Brian j Craig’s photostream on Flickr.
New Images posted to my Flickr site. have a look and enjoy some “Pure Michigan”. Have a look around at past work.I’m not a writer but i wanted to share a bit of good news.
Last week I received an email from Kensigton Church in Troy, Michigan asking if I would go on a mission trip to Kenya, Africa in January. I would be the photographer responsible for taking portraits of all 800+ children in 3 orphanages that we work with for a sponsor program www.Nochild.org
4-5 years ago I had a camera and liked to take photos; that was the extent of my photography career. I dreamed and wished that one day something would come of it, but i did the same with Baseball as a kid… It was just a day dream.
I cannot believe the experiences I have had, people I’ve met and places I’ve been able to go. The crazy part is that I have not planned for any of it. I am actually “anti planning”. All I did was take a chance and “step out of the boat”, my world has not been the same since. I feel if you are in tune with God and in constant conversation then you are going to find out very clearly where you should be going next, the door will open.. or sometimes close…but thats another post.
A dream of mine was to shoot photos in a far off land; India, Africa, China… anywhere. But it never seemed like a reality, just one of those things i would always wish for but never get. Well this week it happened! Big time! and this is for a great cause, a dream with purpose.
I know this will not be without discomfort, hard work and stress on the family as I will leave behind a 7mth pregnant wife and a 2 yr old son for 2 weeks. But we have prayed and talked at length about it and feel its the right move. A peace fell on the whole situation.
Follow me as I prepare for this new and exciting journey. This will be my first trip out of North America…and its a doozy!
This past week I had the pleasure of shooting photos for this amazing guy. We had a tight time schedule and were working in a newer location for me but we were able to get some great stuff with some really cool different settings.
Remember when you are shooting its all where you stand. As Ansel Adams famously said “A good photograph is knowing where to stand”. I couldn’t agree more.
This shoot I also tried to do something different on my end, to shoot less. I worked on being more intentional with my shots, slowing down and getting to know Andrew more as i shot. I was very happy with the results, even though there were less images, there were a lot more quality images to choose from which made editing a joy. I heard a great quote this week; “If your photos aren’t good enough then you aren’t close enough”. Spend time and get to know your subject more, build those relationships.
As for the different location, don’t think you always have to go to the local hot spot, try something new and force yourself to work with something different. You might be surprised.
Enjoy.
ps I feel like I sound like the end of a Doogie Houser episode…
Happy Halloween everyone! Hope it was a great evening filled with lots of candy to steal from your k…. i mean share with your kids.
Here is an image from last night. Hope you enjoy it.
Shot with my Nikon D800 and the Nikkor 50mm 1.8.
Had a great Photowalk this afternoon. Hikes up Sleeping Bear Dunes and drove all around the area. So many photo ops. (at Lake Michigan)
Took a nice drive off the beaten path this afternoon. Found some places be never seem before. Had a lot of fun taking photos. Both digital and polaroid. #polaroid #d800 #glenarbor (at Lake Michigan)
Yesterday evening my family participated in a classic Michigan fall tradition. The Cider Mill. Yates Cider Mill has been around forever and every year of my life i have enjoyed amazing fresh cider donuts and fresh pressed cider. If you are ever in the area during fall make sure to look it up and go join in the fun.
Man Up. As many of you probably know by now, I shot photos and video this past weekend at the Kensington Church mens retreat. This was a great weekend, and is every year. A time to get away into the northern woods of Michigan during fall time and spend time talking, hanging out and just goofing around with a bunch of friends.
One night we had an amazing sky so I decided to skip on sleep and head out with the tripod and get some photos. Here are a couple favorites from the set.
One of the shots from my weekend in northern Michigan. There really are some beautiful places in this state. I think i need to travel around more.
I had the pleasure of doing an event shoot at Spring Hill Camps in Evart, MI. It’s a beautiful place and the drive up is awesome in the Michigan fall. I had to pull out the old Polaroid Automatic 100 for these shots. I wanted to pull over so many times to get shots but needed to stay on schedule.
One of my ongoing photography gigs is shooting for most of the events at Kensington Church in Michigan. Over the past 5 years this has been the greatest training ground a photographer could ask for. Great stage production, talented musicians and actors and an awesome lighting team.
This has helped me build up my skill as a live event/concert photographer and has opened more doors than i can imagine.
Here is a shot of one of the teaching pastors, Chris Zarbaugh.
Polaroid. I love shooting film and using old cameras. I recently bought an old 1963 Polaroid Automatic 100 Landcamera known as the “Mad Men Camera”.
It shoots onto the peel apart polaroid film that gives you a negative. I scan that negative. That is what gives you that great classic border and vintage look and feel.
Something I miss with digital photography is the “rareness” of a photo, capturing a moment and knowing that this image is the only one, the only recorded image of that event. Perfect or not, blurry or crisp that the one that goes in the photo book to always remember that time.
I guess iIam a sucker for capturing and keeping memories. Enjoy these memories.
One of my favorite things to do is set up my studio and just experiment with things i find laying around the kitchen.
This time it was food coloring and an old fish tank. I used a couple nikon sb600 strobes and my nikon d7000. Enjoy
Phish has long been my favorite band. So when I was asked by the band to shoot for them on tour it was a great honor. Some of my favorite photographers have shot for this band. Among them Danny Clinch, It was an awesome time. I shot 2 shows. Blossom Music Center in Ohio and Hershey Park in PA.
Had the pleasure of working with the wonderful team at John Tagle Associates, an architecture firm located in Troy, MI. Here a few office shots.