Velvet 56 Love

Late last fall, I purchased the Lensbaby Velvet 56. Lensbaby was having a pre-Christmas sale on some of their lens. I have always been intrigued by them, but wasn't sure if I was ready to be that brave and different. The sale was too good to resist (Merry Christmas to me), so I clicked "purchase", and waited for my new lens to arrive.

The demo video that sold me on it, showed beautiful, shallow depth of field portraits of people, hmm... self portraits? My daughter? and of dogs...Findley?

As soon as it arrived via UPS, I sliced open the box and put it on my Canon 6D. Findley...where was Findley? What I wasn't prepared for, was the manual focusing, and I total skipped over the fact that I had to manually set the aperture. Let me say, manually focusing on an energetic puppy, well...the photo says it all.

I slid the Velvet 56 into an empty lens slot in my camera bag, and returned to my 35mm auto-focus lens. The Velvet 56 would stay in the camera bag until this month.

April, a new season, and new subjects to photograph. I dug the Velvet 56 out of the camera bag. I did not go looking for Findley, instead I went to the garden center.

I do get frustrated with not being able to do something well, but rarely do I give up, so I watched some Lensbaby videos and actually learned what to do with the Velvet 56, there was that bit about manually setting the aperture.

A successful outing at the garden center, and I was ready to try the Velvet 56 on a trip. I was tagging along with my husband on a business trip to my favorite part of northern Michigan. A good place to try the lens, on things I know and love, and have photographed many, many times. I was looking for a different approach to these places.

The Velvet 56 stayed on my camera the whole time we were gone. This time the 35mm stayed in the camera bag.

I still have more to learn, more videos to watch, and more practice is needed, but I love the look I am achieving. The Velvet 56 sees the world the way I do - one spot of sharp focus and blurry around the edges.

My husband and I are leaving for vacation in a couple of weeks. We are going through upstate New York, to Boston and to a photography conference in another part of Massachusetts. I have a feeling the Velvet 56 will be getting a lot of use.

5 Random Friday Finds

Find No. 1

I am taking Vivienne McMaster's Double Exposure Love class this week. I found I am in creative heaven at the moment. Something fun and different to learn. Mainly we are using the Diana Photo App which is available for iPhone and Android. This photo is actually triple exposed.

The base layer is this photo, taken at Lake Leelanau:

Then this texture of a wooden door at the Northern Michigan Asylum in Traverse City is exposed over top of it:

I then added one of the filters  in the Diana App and saved it:

Which is quite pretty just by itself, but then I brought that back into Diana as the base layer and  added this photo of my daughter, Mallory sitting on the rocks at Presque Isle Park in Marquette, over top of the base layer:

I added another filter and saved it, which gave me the finished creation of the first image.

Find No. 2

I am still working on my #the100daysproject #100daysofleadinglines on Instagram. This is my favorite so far this week.

Find No. 3

I found a new collar waiting for Scout on the front step the other day, sent with love from Mallory.

Find No. 4

I have found texting to be so handy for many things including sending your daughter a recipe for a snack bread that she wants to make while she is away at school. The beauty of technology, it does have its pluses. 

Find No. 5

I found an unused railroad track next to the cemetery, which will be ideal for doing some self-portraiture work, definitely won't be any gawkers there.

Joining Kim for Friday Finds

5 Random Friday Finds

Find No. 1

I found beautiful diffused light and the perfect quote:

Courage doesn't always roar.

Sometimes courage is the quiet voice

at the end of the day saying

"I will try again tomorrow."

~Mary Anne Radmacher

Find No. 2

I found an adorable fellow Instagrammer while away for the weekend. I love my girl!! And yes that is still ice, and yes that really was just last weekend.

Find No. 3

I found some amazing Pulled Pork Tacos at a little Farm to Table restaurant in Traverse City.

Find No. 4

I found something interesting when looking through the hole in the glass block window at the Northern Michigan Asylum.

I want to go explore in there.

Find No. 5

I found some awesome Oolong tea at a new coffee shop. Coffee Shop Chronicle No. 29 coming on Sunday.

Joining Kim for Friday Finds

Winery Writings

It feels so good to be writing again. How have I let myself become so busy that I have not had any time to do something that I love so much. This must change, starting now.

I am companionless for the next couple of days. Glen has gone back down state to work, by his own choice I will add. Mallory is back at her interning duties of making copies, filling trail maps, and delivering ranger lead event schedules to various locations around Sleeping Bear Dunes. Being companionless for a short time is not an unwelcome event, I am free to explore at my own pace. I am not holding anyone up as I take photos and talk to random strangers. I find talking to fellow travelers and locals one of the most enriching components of vacation.

I chose to begin my adventure at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, or in other words the decaying parts of the Northern Michigan Asylum. I don't think that I will ever get enough of this place. I could wander it every week and find something new to photograph. Even though the day is sunny and bright, the shadows cast by the buildings allow for some haunting shots of the boarded up entranceways and glimpses of rust, decay and the damage done by vandals.

After being inside a couple of these buildings last week Friday when we did the Guided Historic Building and Tunnel Tour, I have a new appreciation for all of the work involved in the restoration process of these buildings.

As I rounded the backside of these architectural marvels, I noticed a small, brown, furry creature scamper down the side of the hill that is behind the buildings. I saw where it went and I knew that it couldn't escape that area without me seeing it, so I set out to see who the furry creature might be. I approached the corner of the building where I had seen it go and as I rounded it there stood a darling baby fawn sniffing around one of the outside door frames. Where was this precious baby's mama? Then I remembered the pitiful cry that I had heard coming from the top of the hill earlier, it must have been this fawn crying for it's mother. I gently slid to the ground to watch the sweet darling. It had scampered into the bushes next to the door when it saw me. I tried so hard to get a photo of it, but the little one was doing a good job of hiding. As I moved a little closer it scooted to the far back corner of the buildings where it quickly laid down under some bushes. I left the sweet fawn and continued walking around the rest of the unrestored buildings.

A quick stop at the car to shed the Paisleys, the Paisley were essential for walking around the buildings as there is a lot of broken glass and knee high weeds near the buildings. My feet happily strapped into my Chaco sandals, I set off to wander around the restored and in-process of restoration buildings. This is something that I have not done before, since it is usually raining or snowing when we come here.

As I made my way towards the front of the restored buildings, I stopped to watch some construction workers at a building that is in process. As I turned away from the construction scene I was stopped by an older gentleman pushing his elderly aunt. They were out enjoying the beautiful blue skies and sunshine, soaking up Vitamin D. They had stopped to watch the construction workers as well. As I turned the gentleman says to me "It is amazing all the machinery they need today to do what they did by hand back when this place was built in the late 1800's."

As I chatted with the gentleman and his aunt, I discovered that they both grew up here in Traverse City and both remember coming here to the asylum for field trips when there were patients still here. Kind of a scary field trip in my mind. The gentleman recounted a time he came here for a field trip and one of the boys in his class, that one boy who always had to be first for everything, he was the first one in the door of the asylum and was greeted by a female patient coming out of her room completely naked with her arms spread wide for an embrace. Needless to say after that the boy was less inclined to be first in line.

The gentleman told me when he was in his 20's he moved to Detroit to work in the automobile industry. After six years there he couldn't take it anymore and moved back to Traverse City, he missed it too much.

The gentleman also let me know that on Thursday nights from 6-8 p.m. down on the big lawn under the white dining tents they have live music and you can get a burger as big as a salad plate, chips and a pop for $5. A very good deal in his mind. Well if Thursday didn't happen to be my birthday, not quite what I am desiring for my birthday dinner, we might have had to check this event out. Of course, next week would be a better week to go, the live entertainment is an Elvis Impersonator.

It was time to get his aunt back so we parted ways with a wish to each other to enjoy the rest of the day. I finished wandering the front of the buildings and returned to my car.

It was fast approaching the noon hour and I was starting to get hungry. I thought I would unload my camera, grab my purse and wander over to the winery Left Foot Charley which was right across the street. I remembered that they had small plate samplers of meats and cheeses and I could purchase a glass of wine. The perfect lunch.

I wandered into the winery, the only person present at the moment was the girl behind the tasting bar. I asked about their small plates. She pulled out their "Munchies Menu".  I ordered the Ploughman Lunch, a little bit of everything; meat, cheese, bread and fruit. I also ordered a glass of their Kerner Wine. She recommended I take my glass of wine out to the patio. She would bring the Ploughman out  as soon as she prepared it.

I chose a black metal patio table in the shade. I set my wine down and took a couple of shots of it with my phone. I pulled out my notebook and pen and began my summer version of the Coffee Shop Chronicles, the Winery Writings. Perfect for summer don't you think?

The Ploughman arrived, the presentation was perfect, and it is all about the presentation. The cheeses are from the famous Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, a place that is on my bucket list for Glen and I to go to. The cheeses were heavenly, the bread and slices of salami and prosciutto divine. I texted a photo to Glen, his day at work probably wasn't looking too good after that.

After I finished my delightful plate and my even more delightful glass of wine, I tried to write some more, but the little crawly bugs that had been on the table now decided to crawl on me. Time to pack up, return my wine glass to the girl behind the counter and continue on.

I decided to go back to the spot where I had seen the fawn and take a few shots of the area with my phone. As I peered into the corner where I had last seen the precious little one, I saw an ear flick and I knew the baby was still there. It breaks my heart to know this little one is all alone. I really hope that mama is nearby.

Well all good adventures must come to an end eventually. I returned to the car, and drove off in the direction of the grocery store.

Standing Inside the Asylum

Here it was, my chance to finally get inside one of these beautiful, decaying buildings on the grounds of the former Northern Michigan Asylum. You probably don't often combine the words beautiful and decay in a sentence, unless you are a photographer or a history lover. I happen to be both. To me the stories lie in the undone, the unrestored, in every piece of chipped and peeling lead based paint.

I stood on the threshold of Cottage No. 34 bursting with excitement for the opportunity to explore, photograph and hear the stories.

As chance would have it, I actually did a little shooting around the outside of Cottage No. 34 earlier that morning, not knowing at the time that this would be the building I would get to explore on the  inside a little bit later on.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside, aside from all that glorious peeling paint, was the cold. It was colder than a meat locker.  Definitely colder than outside. In short order, my feet, even inside my trusted Paisleys felt like blocks of ice. Unwilling to be deterred I moved in and started to explore, all the while staying tuned in to the history that Joe was sharing.

Cottage No. 34
Act No. 121 of the Public Acts of 1899, allowed the construction of a hospital for acutely insane or "curable" male patients. Cottage No. 34 was constructed at an approximate cost of $20,000. Construction was completed in 1904. It was an "open" cottage, meaning that it was a cottage that was unlocked and without grating over the windows and occupied by patients who had the freedom of the grounds. Many of the patients living in this cottage worked in the greenhouse and garden areas.

In 1964, the hospital with the aid of a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, established a vocational activities program for children and young adults. The grant funds allowed the remodeling of the cottage to house the program. 


*from the book Northern Michigan Asylum

They have quite the problem with people breaking in and spraying graffiti on the walls.

Lovely old radiators.

Transom windows equal window love!

Curved radiator and more graffiti. This rad was in the curved tower that I showed earlier in the post.

Each end of the cottage also had a tower, unusual in the cottage designs here.

I couldn't resist a shot of the bathroom.

I admit for a while I wasn't as tuned in to Joe as I should have been. I was too busy taking photographs.  Although the low light situation inside created a challenge, I did the best I could with what I had. I had a good low light wide angle lens and set my ISO fairly high so I could hand hold. I didn't get all the shots I wanted but that is a good reason to go back and take the tour again. Learn more and shoot more.

Leaving Cottage No. 34, I was actually happy to go back outside, hoping that my feet would "warm up" out there, because by this time I could not feel them anymore.

We next stopped outside Cottage No. 30 very briefly and then continued on the road that lead past the backsides of all the cottages.

Cottage No. 30

October 2013 

October 2013

January 2014

Patients living in this cottage were "working patients", assisting in the fields and grounds keeping chores.

Next stop was the backside of the Men's dining hall. Apparently the fan above the door here has not stopped turning since the building was built in 1915, wind or no wind. Spooky…

Finally we were going inside again, and there was glorious heat! I began to feel my feet again.

Chapel
The Chapel is being restored as we speak and is due to open by May of this year.

This lower level, where the glorious heat was, was originally the kitchen for Building 50.  Here the food for the entire institution was prepared, except for the administration section and special diet patients. This kitchen was divided into eleven rooms, including a temporary room, sink room, steaming room, room for preparation of vegetables, (almost all the work done by patients), and a dining room for employees.

Joe, our tour guide talking to the group.

The original cast iron columns.

The original marble floor.

Above the kitchen was the chapel room, which could seat 318, and was also used for amusement purposes, concerts, dances, socials, etc.

A drop ceiling was installed some time in the mid 1900's covering up this beautiful wood work on the ceiling. The drop ceiling is being taken down and all this beautiful wood work being restored.

The Tunnels

Being Northern Michigan and getting lots of snow in the winter, people tunnels were built to make getting from one building to the next much easier in the winter.

People Tunnel

Steam Tunnel - housing large steam pipes to carry heat to the buildings from the on-site power plant. The steam pipes have now been removed. It was quite weird walking on a curved floor. Also Joe shut the lights off briefly when we first entered this tunnel. Let's just say pitch black doesn't do it justice.

The steam tunnel that we traveled through brought us back into Building No. 50 right where we began.

I have to say that this is the best $25 I have ever spent on a tour. I definitely want to take it again in warmer weather. Maybe Joe needs an assistant, I would work for free. Just to have the opportunity to shoot some more and learn more would be well worth it.