Mulliken 48861

After the Thanksgiving bounty , last November 23 I turned into a pretty dull photographer. This view of the neighborhood they built around my house was about the best I could manage. The folks who built this road originally put up a temporary sign calling this street "Brittany," then replaced it with a permanent sign that spelled the name "Brittney." After a couple years the village replaced that sign, and we were back to "Brittany." I guess everyone's confused by now. ========== Jim at the Thriftway was still MIA, so I headed to Sunfield after the neighborhood shots. Got a good picture of Marko's, and used that as the 366 Snaps photo (see below). That one I'm pleased with; it captures the texture of the place well. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 24 Title of " roll :" Mulliken and Sunfield Other photos taken on 11/23/2012: none.

Last November 24 I took a double handful of pix around town.... This is on Charlotte Highway (same as Mulliken Road), just north of the tracks, not far from downtown Mulliken. Near as I can tell this barn's in the village, though it's not clear why the village boundaries are so much larger than the settled portion. ========== Eventually a photo-a-day project consumes you. You watch for photo ops constantly, mentally framing everything you see. You take odd routes to places just to scope out the scenery. You start carrying your camera nearly everywhere. Your attention wanders at inconvenient times and places. The project begins as a lark. After a few weeks it becomes part of your routine. After three months it's become an obligation. After six months it occasionally becomes an obsession. By the 300th day it's become--well, more than a hobby, but probably less than a job. It reflects your mood, and influences your mood. This is not entirely a good thing. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 10 Title of " roll :" Mulliken Other photos taken on 11/24/2012: none.

A Cooper's Hawk, I'm pretty sure. Sitting on our telephone pole, watching our bird feeders.

Sabersmith's loading dock, a couple years back. The building was built as a hardware store in the late 1990s, served for a time as an indoor archery range, and has been a manufactory for swords, knives, and other renaissance (SCA) gear for several years now.

My brother and sister had afternoon appointments a year ago, and I was pretty sure I'd capture my photo-of-the-day on my way to Kalamazoo. That didn't stop me from experimenting with the camera in the day's great light. I got some fine photographs. The photo above shows the outside wall of the Mulliken fire station. It's an interesting building--nothing fancy, but nicely done. This photo kind of turns things into an abstraction, which was my intention. The wall's been painted since I took this photo, and the door repainted. I've shown you this wall before . ========== My Dad's first new car was a 1960 Ford Falcon, in a pale blue, purchased (I think) in January of 1960. His earlier cars had been pretty utilitarian, and perhaps less than trustworthy. This car gave our family wings. The 366 Snaps photo captures a car that looks exactly like Dad's Falcon. It was for sale just south of Hastings, on my usual route to Kalamazoo, last fall. So a year ago I stopped and shot its photo. The car's been sold. I miss seeing it on my drives to visit my siblings. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 27 Title of " roll :" Shadows, mostly Other photos taken on 12/18/2012: none.

From a few years back. This is the view from our deck, or the garage. It's not much different from today's view--except the stubble in the foreground's become a lawn, and the row of trees along the street's been removed.

Who says you can't capture detail with a 6 megapixel camera? ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project discussion and stats for December 22 .

Back, & a bit rushed, for the last pictures of this project. We lost a few days to a power (and internet) outage. By December 22 I'd pretty much got the FujiFilm F10 under control, and spent an hour or so shooting mostly very sharp photographs in the day's excellent light. The Roadhouse is one of two local bars. This one brings entertainment, while Farmer's Tavern, as we've previously discussed , is locally famous for its food. The li'l camera did a good job on this photo, no? ========== The day's 366 Snaps photo was a version of a pic I'd shot several times before . I'm not even certain it was the best version. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 28 Title of " roll :" Around Mulliken in Sunlight Other photos taken on 12/22/2012: none.

Still playing catch-up. Or ketchup, if you've been a Time Waiter . This is the grain elevator at the end of my street. It's been out of business for a long time, now, and from time to time the current owners see fit to remove things. To be fair, they've also made some significant repairs, and they've preserved the general "look and feel" of the place. Several large structures have gone, as has the superstructure. ( This photo, from roughly the opposite angle, gives some hints .) ========== All the December 23 pix for 366 Snaps were taken close to home, since Joan and I were busy getting ready for Christmas. The photo I posted to the photo-a-day project was of our table cloth, which looks like Christmas wrapping paper. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 26 Title of " roll :" Around Mulliken Other photos taken on 12/23/2012: none.

We'd just watched Holiday Inn . That's my excuse for the title I gave the set. Fifteen shots was usually enough to find myself a photo for 366 Snaps , but last Christmas I rejected all 43 photographs from my first session, and tried again. For what it's worth, I'd have rejected 'em again today. The early shots were of sparrows, at the feeder, through the picture window. That's pushing what a slow camera can do, and the results weren't what I'd hoped. So I wandered outside and took photographs of the new snow in our yard. Those I'm quite happy with, thank you. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 43 & 20 Title of " roll :" Sparrows, mostly and A Whitish Christmas Other photos taken on 12/25/2012: As usual we spent Christmas at the farm, where I shot 18 photographs of David's dogs and one of David.

It end was near. A year ago I took one last little tour through Mulliken for 366 Snaps . First I visited the cemetery--took boring photographs--and then wandered the town's streets. This great porch, just north of the tracks, is one of the village's best features. ========== The photo I posted to 366 Snaps was shot from the south end of Ionia Street, looking towards Hoytville. There used to be a soft-serve ice cream stand in that lot, but it failed before I moved to town and was torn down--just before the building collapsed--a few years back. Now the local kids have built a short BMX track on the lot. By this point I'd recalled the things I loved about the FujiFilm F10 camera. Within its limits, it's a great camera. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 21 Title of " roll :" Snow in Mulliken Other photos taken on 12/29/2012: none.

I didn't know, when I started this project, that it would develop into a two year commitment--one to take the photographs, and a second to try to explain them. The building's the local Masonic temple, which is a rather ugly structure wrapped in tin siding. It sits on the edge of Mulliken's downtown park and presents park visitors with a large and forbidding wall, broken only by a door, a single window, and this fire escape. I'd decided months before that the escape would be the last 366 Snaps photo subject. So a year ago I headed downtown to find a couple dozen photos from a variety of angles. Please take note of the ice.... ========== A Photo a Day: advice * Set some simple rules. Just getting out there to take a photograph is hard, some days. Adding a layer of complexity is unwise. * Take photos early in the day. You may well take/post a better photograph later in the day, but at least you'll have something to work with if the day heads south. * Budget time. Between taking the photographs and processing them I usually spent 45 to 90 minutes each day on 366 Snaps . Some days were quicker, of course; some were slow. * Create sub-projects. These give you fallbacks for the dull days. * Scout out locations. Every day. These give you fallbacks for the dull days. * Experiment. Be creative. This goes without saying. But it means different things to different photographers. * Boredom is the enemy. Shoot anyway. * Busy-ness is the enemy. Shoot anyway. * If you miss a day, keep shooting anyway. This isn't a test, it's a project. * The last month is hard. Everyone I've followed during a daily shoot project reports this. I'm confirming it. * Some days you won't be happy with your daily photo. Those days you need to just go with what you've got. And learn from the mistake. ========== Would I do it again? Yeah. With even fewer rules. But not starting tomorrow. I've got some non-photographic projects I've been neglecting. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 24 Title of " roll :" Fire Escape Other photos taken on 12/31/2012: I spent much of the day playing with a lens adapter--attaching various Minolta lenses to my Nikon D300. The results were interesting, but in the end I concluded it wasn't a gain as my Minolta lens kit's much like my Nikon lens kit.

Before they reorganized the local Post Offices a few months ago, Fawn--who delivers the local rural route--would sort down her mail at our post office. Nowadays she's working out of Grand Ledge, but a year ago she was still based in Mulliken. This is her vehicle, parked under the tree behind the Mulliken Post Office. ========== The biggest danger to a daily photo project is boredom. Back in January I briefly discussed my photographic geography . Last June 11 I shot a few dull pix in the yard for 366 Snaps , then moved downtown and did better. But I was getting bored with this everyday stuff. The day before, as we've seen, I wandered around the local farm country. How about if tomorrow we wander Grand Ledge? And maybe a vacation this week? Please? ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 26 Title of " roll :" Miscellany, mostly birds Other photos taken on 6/11/2012: Didn't do a proper Daily Flower Census, but I took a few pix of this pretty rose . Then I got some nice bird photos with the Nikon 1. We still had the baby raccoon .

Every August the Brothers of the Ring Motorcycle Club hosts Hot Rods and Harleys in downtown Mulliken. One long-standing feature of the event is a tractor pull. Last year on the 25th I found a few contestants parked behind the Thriftway when I bought my morning's RC Cola. So those became my 366 Snaps subjects. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 5 Title of " roll :" HR&H Other photos taken on 8/25/2012: Twice during the day I took my V1 downtown and took pictures of the event.

And the fire station/township hall. Downtown Mulliken, Michigan.

The backside of Mulliken's Main Street in the background, shot from Railroad Street. That's the CSX (formerly Pere Marquette) mainline running off toward the horizon. After a (necessary) break I'm starting to take photography seriously again. I can tell because I've started thinking of photos as technical problems, even with the fairly limiting camera that took this photo. (FWIW: That's a reaction to the light-colored stripe at the bottom of the sky....) And early on my framing turns weird for a while.

I'm not happy with that speed limit sign, but the light this morning was terrific and a better angle just wasn't in the cards in sub-zero (F) temperatures on a busy road. So here's Sharp's. I've discussed this building before , and don't see any need to repeat myself.