Muskegon Wedding and Event Photographer Jon Jacobson
Happy New Year!
Our adventure continues somewhere in the Upper Peninsula. We may be lost, but I’m pretty sure we’re intentionally off the beaten path, enjoying the scenes painted with a general snowfall.
The setting here is Downtown Grand Rapids, adorned in Christmas regalia. And it goes without saying, it is a popular spot for ice skating!
Leonardo da Vinci started the project over 500 years ago. The commissioned statue would have stood in Milan Italy upon its completion.
I have always called this piece the “da Vinci Horse.” Incorrectly so. It is one of two original casts made in 1999, this one being “The American Horse,” at the Frederick Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park, near Grand Rapids. The first of the original casts is in Milan, called, “The Horse.”
Other names include Leonardo’s Horse, Gran Cavallo, and Il Cavallo.
Since these 1999 installations, other duplications with varying names have emerged.
This picture here, of the American Horse, is something of a work in progress. It seems fitting. Leonard’s vision took more than five centuries to complete.
– Jon
Waves churn to act as the battering ram, the Muskegon South Breakwater Light stands tall!
There is a curious love affair we have with the lighthouse. I think for me, it’s that fantasy of being the Keeper. It’s one thing to dream of an era when technology offered very little in the area of creature-comforts. It’s another to imagine the isolation. A double-edge sword. One day, your friend — the next day, your enemy. Fighting the ill effects of cabin fever, you diligently carry a can of oil up the stairs to the lantern.
We are a pinch north of Traverse City, at the tip of Old Mission Peninsula. Way off the beaten path, this destination is accompanied by one of the most picturesque drives in Michigan! It is a worthy visit any time of the year. Yet it probably goes without saying, the best timing is during the explosion of autumn colors.
And while you’re there, if you happen to see a passing freighter, imagine a century ago that you are the lighthouse keeper. Your beacon is burning bright, fully aware of your brothers at sea and the shared isolation they love and hate. And then a small chuckle escapes, “heh heh. At least I’m not going stir crazy,” you say to the mermaid sitting on the rocks.
– Jon
Lightning Over Lake Michigan in Muskegon
Lake Michigan beaches in Muskegon reveal her visual treasures to an audience on a daily basis. An approaching thunderstorm is quite possibly the most exciting!
Now through September 10, 2017, is the super ambitious exhibition of the photography portfolio of The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis.
This project is a 20 volume set that is essentially a comprehensive encyclopedia of the native tribes living in the regions of North America west of the Mississippi River.
Not only is this project an ambitious one, it was compiled by a crew led by photographer Edward Curtis. Its sheer enormity is its claim to fame. The accompanying photography is the glorious icing on the cake.
Each of the twenty volumes included a set of art prints, in the form of a gravure, or photogravure. This entire set of original books and gravures have been in Muskegon since its release a century ago. And for the first time anywhere, all 223 gravures are on display, celebrating the artistic vision of an inspired photographer.
This video is part one of a series I will be making about this stunning collection.
-Jon
Happy Birthday America! #441
About the creation of this picture:
The shutter speed of a typical photo taken outside in daylight would be something like 1/500th of a second. Quick, like the blink of an eye. Properly focused, the action is frozen in time and the subject detail is sharp.
When I normally photograph fireworks, I will use combined settings to force the shutter to remain open a “couple” seconds (give or take). Paired with a tripod (and a recommended shutter release remote), the glowing embers flowing across the sky are recorded as string-like steaks.
With this particular image, I add to the recipe a “rack-focus” maneuver. My lens is set to manual focus, targeted at the fireworks. After I pull the trigger to begin the exposure, I gently and smoothly adjust the focus to end with a scene that is out of focus.
The result is a photo of steaks that seem to vary in size from end to end. Or in this particular example, the embers flickered in the sky, giving us the dots and blurry blobs.
This is actually quite simple to execute. The reality is that it takes a fair amount of experimentation to master.
– Jon
Experiencing a sunset over Lake Michigan is an event best enjoyed live — in person. What are we waiting for? It’s summertime in Muskegon. Come on over and join us!
