trip to North Carolina, I had the pleasure of shooting Kerry and Abby (or is that Abby and Kerry). Despite yucky cold weather, we managed to have some fun and make some nice pictures. Here they are!

For those who followed my not-always-weekly postings on my old web site, you may have discovered that my site has morphed into something very different. I still plan to post kinda-sorta-weekly pictures, but will now do so here.

Had the opportunity to shoot recently at the Red Rock Canyon (outside of Las Vegas). Here's one from that shoot.

From today's walk: The East Budapest Train Station at midday.

By the way.... some of you may not know that you can see a larger view of the picture by clicking on it. Lots of cool little details in this one....

Spent the entire day walking semi-aimlessly around Budapest. Saw lots of interesting things. Here's one of them.

Spent all day today in City Park.... in the company of native Hungarians and far from tourists. Met the family of this little girl (and her twin sister) and they were kind enough to let me photograph her.

And have I mentioned that Budapest is romantic city too? We were saying tonight over dinner that public displays of affection (read: conspicuous smooching in public) is WAY more common here than it is in the States. But no smooching pictures. Here's a different kind of romantic....

First full day in Budapest. It's a sprawling city of more than 1.5 million, so I have only scratched the surface. Lots of people out and about... even on Sunday... and there seems to be a very healthy and vibrant cafe lifestyle.

More diversity than Prague. More beggars too. And hustlers.

Lots of people have dogs (sorry.... there will be no dog pictures from me).

Lots of kids around. Most are happy to be photographed.

Day 6. Spent the entire day on the train from Prague to Budapest. What was supposed to be a 7 hour trip became a 9 hour trip-- make your own jokes about Eastern Europe trains not running on time here-- due to (depending on which story you believe) mechanical failure, a highway accident, or the train striking a pedestrian. We arrived late, but safely.

First impressions of Budapest is that it is a more hip city. The people look really good. Many fewer tourists.

No pictures from today. Instead, here is a picture shot last night in Prague. These "fast food" sausage stands dot the pedestrian areas. For those whose Czech is a little rusty, Menu 1 is a pork cutlet, menu 3 is fried cheese on a bun, and menu 2 is a Vaclek sausage (think natural casing hot dog, twice as big around, sharply spicy, and with a great "snap" when you bite into it). God only know what gets ground up into these, but they were REALLY good and I will miss eating them.

Day 5.... Last day in Prague. Went to see the 2007 World Press Photo show. The winning photo is a strong picture but has been somewhat controversial. Further info here: www.worldpressphoto.org

We leave on an early morning train to Budapest. I will miss the beautiful city and the extremely friendly people. I will not miss the masses of tourists which I'm told are absent in Budapest.

Here is another record shot which gives the flavor of the Prague neighborhoods and streets. This was taken just outside the Cafe Slavia, a historic focal point of the Prague art/photo scene.

Day 4. Trying to capture some of the must-see sites without making picture postcards. This is the statue of St. Wenceslas at the end of Wenceslas Square, just in front of the National Museum. Most of important Czech history happened on this spot, including the founding of the Czech Republik in 1918, the Soviet invasion in1968, and the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Now, there's a McDonalds on the corner.

Tomorrow is my last day in Prague.... then on to Budapest

Days remain full and jam-packed with activities. Met another wonderful Czech photographer named Marketa Luskacova. See her work at www.marketaluskacova.com .

Despite the language barrier, I am becoming more comfortable approaching people to ask to photograph them. Most are surprisingly agreeable. Shooting a lot. More than 400 frames today. Who could have imagined doing this with film.

Although there both a subway and bus system, transportation in Prague is largely by tram. Many photo opportunities like this one.

Prague is a city of contrasts. In some ways, it is very dark, gritty, and fits the “Eastern Europe” stereotype in every conceivable way. In other ways, Prague is beautiful, cosmopolitan, modern, liberal, and seems to be a place that lots of Europeans are delighted to visit.

Spent most of the day today shooting. Here’s a sense of what the city looks like….

First full day in Prague. The day was surprisingly full: Workshop class, then a visit and portfolio by a [wonderful] Czech photographer named Karel Cudlin, then a long afternoon of shooting, then dinner, and now lastly, a late night of post-processing so that I will have some work to show the group tomorrow. Prague is a beautiful city, but teeming with tourists (at least in the parts I have visited so far). I’ll explore a wider circle tomorrow.

All my fears about the communicating were for naught…. It IS true that the Czech language is seemingly unrelated to any language I have ever spoken or heard before, and simple words like “thank you” involve trying to pronounce long strings of consonants strung together in ways that are unpronounceable. But, contrary to what I was led to believe, EVERYONE (including all of the kids that I photographed) speaks at least some English, so no worries.

I’ll try to include a record shot of the city skyline in the next day or two. In the meantime, here is something I shot today.

I will be traveling to Prague and Budapest in several weeks and created this blog to share my travels with you (Thanks Frank!)