I celebrated Independence Day in “Small-Town USA.” To be specific, I was in Port Austin, Michigan. Imagine a patriotic lovechild between a state fair and the establishing sequence for a Jerry Bruckheimer movie.
It was a lot like that.
More Michigan Than you can Shake a Stick at!
Wow! I’ve been neglecting the ol’ blog for a while – but with good reason.
There’s quite a bit of big news in the works, but what with it being “in the works,” I’m gonna keep it on the down-low for just a bit longer. Suffice it to say, you may be seeing JonKPhoto at your local theaters and schools in the near future.
But for now – enough of that.
The big news in the art world is the same as the big news in most western countries: multi-denominational holidays and festivities are ready to drop in your lap like so much retail.
If you’ve been on the internet lately … (Jon stares, knowingly, directly into the camera) then you’ve probably heard the horror stories of the frenzied mobs, camping outside BestBuy, ready to bash you over the head with an outdated Apple product in order to be the first to the PS4 rack.
Guess what! Thanks to the benefits of modern technology, you can eat confectionery delights, rock the PJs, and STILL get an awesome present for that special someone (you know who I mean).
You probably know I take pictures. Sometimes. Occasionally… You may have even clicked that “Michigan Art” button on the home page. What you probably DON’T know (or you may, depending on how well you know me) is that when I shoot fine art imagery, it’s almost exclusively in Michigan.
I freakin’ LOVE Michigan!
Well, with the exception of a trip to Chicago, every image you find in my fine art site was shot in this state and the surrounding Great Lakes. Now, I feel it’s time to tie that little concept into my company.
All the images on my fine art site are available for purchase, from prints to postcards, from mugs to mousepads, if you can think of an image-related gift item you’d like to wrap up then immediately watch someone unwrap, I’ve got you covered.
I don’t directly market my fine art, so I’ll take a moment to fill your eyeballs with some Michigan beauty.
Enjoy, and in case you missed the plethora of hyperlinks up there, you can check out the full site HERE… and Here.
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Here also.
OK, here are pictures.
– Jon
Here.
Danger Time.
Back in the day, when I first began my educational journey into photography, I met two people about a week apart. Ashley Lawler and I became “significant others” and have remained that way for the better part of half a decade. Carl Amyoni and I have remained very close friends and instigators of each others’ bad habits for a similar time frame.
Now – this is all nice and nostalgic, but personal relationships aside, we also make up a trio of photographic entertainment.
In the early stages of our acquaintance, we decided to start a series we initially called the “Canadian Olympics.” It would consist of ham-hocked trials, regular risk of personal injury, and a lot of plaid. In the end it will probably be a series of images of people doing incredibly stupid things.
As is the case with too may things these days, the concept fell through and all we were left with was a series of “promo shots” and one very elaborate and flame-filled take on the luge.
Recently, I have been wrapping up a series of time-sucking endeavors and can see a gleaming orb of free time rising on the eastern horizon.
Furthermore – I feel that if I stick this in the world-wide-web, it will prompt people to bother me about new pictures.
YES YOU! I AM RELYING ON YOU TO PESTER ME FOR WORK.
In the meantime – enjoy this blast from the past with a special guest appearance by my cousin, Mike Strong.
– Jon
I am the Dragon pt.2
A couple days ago, we dropped it like it’s hot… flaming hot.
As you might remember from the end of the post- one should take great caution when spitting flaming liquid out of one’s face. Well, even though caution was taken, there could have been more.
I learned a new lesson.
– Jon
I am the Dragon.
Back in the day (it was a Wednesday) I taught myself a neat-o party trick: FIREBREATHING!
It’s great for all kinds of things – weddings, kid’s parties, lighting birthday cake candles, even getting rid of hornet nests. But, above all else, visual entertainment.
Here’s a little collection of some of my favorite shots.
Now, before you say “Hey, that’s nifty. I should get down on some of that!” you should realize the downsides.
1.) You’re shooting fire out of your face.
2.) Thermodynamics
3.) YOU’RE SHOOTING FIRE OUT OF YOUR FACE!
It’s pretty much a guarantee that the first couple times you try something like this, you’ll be ending up with a quick sunburn. That’s not to say it’ll be completely safe after you’ve had practice.
Recently, I attempted a picture while standing in Lake Huron. I was in one of the largest bodies of fresh water on Earth. I soaked my head before I took the shot. I also had my back to the wind – so the fire would just get blown even further away from me, right?
WRONG.
Apparently the oxygen that was consumed directly in front of my face because of the fire was replaced, and then some, by the wind wrapping around my head. So, be sure to stop back in a day or two for the follow up pictures on why you should know more about physics when attempting something like this.
In closing, don’t be stupid… like me. It could end really badly.
– Jon
JonKPhoto 