A New Boat.

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
-From The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

A few photos from the launching of new boat by JW Swan Boatworks. Josh and I went down to one of the growing gaps in the ice to give this craft its first taste of the lake. This 14 ft. row boat, built for a customer in Chicago, is based on a classic design for small working boats in Norway. To conserve weight the hull is planked with special mahogany marine plywood rather than solid wood, but sealed with a traditional and non-toxic combination of pine tar and linseed oil, also affectionately known as "boat sauce." Pretty cool to see it slip into the water for the first time. This got me excited for boating season. Now all I need is a boat...

Spring.

This man makes bad choices. And not just about ties.

This is Phil Baker. Phil makes bad choices, and not just about which tie to wear. Phil was one of the attendees at Governor Walkers dinner at the Steak Pit in Washburn, Wisconsin on Saturday, March 12. The invitation only event, as I understand it, brought Phil and about 100 other significant local GOP financial backers together to hear the Governor and Sean Duffy speak. This is how I know Phil makes bad decisions. His dollars (and presumably his vote) are supporting an agenda that will destroy Wisconsin's future. He's undercutting education, local government, health care and a myriad of other efforts Wisconsinites have worked hard to put in place. So if you see Phil, or any of the other folks shown below, calmly and politely tell them you don't like what they're doing. Tell them to support the people of Wisconsin, not the corporate agenda. Tell them education is the key to a prosperous future for the people of Wisconsin, and that includes them. Don't swear, don't argue, don't threaten. Just tell them you don't like what they're doing and walk away.

Rick Fraatz

Diane Morrison

Unknown (If you know who this is, let me know)

Unknown

Update on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 09:25PM by Bob Gross

Okay, can anyone confirm that the guy with the cigarette and the beer is Jack Cass? Also can anyone confirm the alien siting. That's the real issue here. If we're going to get attacked by aliens, none of this really matter anyway...

Direction.

It's finally starting to feel like a new year. I know, I know, it's officially been 2011 for more than two months now, but it's finally starting to feel like it, at least for me. As the days get longer and the sun starts shining brighter, I'm actually starting to believe that the promise of spring really is just around the corner; it seemed so unlikely. It's been a hard winter here. We're ready for spring, for something new and green and alive.

I'm also ready for a new direction in my work, a new kind of focus. Last year was incredible in a lot of ways. I was busy all the time. I travelled all over the country for photos. I shot jobs on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts, not to mention the beautiful shores of Lake Superior. I don't even know how many thousand miles I covered to do it, but, simply put, it was a lot. Maybe too much. I want this year to be different.

This year I want to work more in this community. And not because I don't want to travel. I love traveling. I want to do more work here because this is the community where I live. I want to see this area be successful. I'll admit that's partly for selfish reasons, but I'm not sure that's bad. I want the businesses here to flourish, I want the people here to have good jobs and make a decent living. I want this to be a place that rises up from an economic downturn to find a new, more stable economy based on a local market, not distant Wall Street. And I see ways that I can help to make that happen.

I'm not saying that a few good pictures and some graphic design will make this area into a bustling metropolis. In fact, even if they could, I'd rather they didn't. But I am saying that I want to focus more of my energy here. I want my work to have an impact on the people and businesses I see everyday, not just cities and people somewhere else. I'm not sure what that all means yet, but I'm figuring it out. And for starters it means meeting more people here. If you own a business in this area, send me an e-mail, call me, meet me for coffee. Let's talk about what we can do together. It couldn't hurt.

A Good Day at Work.

As a photographer, most days are pretty good. I routinely get to go interesting places, meet cool people, and of course get some great images along the way. But let's be honest, in any job, some days are better than others. For example Saturday was well above average. For me anyday that you get to hang out the open door of a moving helicopter to take photos is a good day at work. Now, if that helicopter also happens to be flying over autumn wildfires in Yosemite National Park, well that's pretty dang hard to beat. Here's a couple of my favorites, stay tuned for more: