This week

Erica was in the Mt. P this weekend and she had the honor to pull from the hat.  I could tell she was very excited to have the opportunity again.  She reached in and grabbed a topic and said, "it's an Adam topic".  She pulled "A BOAT".  I don't think we were to excited to get this topic, but it gave us a chance to visit Bay City, Mi.  So come back in a few days to see what we shot.  I think you will like it.

Especially Beautiful

When we moved into our house about 4 years ago there were a lot of very beautiful things that were used to decorate.  Let's, for example, imagine the master bedroom.  Envision walking in and seeing dusty rose carpet and then when you look up and you are greeted with a beautiful dusty rose ceiling fan.  Now, one would think this would the least favorite of the light fixtures in our house, but my mom's light fixture that annoys her and continues to bug her is the one below.  It is the light that is at the top of the stairs that one wouldn't normally notice, but it is still a beautifully ugly light fixture.  So when the hat told us to photograph light fixture, this is the fixture that came to mind.  It's nothing special, but now, whenever mom does get around to changing it we will have this lovely picture to remember it by. :)

Leave the Light On

They say that if your child is missing you should leave you porch light on, the child will see the light and know the way home.  I was reminded of this early this week.  Photographed is an entrance to the Mt. Pleasant Industrial Indian Boarding School.  I was on the Boarding School grounds this week to cover a ceremony to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the schools closing.  The ceremony included a ceremonial pipe ceremony, a sacred fire and a role call.  The role call was a reading of the names of 144 Native American children who perished at the school.

A little history lesson:  It is no secret that "whites" stole land from the Native Americans.  What many people don't realize is that "whites" wanted to rid the US of these "savage people".  They opened schools like these are over North America, they would visit reservations and take all the Native America youth they could find and ship them off to these schools.  These schools were intended to "Americanize" the Native Americans. teach them trades and skills.  It wasn't uncommon to see a sign hanging on the wall that said Kill the Indian, Save the Man.  The students of these schools were punished if they practiced Native America rituals or spoke their native language.  It wasn't a school, it was a prison. 

I had a few ideas when I pulled the LIGHT FIXTURE topic, but when I noticed that entrance had a fixture, with no bulb, I knew what I was going to photograph.  (I had to trespass to get this shot).  I think it is fitting that the  light can't be on, so the spirits of the Native American youth who perished know that if they are lost, this is not their home.

Dear Friends,

Adam and Erica,

Greetings:
First off I have to congratulate you two on your recent engagement, what a wonderful and exciting time.  I wish you happiness and success in your marriage.
Secondly, I know this is going to be a difficult at time, but stick to your original plan and continue to strive for what set out to accomplish: a new photo posted every week.  Think of the sense of accomplishment you will have once you have completed this task.  With that said, this week I you are instructed to photograph a light fixture.  This topic is written in Adam's handwriting, which is a change of pace, the last few have all been Erica topics.  I am interested to see what you two have in store.  Good luck photographers.

Sincerely,
The "Cat in the Hat" Hat

A day in the life...

It is not uncommon that I come home and Diesel will grab a pair of shoes and run around the house playing "keep away".  So when Adam told me "Footwear" was our topic I had an idea.  It took some work to cox D to cooperate.  But a few treats later...I got a pretty fun shot.

Nuke 'em

I love sneakers, just ask anyone who knows me.  So when I got my new job, came a change.  I have to wear dress shoes to work.  These are my black one, they are growing on me, but they are no where close to being a pair of Jordans.  When FOOTWARE came up, I thought I could photograph my sneakers again, but though outside the box.  I thought where could I put a pair of shoes that seemed a bit strange...I was in the kitchen and thought about the microwave, I grab the black shoes and went to work.  Enjoy

A

Ball Dropped...

With all the excitement off this past weekend and the long weekend I dropped the ball on picking a topic.  I picked a topic, and then forgot to update the blog, so don't fret, here I am posting it now.  This weeks topic is FOOTWARE.  Another Erica topic, but I love shoes.

A