Prints for Ryan, a journey.

A motorcycle trip to the U.P. with my friend Jamie in September of 2009 started me on a journey.

     We hit the road on a Saturday morning.  The forecast proclaimed scattered showers but the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky.  70 miles into the trip we stopped for breakfast, at McDonalds.  Seriously.  Usually I finish eating at McD's and then wonder what the hell I was thinking.  Did you hear that?  "What?"  My arteries.  Another 20 miles up the road and it was goodbye sunny skies, hello rain, thanks mother nature.  We tried to make the best out of a bad situation and trudged on.  Destination Houghton was a success.  With our motel (not hotel) room procured (the owner had more cats than I cared to count) and a stop for lunch at the Downtowner Lounge, the rain looked to have come to pass.  Let's roll!  Back in the saddle for Copper Harbor, MI and not a few miles down the road it opens up again.  Lovely.  We rounded out the Keweenaw Peninsula loop heading up Cliff Drive and through the windy canopied woods of highway 41 to Copper harbor, over Brockway Mountain, and down highway 26 through Eagle Harbor with a few stops for photos along the way.  If you haven't driven this loop before, you need to, car or motorcycle, it's gorgeous.  Back in Houghton that night we ate and kicked it on the hotel balcony where I decided to try taking some night shots of the Houghton-Hancock Bridge.  My primary goal for the trip was a shot of this bridge and what a shot it turned out to be.  I really couldn't be happier with it and it has become my first personal print...

...and so began my search for a set of photos from my favorite places to visit.  I decided on all night shots and somehow I wound up with all bridges too.  I guess they make good photo ops.

Houghton, MI - Bring on the booze.

Houghton is a college small town.  It's dead in the summer and wild for the school year with 1000's of drunken students running around in life-size hot wheels cars.  My childhood best friend attended school here and I've made a number of visits.  I can't sum up the stories and kinds of trouble, but it was awesome.  I recommend making this trip in late October.



New York, NY - Make it Christmas.

New York... what more can I say?  You know where it is, go there, in the winter, make it Christmas or New Years; it's that kind of city.  I made a friend through a car club in 1998.  We talked cars and BSed on a daily basis.  After a number of years I decided to fly to NY for an auto show.  Since then it's become a bi-yearly stop for me. 








Minneapolis, MN - Close to home.

[edit] I had an image I shot in Minneapolis.  It was okay, but lacking patience I decided on it when I shouldn't have.  It wasn't really what I was looking for.  Fast-forward seven months...  I wound up a photo request and I was back in the cities to give it a go.  This is what I was looking for. [/edit]   As far as cities go I think its pretty average.  I have family and friends all over the area and it's the closest big city to where I live.  There are plenty of things to do and lots of great places to eat.  In general, there is always a good time to be had.