Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor

What better way to spend time on Memorial Weekend than with fellow photographers at Matthaei Botanical Gardens?  It was beautiful, and what a great place to look for critters and practice “seeing” details.

Our first friendly visits were with geese, frogs, turtles and a muskrat.

Mama Goose and Goslings
Gosling
Frog
Muskrat
Turtle

We were kinda hoping that the mama goose would bite Brian, but we weren’t that lucky.  She just hustled her babies away.

After the critters, we concentrated on color, texture and tiny details.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Ann Arbor
Matthaei Botanical Gardens Ann Arbor

One of my favorites of the day 🙂

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Ann Arbor

And my partners in crime, Kiah and Brian.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Ann Arbor

Suggestions for our next outing?  I’m all ears!

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Tressie Davis is a blogger and photographer located in Chelsea, MI.

The Windy City – Chicago Rocks

The view from my hotel room

The last weekend in October, I left my family for a short trip to Chicago.  The “official” purpose of the trip was the Zenfolio Zoom Tour, where I would learn about all kinds of ways to make my website better.  Hopefully in the next few months I will be implementing what I learned.

“Unofficially”, I wanted to take pictures in Chicago and visit with my dear friend Vicki.

I signed up for a workshop with John Batdorff, to walk the streets of Chicago and to see it from the perspective of a resident.  I was not disappointed – no only did John show me lots of cool places to shoot, I learned a lot about shooting subjects that do not have eyes.  This is a struggle for me you know.

With John, I practiced seeing in black and white – spotting patterns within a scene or subject, and thinking about black and white conversions while I shoot.  I am by no means a landscape or architectural photographer, but I love how learning an unfamiliar type of photography can bring so many ideas and inspiration to the type of photography that I DO shoot.  And it was FUN.  Between shooting locations John and I chit chatted about our families, our photography, and very interesting things like the difference between a Booty Call and a Butt Dial.  But that’s a story for a different day.

Don’t forget to look up!!

A bonus Chicago tip from John:  The Ghirardelli store gives out a free chocolate to each person that walks in.  Dessert on John! (don’t worry, I won’t tell everyone you’re a cheap date)

Lunch with Vicki, shopping on the Miracle Mile, and some street performances rounded out the trip.  (Vicki I won’t tell the story about how you mailed post cards to my girls 4 years after they were written…love you xo)

I think I need to do this more often…



Even the pigeons were cold
Yay for beautiful friendships…
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Tressie Davis is a blogger and photographer located in Chelsea, MI.

Get in the Picture!

I am fanatic about photography.  After the word ‘no’ my children probably first said “no more pictures”.  Or at least they thought it.  There aren’t many fans of my paparazzi ways.  I can’t tell you how many photographs I have of the backs of heads as family would turn away from my camera, or hands put up to ward off the lens.

The drawbacks of my obsession with photography (other than those my family would list)?  I have an extremely difficult time publishing/printing imperfect images, even if they perfectly illustrate meaningful times of my life.  And while I love being behind the camera, I do not like being on the other side…I know that I am not alone, I can’t think of many people (with the exception of models) over the age of 6 that LIKE having their photo taken.

During the last several years, my family has suffered some very painful losses.  As we sorted through images, there were realizations that in some cases we had no record of entire YEARS, if not decades.  I also realized that if I didn’t get in front of the camera at least some of the time (and keep those “imperfect” images), my children would have nothing to remember me by – except pictures of them with everyone but me.

I will not let that happen to my loved ones, and neither should you.  Four tips to stay on track:

1. Remember to photograph everyone in your life, including yourself.  Do it frequently.  The images do not always have to be professional – simply having them is a blessing.  Keep the camera near, and document. In addition to milestones (the first day of school, graduation, etc) be sure to snap the every day moments – bath time and bedtime, reading a book in the corner, haircuts, and family game night.  Hand your camera to the “non-photographer” in the family and ask them to make sure you get in a few images!!  Need pics of you and your spouse?  Hand the camera to the kids.  Turns out the every day details are my favorite photos…those, and the snaps of me with my children.  And if they are blurry?  All the better to hide the wrinkles my dear.

2. Get your images PRINTED.  Or make a book.  Or anything more concrete than a handful of pixels on your Facebook account.  My kids are particularly fond of Shutterfly books.  We make a few a year, to document our vacations, or a holiday, or a sport season, or graduation.  I like them better than loose prints, as they are easy to display and share.  My heart smiles every time I see my kids take one of those books off the shelf and say “ooohhh, remember this?”  If books aren’t your thing, check out Imagine Your Photos where there are a whole bunch of cool things that can be made with your pics – everything from canisters, to blankets, to clothing and wall displays.  Really a very cool site.

3. For especially momentous occasions, hire a professional.  Take pics of every day life yourself, but do not skimp for weddings, newborns, senior year, etc.  Hiring a professional will allow you to immerse yourself in a moment or event without worrying about documenting.  And at least every couple of years hire a pro to produce artistic, timeless and technically sound images for your family that will be treasured for generations.  If your pro delivers digital images, be sure to get them PRINTED. (see number 2)

4. Don’t get too wrapped up in documenting.  A particularly difficult tip for me, this may sound like a contradiction, but it really isn’t.  While following tips 1-3, don’t forget to BE IN THE MOMENT.  Take one or two snaps to remember the day, then put the camera down and have fun.

Live fully, love deeply, laugh often….and please, get in the pictures!

A huge thank you to all of the photographers (too many to name!) that have blessed my family with images and me with support, as well as family, friends and random strangers on vacation that have taken pics of us!  
A special shout out to the following very talented photographers, whose images appear in this post (mixed with mine).  
Judi Morrissey – Judi Morrissey Photography (family pics at the lake)
Violeta Harrington – Violeta Harrington Photography (pics of me with Robby on the beach)
Trula Muir – Time in a Frame (below pic of me wearing orange dress and lifting Robby)
Burrill Strong – Burrill Strong Photography (image of me on the Football field with Dom)
Brigitte Hoag – Brigitte Hoag Photography  (images of me with Alex and Robby)



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Tressie Davis is a blogger and photographer located in Chelsea, MI.

I love St. Louis!

This post was originally published on January 17, 2010 on my Tressie Davis Photography blog.  Since I am no longer blogging there, I thought I would re-share some of my favorite posts here.  I have edited a few things (like the layout of the photos), but the story is the same.
Enjoy!

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In January of 2010 I was required to travel for business (my day job), and while most times I would protest, I have to admit that this was a pretty awesome trip. We flew in to St Louis (my boss and I), and since I had never been there before we took the opportunity to wander around and enjoy every spare minute until we had to make the two hour trip to our hotel in Marion, IL. First stop was Union Station – recommended by a co-worker that knew I had visited Michigan Central Station in Detroit, I wanted to see what St. Louis had done with their precious bit of history – I was so enthralled, I asked to have my reservation for my last night switched to the Marriott that is there now. More on that later…

We arrived at the famous Arch just before sundown, the perfect time for pictures! I barely noticed the wind and 15 below wind chill…I suppose I will never live down the fact that I was lying in the snow to get some of the pics…


Fast forward through the business part of my trip, and on my last night I drove back to Union Station. Some of you are familiar with my exciting exploration of the abandoned Michigan Central Station last spring – if you have not seen it already, be sure to check out the MCS blog post HERE.

 

St. Louis Union Station and Michigan Central Station have a similar history, Union Station in operation from 1894 – 1978 and MCS in operation from 1913 (after the previous MCS burned) – 1988; both stations closing with the decline of rail travel. Both stations fell into ruin, but this is where the similarities end. While Michigan Central Station remains empty and dilapidated, victim to thieves and vandals, St. Louis Union station was re-opened in 1985 after a 150 million dollar renovation. And there lies my excitement…

 

The outside of St. Louis Union Station looks like a castle, with a 280 foot clock tower. (in comparison to the 18 storey/230 foot Michigan Central Station). Walking in, I saw all that Michigan Central Station should be. Having experienced both buildings, the contrast was striking – in St. Louis a precious bit of history restored and saved, in Detroit our history forgotten and left in ruin. I wandered and explored St. Louis Union Station, trying to capture similar images of the restored station that I had previously taken of MCS. The great room is a grand expanse of beautifully detailed arches and stained glass windows, the tile and romanesque decor exactly what I would imagine it was in 1894. Arched doorways and columned balconies, intricate carving on the walls and columns, period statues – everywhere I looked there was more to see. In the shopping center portion of the building, Trompe-l’Å“il adorned the walls in sharp contrast to the graffitti seen at MCS. The photos I am posting here do not do the beauty of this building justice. Be sure to check out the pics at the bottom of this blog post – there are some comparisons to photos taken in MCS.

 

I was fortunate to be able to stay overnight in this exceptionally striking and historic building, and greatly enjoyed the hospitality of all of the folks that work there – everyone excited to talk about the beautiful structure and the history behind it, as well as the current struggles to keep this saved bit of history open and operating. I am hoping that with the upturn in the economy, St. Louis Union station will continue to operate, grow and prosper.


And…just a tiny bit more sight seeing before I headed for the airport. To the other side of the river to photograph the city, then back to the Arch for a trip to the top. Whew – all that AND business completed.

I LOVE ST. LOUIS!

 

A comparison of the two stations:

The exterior – St. Louis Union Station on top, MCS below
Graffitti vs Trompe-l’Å“il and Interior Halls

Great Room

Can you tell I like Train Stations?  What bits of history do you love?

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Tressie Davis is a blogger and photographer located in Chelsea, MI.

Elmwood Historic Cemetery, Detroit

On October 13, 2012 my daughter and I had the pleasure of a photo outing with my friends Kiah and Brian, and a newbie I call Dynamite.

Elmwood Historic Cemetery in Detroit, MI was our photographic destination, and we joined an official tour group to learn more about this beautiful place.  We probably should have just explored by ourselves, because I wasn’t a very good student/tour member.  I kept getting distracted (Squirrel!) and so had to google the information about Elmwood after the fact.  Today Google is my friend.

Originally established in 1846, Elmwood Cemetery is now 86 acres of beautiful rolling hills and gentle streams.  Stones and mausoleums reflect dates from the 1800s until now, and it is very interesting to note the trends of the times for marking burial sites.  From wrought iron barriers, to ornately carved marble, stone statues and artistic stones, I spent my time primarily photographing details.  And my fellow photographers of course.

Shooting me, shooting you?

After the tour we decided that we should explore on our own.  The guard warned us that the gates close at 4pm, and if we were not out then we would be locked in the cemetery.  Great.

Squirrel!

Did we lose track of time?  Of course we did.  We arrived at the gates just as they were being locked. I blame this on Kiah.  Why?  I don’t know.  Mostly because he is trouble.  Thankfully the guard took pity on us and opened them back up even though it was 4:05.  Not sure how I would have explained to my husband that my daughter and I were locked in a cemetery with three strange men.  Yes, I know them – doesn’t mean they aren’t strange.

All kidding aside, a great outing and fun time photographing a beautiful place.  Thanks guys!!!

 

More Squirrels!

 

Clockwise from upper left: Dynamite, Kiah, Riley and me, Brian
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Tressie Davis is a blogger and photographer located in Chelsea, MI.