I am a spirited blogger from Chelsea, MI who thrives on adventure, creativity and exploring the world through the lens of my camera (even if it’s my phone). When I’m not chasing sunsets and amazing views, I spend time with my heart dog Maizie. If travel, creativity and a dash of blunt honesty (with the occasional F-bomb) sparks your curiousity, you are in the right place.
As the days get shorter, and the cold starts setting in what better way to get ready for the start of fall than Halloweekends at Cedar Point?
From the pumpkin spice and everything nice, to jeepers creepers is that the grim reaper you will find it all. Along with a bunch of Haunted Houses and all of your normal Cedar Point fun.
I initially thought I would try to come up with the words to describe a visit on Halloweekends, but I figured my pictures and videos from past visits would do it better justice. So the below video is what I came up with instead!
If you are interested in visiting Halloweekends at Cedar Point this year you can find more info here.
When I first got into photography one of the first things I was taught was that the best camera is the one you have with you. These days for almost everyone that is a cell phone.
Yes, there are always going to be things that I will break out my big girl camera for. Sports of course, and professional portraits. But in so many cases I am loving the photos I am getting with my phone (and you certainly can’t beat the convenience). If you just happen to be driving down the road and the sun looks like this how could you not stop and take a picture?? This is just one of the many times I was thankful for my cell phone camera.
Cell phones are not just for landscapes. While you may not have the ability to have the flexibility you do with a ”real” camera, Moment Lenses can help you up your creative game. Here are some photos I took with my Moment Macro Lens with my iPhone 11 ProMax. (Note you will also need either a Moment Case / drop in lens mount, and/or a Moment Lens Mount to use them).
I upgraded to the iPhone 13 ProMax in December 2021 and haven’t yet used my Moment lenses with it, but here are a few of my favorite recent shots taken during my ODT Challenges. Maizie during the ODT Lights Prompt in January and the Chelsea Clocktower for the ODT Frozen Prompt for February.
My beautiful Maizie BluChelsea Clocktower reflection in a frozen puddle
For proof that you do not need the latest and greatest phone to get good pictures – check out this picture of a grasshopper that I took with an iPhone 4 and no additional lenses back in 2012. Still not sure why he cooperated, but I was happy!
iPhone photo of a Grasshopper
There are times that I wish I had my professional camera with me, but I know that if I take the time to go get it the moment will be lost. So there are times I can’t take the chance – especially when you randomly encounter nature that is cooperating with you. How often do you get a garter snake or crayfish to pose??? Yes, both of these images were taken with my iPhone.
For the record (and full transparency) I do edit my cell phone photos, but I also do that on my phone. Most of the time with PS Express, as it is included with my Photoshop subscription. However I don’t do anything too fancy. Usually just brighten and contrast adjustments, sometimes clarity if needed. Snapseed is also a great editing app, and is free.
So in a nutshell – yes some cameras are better than others. But the best camera will ALWAYS be the one you have with you, even if it’s your phone!
Well enough people told me to Go to Hell, so I finally decided to do it. Literally.
And what better day to choose, than the warmest day of the year so far? 80 degrees in April? Whoa – it was meant for a day in Hell.
I’m normally a better planner when we go on trips, but this one was totally spur of the moment. My youngest son Bob and I grabbed our phones (and money for lunch), plugged in 4045 Patterson Lake Rd in the GPS and headed out with nothing more than the Hell, MI website telling us what to expect.
The first thing we noticed when we arrived is what a welcoming place Hell is. Everyone from the time we arrived to the time we left was extremely friendly, helpful, and attentive.
Which made us feel very comfortable walking through the Gates of Hell.
From there I tortured Bob with the obligatory pictures with the face cutouts.
We obviously couldn’t do everything there was to do in Hell because um…some of it required reservations and we didn’t bring anyone to get married to – yes, you can get married in Hell.
But we very much enjoyed looking at all of the art and humor displayed on the grounds
Spring is Around the Corner
We ate lunch at the Hell Hole which was excellent – they have everything from salads to burgers to pasties. We had burgers, but I’m really regretting not trying the pasties – guess I’m gonna have to go back.
After lunch we visited the gift shop where we bought the most amazing post cards, and mailed them from Hell’s official post office – they even get singed on the way out! I knew just who would appreciate my mail from Hell…
Once I spotted the Locks of Love Bridge, I knew there was no way I could leave Hell without locking Rob in – so now he is trapped FOREVER. I bought a lock at the gift shop, and they let me borrow a sharpie to write on it, but you can bring your own lock too – there were so many beautiful locks on the bridge!
Other things to do in Hell? Enjoy ice cream at the Creamatory at Screams (the ice cream was excellent), visit the Hell Saloon, play putt putt golf, be Mayor of Hell for a day, buy a piece of Hell and get a degree from the prestigious Damnation University.
Instead of those things, I took more pictures…because of course I did.
One of my favorite spur of the moment trips to date – would definitely go again. If you find yourself in SE Michigan you should definitely GO TO HELL.
2021 was…interesting to say the least. I won’t go into a lot of detail because well, no one wants to hear all that LOL. What I will say is that after a lot of soul searching I am going to make a more concentrated effort to start moving forward with adding more things to my days that make my heart happy, and less things that don’t.
As I move into 2022, I am looking forward to more adventures, more creative pursuits, more laughter and more time with the people I love.
For now though, I will start with sharing my favorite photo for each month of 2021.
The interesting thing about these images is that they range from Selfies, to landscapes to macro to sports photography. I love them all the same regardless of whether they were taken with my DLSR, Mirrorless or iPhone. It makes me incredibly thankful for the strides made in cell phone cameras, and that I always have a camera with me now.
On a fun note – can you tell which of these images were taken with my iPhone and which were taken with a “real” camera (DSLR or Mirrorless)? Some may be obvious, but are they all? Hint: only 4 of the Jan-Dec photos were taken with a “real” camera, the rest were all taken with my iPhone.
JANUARY – me walking with my best friendFEBRUARY – my first time trying to create and photograph frozen bubbles!!MARCH – a shell on the dock in FloridaAPRIL – one of my favorite hiking and nature partnersMAY – sometimes me and bestie have to get fancyJUNE – an amazing Rainbow over Chelsea, MichiganJULY – the most beautiful dragonfly (damselfly?) I have ever seenAUGUST – I’m not a landscape photographer, but when you go to Colorado you can’t really go wrongSEPTEMBER – a garter snake POSED for me! And his eyes were blue!OCTOBER – and just when I thought I got lucky with the garter snake, a Crayfish with blue eyes posed for me!NOVEMBER – snow on a spiders webDECEMBER – my #32 doing what she does
And a few extra pictures, just because I want to share.
1. Me flexing after climbing the mountains (thank you for the pic Amanda H) 2. The beach at Hotel Breakers Cedar Point 3. A slug on my shed porch
