Look Back – Is the Best Shot Behind You?

On our Disney Cruise vacation, they announced that we would be arriving in Tortola (BVI) near sunrise, and the view of the ship pulling into port would be worth getting up for.  I was the only one in my family interested (no surprise there).

Walking around on the upper deck with a handful of other passengers at shortly after 6am, I looked over the front of the ship as we approached the islands.  The view was pretty, but not spectacular, mostly because the beautiful sunrise was behind the ship.  The “approaching” shot I had envisioned was not there.

Initial view approaching Tortola - www.tressiedavis.com

Growing bored, I turned and walked toward the back of the ship, and noticed immediately a better view was behind us.  Adjusting my camera settings for the more intense light and stunning color, my next shots evoke an entirely different feeling and memory of that morning – and my images do not do it justice.

Look back - the better view may be behind you - www.tressiedavis.com

Once the sun rose high enough in the sky, I again moved toward the front of the ship to catch our final approach to Tortola.  Was it worth getting up for?  Absolutely – a beautiful beginning to the day.

View Approaching Tortola - Disney Fantasy - www.tressiedavis.com

These three very different images were taken in the span of 30 minutes or so.  Lesson learned – sometimes it’s a good idea to look back…before facing forward once again.

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

Patriotic Palace – Abandoned Amusement Park in TN

Patriotic Palace, TNAbandoned places are some of my favorite photographic subjects, and the Patriotic Palace was not a disappointment.  Through the dirt and neglect, you can usually imagine what a place used to be, but there seems to be more mystery surrounding this one, an  I have so far been unable to reconstruct it’s history.

When my family and I passed this Abandoned Amusement park on our way to Chattanooga, we made a note to stop and visit it on our way home.  The Patriotic Palace is located on Interstate 75, exit 141, a lonely and sad reminder of….what?  I’m really not sure, as I have been unable to find any specific information regarding this amusement park.

And not that I spent a crap ton of time on google or anything, but the few searches I did on this lonely little “amusement park” turned up nothing but posts by other people who stopped to take photos, just as I did, or stories of the adjacent Fireworks Superstore burning down in 2014.

If anyone knows the history of the amusement park side of this place, I would love to hear it.In the mean time, here are several photos

Patriotic Palace, TN

Patriotic Palace, TN

Patriotic Palace, TN

Ferris Wheel Close up, Patriotic Palace, TN

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

Things I learned in Washington DC

Better late than never – here are the things I learned in Washington DC when my family and I visited in July!

1. If you leave your Facebook locations on and post a photo of your kid making a face at Applebee’s, a friend in the area might message you and say “hey, I wanna come see you!!”  Excuse the crappy phone photos – I loved catching up with Sarah 🙂

2. If the White House is going to have an event that dictates tourists can’t get anywhere near it, it will be on the only day we are there to visit it.

3. Secret Service men are not allowed to pose.  They will however, pretend like they don’t see you while you take their picture.

4.  If a friend recommends a museum that you have never heard of, you should go – it may end up being the highlight of the trip! At the National Museum of Crime and Punishment you will see the history of crime, current crime, how to commit crime, famous criminals, how to investigate and solve crimes, and the history of punishing crime.  You can look for clues in a “crime scene”, sit in on the “autopsy”, and crack a safe…as well as sit in a driving simulation, and hold a gun in a shoot out simulation.  I probably shouldn’t tell you that I shot at one of the victims….oops.

Also, heat seeking cameras may expose you.  We’ll just make this picture real small.

5. Don’t ever visit landmarks without taking at least one forced perspective shot.  I found these gems on the camera that Riley was using.

6. The Lincoln Memorial is a great place for a photo of daddy and Robby.

7. The water is a lot dirtier than I expected it to be, but if you change the color in photoshop you can still get a pretty reflection.

8. The National Museum of Natural History is pretty awesome.

9. No matter how much history or how many monuments, your kids may just want to take pictures of ducks.  Or in the case of Alex, rocks.

Which one of these rocks captures your attention?  Just curious.

10. I like to take pictures.

11. Regardless of where you are, it’s a great place to make memories, and no matter how much time you think you have, it will go much, much too quickly!!!

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

Things I learned in Virginia

At the end of July, my family and I made a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia to watch my older daughter play in the 2014 NSA B East World Series.  In addition to LOTS of softball fun and World Series activities, we made time to hang out and visit some of the tourist attractions in the area.

As I always do, I learned some things while we were in Virginia.  Below are some of them…

1. There is something pretty special about going on vacation with a whole BUNCH of your favorite friends.  This is our third year traveling for a Softball World Series, and yes, we are ALL making memories.

2014 NSA World Series

2. People from Ohio are confused (those are Michigan colors)

3. Robby likes Roller Coasters.  Alex, not so much.  Busch Gardens was a super fun day!

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA

4. The plantation house at the Powhatan Resort in Williamsburg is haunted….the kids went on a ghost hunting excursion inside.

Powhatan Resort, Williamsburg, VA

5. At the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum in Williamsburg, I learned that the tallest man in the world was a LOT taller than my husband, you really CAN build a gorilla out of nails, and if I don’t pay attention Robby might get eaten by some random teeth.  The 12 foot transformer and shrunken heads were pretty awesome, but by far the best part was the Impossible LaseRace where you had to navigate through a web of green lasers without breaking the beams of light.  The kids had a blast!

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Williamsburg, VA

6. At the Nauticus museum in Norfolk we saw a log book from May of 1951 with Riley’s name in it,  other artifacts, and super cool models.  Riley stuck her head in a cannon.  I learned more than I ever wanted to know about boats. And stuff.

Nauticus museum, Norfolk, VA

Also there was this.  (Battleship Wisconsin)

Battleship Wisconsin, Norfolk, VA

7. From the museum to the boat tour of the Norfolk Naval Base, I learned how much my dear husband likes boats and military stuff.  Me…not so much.  But here are some of them, cause it was cool for the first 15 minutes or so.

Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia

8. If I get tired of taking pictures of ships, I turn the camera on my family.

Well that’s it.  8 things.  Profound, huh?  After Virginia we made a trip to Washington DC for a couple of days.  I learned stuff there too, stay tuned.

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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.