The Richard C Burtis house in Watrouseville, also known as “The Wedding Cake House”
When I go out on a whirlwind tour someplace I am not familiar with to get photos, I think of it as similar to fishing. I make some plans, but I never know what I am going to get. I usually start my trips with a little research, and have a destination in mind, that way if I am going to drive an hour or two, I know I will have some photos I like. I usually plan on visiting well known landmarks, like a lighthouse or waterfall, I also check and see if there are some historical markers I can take pics at. I try to drive one route on the way there, and a different route on the way back to see as much as I can and get the most out of my trip since gas is so expensive.
I try to take back roads that go thru towns, instead of the interstate, sure the interstate is faster, but it’s kinda boring. I try to take back roads also from town to town, sometimes there is an obvious road that will take you to the next town, it was probably a wagon trail before there were cars, but the highway system made it obsolete. It’s usually along these roads I find old cemeteries, churches and schools. As long as we are on the subject of cemeteries, I have found that around old cemeteries, I see some of the most interesting things, like old houses and buildings. Most likely, the people buried in the cemetery, lived and worked in the places I find. I also like to travel down roads that run along rivers, besides the scenery of the river, most early settlers in Michigan built along the rivers, probably as lumber towns to float logs to the mill.
Old General Store in Kilmanagh
Since I live in Saginaw, and it’s hard to make it up to the U.P. and other well known natural Michigan landmarks, I photograph in central Michigan a lot. Central Michigan can be a real challenge in winter, ponds and rivers are frozen and snow covered and when I photograph them, they just look like snow covered fields. The towns have snow piled up on the sides of the roads, and are not attractive, that’s why I tend to photograph old houses and barns in the countryside. I take all my photos from public roads and sidewalks and do not trespass. As the snow melts and spring approaches I will start taking more pics of downtown areas. I want to get some pics of Detroit and other large cities this spring.
I hope that gives you a little insight as to how I find the places in my photos. Some of it’s planning and sometimes it’s just plain old luck, but as they say “Chance favors the prepared” and I always have my camera with me.
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Old Michigan Bean Elevator in Henderson