Mike Houge

Working with flowers:

My good friend Dan (www.danielruf.typepad.com) and I were visiting about the direction photography sometimes takes us. There's a tide we sometimes find ourselves fighting against and that's the pull between capturing images that the public purchase ( often landscapes) and the others- for example flower and still life images.  I told Dan that I couldn't wait to get over to Orange City when the tulips start to bloom and how much fun I've had the last couple of years capturing the beautiful variety of flowers they plant.

I can't remember the last time I've had someone purchase a flower image but one of the things I look forward to the most during spring and summer- is capturing flowers in a new and exciting way. Now there's also the beautiful sun rises and sunsets, the water falls and streams, not to mention the butterflies- the list goes on . I captured the above mums on my deck- as it was to windy to shoot anything outside.I used an old barn window for the backround of the top image and one of my wifes scarves for the other.

Well, I suspect you get my point- spring is here- lets all get out and enjoy it in our own special way.Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.   

Nobles County Pioneer Village:

Last Friday, my friend Dan Ruf ( danielruf.typepad.com ) and I took off for Worthington, MN in hopes of finding out who to talk to about getting in to Pioneer Village to take pictures. Little did we know there would be someone working  that would be kind enough to take time out of their day to not only let us in but to help educate us on their cause.

The Historical Society started with one building around 1968 and now have 2 1/2 acres and 49 buildings, 36 which are available for viewing. For anyone wishing to be carried back to the past, I highly recommend this trip. This little village has it all-  from the train depot, post office, school, church, general store- you name it- anything a small town in the early 1900's would have is here for you to visit.

The above image is of a blue 1942 Ford  that was in fantastic shape - there is also a beautiful 1923 wooden truck that you can visit on Dans blog. There was also a small collection of vehicles including a firetruck and a couple old snowmobiles. They are open from Memorial Day thru Labor Day and are open Monday-Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5 and charge $6.00 for adults and $1.00 for kids 6yrs thru 15 and kids 5 and under are free. Also free will offerings are welcomed.

I hope you've enjoyed this little travel -log and will consider supporting this good cause. Thanks for stopping by and have a good week.

Vintage images:

My friend Dan Ruf (www.danielruf.typepad.com) and I met at the Peterson Homestead along Ingham Lake last week and spent a couple hours capturing images of the past. It's always more fun shooting when you can share the experience with a fellow photograper.

I debated for several days how to best show these images and what you see above was first processed in color, then to black and white and finally run through onOne software with three different layers. I hope you like the old time feel.

Have a great week and as always- thanks for taking time to comment-it's always appreciated.

Gooseberry Falls State Park:

I've been dreaming about a trip up north, so to fill those needs I've been revisiting some images from past trips that I haven't found time to process.These two images are fromm Gooseberry Falls State Parkwhich is about an hour north of Duluth, Minnesota and is one of the most popular state parks in the state. My family has fallen in love with Gooseberry and over the years I've taken enough images of this area to make a good sized book. There are five falls in this park and the above image is of the fourth falls

The above image is an angle of the middle falls that I've never taken until this fall when for some reason the angle of the trees really hit me. As I mature as a photographer, I'm learning to see more shapes and textures in nature that four years ago would have been oblivious to me. I give my friend Dan Ruf some of the credit for this, as we often spend hours discussing the ins and outs of photography techniques.

Both of these images were processed to resemble oil paintings and given a border to set them off. If you haven't been to Lake Superior or the northshore drive and you like to spend time enjoying nature- I highly recommend this area. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

New and Old:

I've been spending time this week improving my skills at using textures on images. It's a time consuming adventure but one I get a lot of satisfaction from. The above image of a cone flower heads was taken earlier this week, simplistic but I feel it offers a glimpse of what's outside this time of the year.

The above image is of an old friend-revisited. This old fishing boat was along the shoreline of Lake Superior but vandals have since destroyed it and this is the only workable image I have of it. I've visited this spot many times and had always hoped to get a good capture of it with an early morning sunrise with some really cool clouds-but I'll have to settle for the spider web. As my friend Dan has heard me say all to often- it's all about the journey not the destination. 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and your comments are always welcomed. Have a great week.

Christmas is in the air:

It's been a busy time around the Hedge household and also for many of the folks I've visited with. Dan Ruf and I had our "Throught The Lens" reception last Thursday evening at Arts On Grand and I would like to thank all of you that were so kind to stop by and see our work. For those of you that had conflicts and would like to see our work, it will be up until January 7th.
I will make this quick this week but did want to share some Christmas spirit with you and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I want to that all of you that have taken time to visit this site and thank you for your kind comments.
The pink flamingo above is a special gift for our friends Greg and Laurie in Des Moines. We've had a lot of fun over the years with the traveling flamingo and we just never know where it might show up.Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful holiday season.

 

2011 fall colors

This September I was able to make my annual fall pilgrimage to northern Minnestoa and after the poor fall color in Iowa this year, I'm sure glad I did. As it worked out I met my friend Dan Ruf at Gooseberry Falls State Park, which we used as our base camp. The farther north we went- the better the colors were.

The above image was captured at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. I was on my way back to the truck when I was struck by the beauty of this scene. There wasn't another person close and all I could hear was the rustle of the wind through the leaves and the smell of fall was definitely in the air.

                    
 
This image was captured at Banning State Park, just north of Hinkley, Mn.Thanks to Dan, this is now a regular stop for me on my way north. My internet is working better now so I hope I can share some more fall images for you soon. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

A work in progress:

 
Photography for most people I know is a constant work in progress. You have to continually be trying something new and pushing your abilities or you get left in the dust by the multitudes if new photographers. I know what I want my work to represent but I don't always get the result I envision, so as my title states "it's a work in progress". The above image was taken on one of my few free moments this week and as mother nature wasn't giving me a calm moment , I decided to take advantage of the wind she was giving me.

 
Thanks to my friend Dan Ruf, I was directed to this new little spot in Spirit Lake that has a great selection of wild flowers. Needless to say I had a lot of fun on a hot humid afternoon in between rain drops- thanks Dan.

 
That's about it for this week, hope you're finding ways to stay cool. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Flowers Of Summer:

 
It's been fun getting out and capturing flowers again after our long winter. The above columbine was found in a city flower bed in Wisconsin, which just goes to show that you have to keep your eyes open. My thanks goes out to the city of Algoma as I spent almost an hour capturing images of several colors of columbines as well as poppies.

 
The above image of a lady slipper, was something I was quite excited to find. In five years of capturing wild flowers, this is my first exposure to this beautiful little gal. They are about the size of a quarter and very easy to miss, in fact I drove by them the first time around. Needless to say I had a blast capturing their images and now that I know where to look, I'll be back.

 
The above image of a solomon's seal was inspired by my friend Dan Ruf at www.danielruf.typepad.com . I've been trying to capture this lily at Lost Island Lake for a couple years now but was never happy with how it turned out, until now. The bee had perfect timing. I hope you've enjoyed this weeks images and I appreciate your stopping by, have a great week.

Orange City Tulip Festival:

 
Another Tulip Festival has come and gone and even though mother nature was playing games I hear all went well. My friend Dan (www.danielruf.typepad.com) and I went to Orange City Wednesday evening to try and capture some tulip images and even though the wind was gusty , I managed to capture a couple images.

 
Most of the flower images here are from around the courtyard square which as usual was well organized. Orange City goes all out for its festival and every year the flowers in the courtyard are different, always a sight to see.

 
I hope you enjoy this brief look into the Tulip Festival, have a great week and as always thanks for stopping by.