Milestone – Article based on stock travel photography in Iceland to be published in Digital Photography School!

So back in June I went to Iceland, had a wonderful time… I participated in the GREEN Energy Program then spent a few extra days driving around and taking photos of anything I wanted to, glorious time. I didn’t write my usual tips article based on my experience for this blog because I proposed an article about stock travel photography to Digital Photography School‘s Tips and Tutorials section and it was accepted! I just learned that it will be published on the 20th of October. I’ll update this entry with a link to DPS when it comes out. Update October 19th – you can find the article here.

So I saved the tips and my best photos for the DPS article, but here are a few other photos to give you a sense of what a lovely country Iceland is. Many of these photos were taken while on guided tours with Ardar, aka Addi, the best guide ever at South Iceland Adventures.

Got to see lots of waterfalls, such as Seljalandsfoss:

Hiked Sólheimajökull glacier:

Had a great time going on a puffin viewing hike at the Ingolfshofdi nature reserve:

Got up close with an Icelandic horse:

Had a great time at the Glacier Lagoon:

Beautiful country, lovely people… You can also see some of my Iceland photos at my Shutterstock site.

October 24 update – Change featured image to a screenshot of the icon for the article at DPS. So cool to see it published and to have some readers stop by the blog and learn from past blog articles!

Monthly reflections – September 2015

In September my teaching job needed most of my time, but I managed to take some photos around town. In the most exciting news, my proposal to write an article about stock travel photography tips for Digital Photography School was accepted! I submitted and waiting to hear back from them, can’t wait to see it in my feedly newsfeed, that’ll be unreal… Thanks to my photography and arty friends Mary, Shonda and Wayne for their editing suggestions.

As for the monthly Shutterstock website update, at 1339 just 1 higher than last month, still plenty of photos to process from the summer, but just can’t seem to find the time…

The penguin with the fish made it into the popular ones, and beyond that logos continue to be my biggest sellers, along with Detroit and Holland Tulip Festival shots:

Now recovering from a hoodly cold that has flattened many of my students, eager to process more photos in October and maybe apply to some photo exhibits around town with some of the photos that are already framed…

Best wishes on your photography adventures,

Susan

Monthly reflections – August 2015

Wow, that’s summer gone. I do plan to write up the trip to Iceland from back in June, but waiting to see if there might be interest in that piece at a professional photography website and it can’t be published elsewhere first, so cross your fingers on that one.

August included some good times taking photos in England and a pleasant solo photo day driving Up North.

I’m really happy that on a recent visit to Chicago (not many stock photos so no write up about it) we stopped by the Central Camera, right downtown on Wabash avenue. They have been open since 1899 and with the wonderful service they offer I’m not surprised. Among other things I finally bought a Op/Tech Utility Strap – Sling camera strap, absolutely LOVE it. Takes all the weight off your neck, such a relief! If you have been considering this step I would strongly encourage you to do it, you’ll be so glad you did…

Now to the monthly Shutterstock website update, here are the most recent ones, not much uploaded, so only up to 1338, not the end of summer goal of 1,500, oh well, we move on… Still, very proud of the ones that have made it in so far, feel they represent nicely the beauty that is Iceland…

As for popular, Planned Parenthood still in the news, Chrysler Jeep’s plant showing up a bit, and you can see flu shot season is upon us, that sticky note is making a comeback, Holland and Detroit also feature a bit:

On to the Fall and the start of the school year, hope to make/find the time to upload more… In the meantime, best wishes on YOUR photography adventures,

Susan

Shooting stock photos – solo photo day driving up north

Recently had a fun time driving up north to Mackinaw city. Long story but it was just a quick overnight trip, and leaving super early to spend an afternoon on Mackinac Island on my own didn’t appeal, so I figured I’d just take my time, start the drive mid-morning, and since I was on my own just take my time taking photos of whatever appealed.

For those of you not familiar with Michigan, that’s pretty much a straight shot up the middle of the “mitten” that is Michigan, going through Flint:

I wasn’t really sure what I would take photos of, but that was part of the excitement, see how the day developed. I started out spending a chunk of time just half an hour north or Ann Arbor at an outside mall taking logo photos of stores, a thing I do… Then when I got to Flint, MI I realized I hadn’t been there in many many years, so I swung by and took some photos there:

I did a quick search on “Things to do in Flint” and had it show me the map of the locations and just drove around, all the time in the world, lovely… Of course had to also stop at the home of Halo Burgers:

I took more shots at the University of Michigan Flint, and the Institute of Arts, and other museums. After a couple hours I got going and soon enough saw the sign for the Civilian Conservation Corps museum. I have seen that sign many times and have thought of stopping, but I usually felt in a rush to get to Mackinaw City, so let it pass. Today was the day! Very interesting history reading about the Michigan men who were employed in large part to grow pine trees to be used in reforestation projects throughout the state. This was the main building:

Glad I stopped by… Ended the day at a little cottage right on lake Huron, lovely view:

So, reflection. Overall a relaxing day, great to make the time for these unplanned unstructured photo trips… What I did right:

Take the time to just see what the day brought, being open to the experience. The four hour trip ended up taking me over seven hours…
Did a quick “things to do in Flint” check to catch the major sites.
Take comfortable shoes, I did a lot more walking than I expected.

I’ll update this when I have cleaned up the photos and submitted them to Shutterstock, been trying to fit lots on my plate in August, and the school year is around the corner… Figured best to write this up even if they are not posted to Shutterstock yet…

Best wishes on your photography adventures,

Susan

Shooting stock photos – England

The first week in August I took my sons to England, had a good time, had fun taking photos. Unfortunately as I mentioned in my end of July update I had set the photos to too small for Shutterstock during another trip and didn’t notice it until halfway through the England trip, so only one day of photos has a shot at Shutterstock… Luckily for me lots of the fun is in the taking…

Didn’t have dedicated stock photo days since I was with family and for many reasons couldn’t go out on my own much, but did the best with the time I had. Managed a shot of Stonehenge with not too many people around:

Then spent some time in Stratford, where we visited Shakespeare’s grave:

On to Windsor castle:

These will all be too small for Shutterstock, oh well…

Luckily I did figure this out the next to last day. The last day we took the double-decker tour bus of London, which was going incredibly slowly because the horrendous traffic caused by an Underground strike. Silver lining for me ’cause I was able to take lots of photos that should work out very well since the bus wasn’t moving much… Lots of logo shots will be coming from that one…

One favorites from the day is this one of Tower Bridge, taken during an accompanying boat trip down the Thames:

Haven’t made time to process them and submit the larger ones to Shutterstock yet, I’ll update the blog with a link to the accepted photos when I do.

Let’s dispense with what I would do differently, that of course would be to not budge the photo size and always keep it on large… What I did right:

Took lots of photos, wasn’t shy about pulling out the camera.
Looked for the little details. Although this one will be too small for Shutterstock, I was pleased with this “mind the gap” one I took at a train station:

Asked for some patience from my kids as I tried to get “the shot” in some places I would never get back to, like Shakespeare’s burial place. I try hard not to have the trip become “mama takes photos and the boys tag along,” but at the same time every once in a while…

Best wishes on your photography adventures,

Susan

October 24 update – Finally submitted some of the photos last week. You can see the ones Shutterstock accepted here.

Monthly Reflections – July 2015

And now we’re into August, hope your summers are going well!

Just returned from a family trip to England, took a few photos, though also realized in trying to submit photos of the Underground strike quickly due to their timeliness that somewhere toward the end of the Iceland trip I set my photo size to 4 MP vs. the usual 16 MP, so lots of photos I took since then (4th of July, a few in Toronto, half of the ones in England) won’t be large enough for Shutterstock, bummer. I had switched to small photos for that one photo ’cause it was for my sister and not for stock and I didn’t want to have to resize it… and after the end of taking that one photo I got distracted and didn’t set it back and since I haven’t submitted any photos to Shutterstock lately I didn’t notice it – thank goodness I don’t depend on stock for my livelihood… I had a bit of negative “and you call yourself a photographer…” thinking, but only for a few minutes, I know now to have a little cry and move on, spending any more time on that is just a waste of energy… So focus on lesson learned: From now all all large photos all the time, not taking a chance on that again…

I did submit a handful photos to Shutterstock, so I’m up to 1320 images. I made some progress on the Iceland photos, selected over 100 of them for stock- about 80 of which are large enough for Shutterstock, whew! Now to find the time to finish getting them ready and submitting them…

So here are the most recent photos on Shutterstock, with the few extra logos:

And the most popular photos as of this month, as always the logos dominate. With Planned Parenthood in the news I got lots of downloads of that one, and I see a few from the Holland photo shoot as well, great!

So planning on lots of uploading in August… In the meantime, best wishes on your photography adventures.

Susan

Monthly Reflections – June 2015

Yikes, July is just whooshing on by and I haven’t written up my end of June posting yet, oopsies…

Had a great time in Iceland, will be processing those photos and the 4th of July photos too, just so many things I want to do this summer… I did catch up on processing the logo photos so I’m up to 1314 images on Shutterstock! My goal is still 1,500 by the end of summer…

Here are my most recent photos on Shutterstock, with the ones from the trip to Toledo leading the way:

and the most popular below. Logos and store fronts still making it big, as well as Detroit photos, and some of the yellow stickers, have to come up with more of those sometime…

Have been enjoying Lynford Morton’s Shutterbug Life podcasts, always learn something from them…

OK back to the garden, catch you again soon. In the meantime, best wishes to you on your photography adventures.

Susan

Shooting Stock Photos – Toledo solo photo day

Had a vacation week last week, took one day and went to Toledo for the day. I had chatted with friends from Toledo and done some research so I had some idea of what I wanted to catch – It’s really like a fun scavenger hunt! Caught some store logos on the way down, just can’t help myself:

Started with an iconic photo at the University of Toledo:

then headed for downtown. Unfortunately some of the angles I wanted to take ended up being in the shade. I know I’m supposed to go on a more cloudy day, I thought it was going to be partly cloudy on this day but it ended up being sunny, which posed many challenges. I’ll be going back to catch those I couldn’t quite get.

Got to the Imagination Station (think science museum) when there were bunches of kids being unloaded off buses, so I waited for them to be done. I walked around and tried different angles, some focusing on the building, some more on the sign, ended up happy with these two after much trying around, takes longer than you’d think, so plan to be patient, it’s worth the wait. You can’t be in a rush, or you’ll just get frustrated and your photos will suffer for it…

As I was driving around I noticed an Ohio Turnpike sign, and figured that was fairly iconic, maybe that would be worth a shot, and as we were in a bit of slow traffic I took a chance and got a sign photo that was accepted too:

Some of the photos I took in the morning were in the shade, so I went back again in the afternoon to try them again, but the sun was just too bright and didn’t make for good photos. Have to learn my lesson soon that shady really is best for some of these, but can’t help loving a sunny day when the angle is just right, luckily Toledo is just an hour away, so I’ll just keep the list with me for the next time I go past…

After taking a photo and cleaning it up, I added an editorial caption following Shutterstock’s preferred format, which you eventually get down to a science. You can see all the Toledo photos Shutterstock accepted here.

Monthly Reflections – May 2015

Finally in May we got some photography action, yey! The day job had more loose ends to tie up than I remembered, but I did have/made some time for photography.

I went to Holland, MI to take photos at the Tulip Time festival. I started to process some of the logo photos but was quite disappointed when all 15 photos in the first set I submitted were turned down. After a few days of feeling bad that I must have lost my touch, or standards must have gotten stricter, what was the point, what was I thinking thinking I was a good photographer, etc. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and gave it another shot, and got a whole slew of photos accepted, whew! Finally broke past the 1091 photos I’ve had on Shutterstock for the past 8 months with 82 new photos approved…

Here are the most recent ones:

and the most popular ones:

June seems promising. I have a week off from my day job this coming week, when I’ll be celebrating the first year anniversary of this blog, as well as taking photos and processing lots of logo photos I took Fall and Christmas break. Mid-June I have that work trip to Iceland, so I plan to get lots of good shots there too, I can’t wait…

Best wishes on YOUR photography adventures,

Susan

Shooting stock photos – Tulip Time Festival in Holland, MI

I have always wanted to go to the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, MI, where those with Dutch ancestry are kind enough to share their heritage with the public, and what better excuse than taking stock photos for going this year? Also great to finally have some more time to devote to stock photos…

I checked out their website and figured out that the mother-daughter dance would make for good photos, so I based my schedule on that. Many stock photo websites want names of any children in even editorial photos so I planned to skip that one. I got to Holland and found out that it was graduation day at Hope College, so I hung around and got some good photos of people taking post graduation shots:

Then some photos of the Art Fair, thinking of shots that might be of demand by people writing about the event in future years, so wanted to make sure I got the logo in there. I hung out there for 15-20 minutes taking shots of people walking in and out of the fair until I got this shot of some photogenic people:

The funny thing is that Michiganders are a generally considerate people, so many of them on seeing that I’m taking photos stop to not get in the shot, when I’m trying to get photos with people IN the shot… Fun..

I got a good seat in front of a church so I’d have a nice background, and waited half an hour for the mother-daughter dance. Wish I’d had the ISO a bit lower than the 1000 I had it set at, but the photos were acceptable to Shutterstock much to my delight:

Afterwards some of the dancers were posing for photos. I was feeling a little shy at first, but then, inspired by Ron Scubadiver, one of the photographers I follow, I asked them to pose and they were so nice about it:

Then I went to Windmill Island hoping for a great shot of the windmill with tulips in front of it, but the tulips weren’t quite cooperating, poo… So, decided to try for another tourist shot and hung out for quite a while until I got a cute couple taking a selfie with the windmill, to add a personal element to the photos:

Had to wait quite a while to makes sure I had a cute couple, and no unflattering views of other people in the background bending over or anything, so another 15-20 minutes here too. You can see all the photos Shutterstock accepted here.

It’s great to be back to taking stock photos, and having time to process them – tons of logo photos to get to this week…

Best wishes to you on your photography adventures…

Susan

Monthly Reflections – April 2015

Not much to say for April, day job took much of my energy, so not done much photography beyond some summer planning, though I did make some progress on learning Icelandic some (The uTalk app is great for vocabulary practice!) , and made plans for some other travel days around here. Also mastered not stressing out over not blogging much during the school year, it is what it is…

Looking at the Shutterstock portfolio and comparing it to past months things seem pretty static overall, can’t wait to see what changes come up this summer when new photos go in.

Summer is officially here as of today, though, so I can focus more on photography (and blogging) vs. my students… More soon…

Best wishes in your May photography adventures,

Susan

Monthly reflections – March 2015

March brought some excitement – I sold my first framed photograph! As for the stock photo website, logos are still selling very well, as well as Detroit and Indianapolis photographs – That Detroit photo day really paid off, as well as the extra time taking some photos while I was in Indianapolis for work:

I bought that 50 mm lens, but I haven’t had a chance to play with it, the day job is just too crazy busy. I followed up a bit on that proposal to the coffeehouse for the photo exhibit, but no luck yet, I’ll have to work on that later… The great thing with stock photography is that the money keeps coming even when you don’t work.

Looking ahead, I’ll be going to Iceland for an energy program in June, and staying a few extra days for travel, so looking forward to getting some great stock photos then, now trying to learn some Icelandic… góðan daginn…

Best wishes in your April photography adventures,

Susan

Monthly reflections – February 2015

So… February….

The good news – A record month for both Shutterstock and iStockphotos and a by far record month for stock photo sales overall, yey!

Too busy with regular work and life happenings (tailbone owies take a lot longer to heal when you’re almost 50, and RIP Aten the cat…) to process photos but I did submit a proposal to a local coffeehouse to see if they might be interested in exhibiting the car details photos – cross your fingers…

It occurred to me it might be interesting to take a screenshot of my Shutterstock page each month to see how the most popular photos change over time. At the end of February 2015 I’m at 1091 images, and the most popular photos include many Detroit photographs as well as those store logos that have really paid off! Some of the post-it note themed images did well too, hmmm…

Shutterstock February 2015

Looking ahead to March, every reason to think I can finally process those logo photos I took over the holidays, let’s see…

I wish you the best in your March photography adventures,

Susan

Year in Review – Looking back on 2014, with many thanks…

So the end of 2014 is here, good chance to reflect… Some things I’m proud of:

– Creating this blog this summer and continuing to post fairly regularly.
– Reaching 1,000 photos on my Shutterstock site by the end of the summer.
– Attending Mike Moats‘ micro photography workshop, I’d held on to the workshop pamphlet I picked up from his Ann Arbor Art Fair booth for years waiting for one to take place near me during the summer and to feel “worthy” … I learned so much from him, and glad I can keep learning through his posts.
– Learning from other WordPress photographers, particularly Lianne Cole, Simon Bowler, Mark Simms and the incredibly prolific Amy Saab , all tremendous role models to me – Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos!
– Having my first solo exhibit, “It’s In The Details” about car details, and also being selected for the Letters and Leaves exhibit at the local botanical garden.
– Starting the logo photography project, I’ve had such fun with that, AND it’s been a big money maker!
– Creating a gallery on Fine Art America to sell prints of my photos, curious how that will go.

I look forward to seeing just what 2015 brings, might just purchase that 50 mm lens I’ve had my eyes on for a while, would love to have a print sale… I know that one way or the other I’ll grow as a photographer, learning from the many outstanding photographers I’ve met and sharing my experiences with those interested in photography…

Best wishes to you in your 2015 photography adventures,

Susan

Monthly reflections – November 2014

Lots of excitement since the October Monthly Reflections …

The It’s in the details solo exhibit is up and running through mid-December, it looks great! I had a reception that 40-50 friends attended, so wonderful to have the support of so many friends! I wonder if any of the photos will sell, wouldn’t that be a hoot!

I also got that ivy photo accepted at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens’ Letters & Leaves – Nature As Inspiration for Poetry exhibit, can’t wait to see how that one looks, headed there this week-end.

Not much time to take photos given my day job and mom demands, but the photos I have online are making for some nice extra income – Thanks, Shutterstock !

Monthly reflections – October 2014

Decided to write some monthly reflections, help me track my progress as a photographer and keep followers posted…

Excited about my photo exhibit coming up, looks like mid-November to mid-December. I have picked up the framed photos from Michael’s and they look really good, if I say so myself. Had to decide on pricing, and went with $150 per framed photo (12″x 18″ photo, 18″ x 24″ framed), based on cost of printing and framing, their 30% cut, and wanting to make a little profit on them… They accepted my Artist Statement (tee hee…) Finalizing details on exhibit dates and reception then I’ll start inviting everyone…

Tried out for the Ann Arbor Art Center All Media Exhibit with two photos:

Timing was such that if I waited until I was selected I wouldn’t have time to get them framed by their deadline, so I went ahead and got them framed and then learned I didn’t get in… Can’t feel bad, there were over 140 applications! Oh well, they’re ready to go for a future exhibit and so far I have spent less in framing than I have made in stock photography this year, so eating into profits but not going into debt…

I am in the process of applying for another exhibit at the local botanical garden, have printed the photos but I think I can wait until I learn if I’m in before I have to invest in framing them…

The logo photos project is an unqualified success! Significant sales, have taken many other photos that I have yet to processed, been too busy with other things to take more, but itching to get back out there, gotta make time around day job and personal time… That should keep me busy during the winter months…

I’m considering getting a new lens, maybe a 35 mm or a 50 mm, I really can’t make up my mind… Likely ’cause I’m not totally sure whether to prioritize portraits or street photography, know I’d like to take indoor shots that let in more light… This article has some ideas. Any suggestions?

That’s it for October. Need to make more time for photography, trying to prioritize so many things, life is so short…

Shooting stock photos – Traveling Vietnam Memorial exhibit

My sister and I recently had the good fortune to attend The Moving Wall exhibit when it visited Hamburg, MI. It’s a traveling half-size replica of the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We were very touched by how caring everyone was, how solemn and strangely peaceful it was, and how very well organized the event was. I took a number of photographs and selected the best, which I sent to the organizer via email from my stock photo email address, offering them for her to use, free of charge, of course.

I requested official permission to take photos so I could submit them to stock photo sites, explaining how they work, and gave her the template text, following Shutterstock’s permissions format:

To whom it may concern,

I grant Susan Montgomery credentials to photograph (name of event) in (location) on (date)

Name of authorized person, Title
Organization

They were pleased the photos and promptly granted me permission, and I got a number of them approved!

On reflection, what I did right:

– Took my time and waited for the right occasions to get just the right shots. We walked back and forth three times looking for the right occasions.

– Tried many angles and positions. I started off with a flower shot in another location, kept working the angles, trying different views. Overall I probably took about 15 before getting to this one. It’s a wonderful feeling when you feel you got the shot that expresses what you were trying to say…

– Kept my distance, to respect those who were honoring loved ones. There were many shots I didn’t take because they would have been intrusive.

What I would do differently next time:

– If schedule allowed it that week-end, gone on a sunnier day, for a better background sky.

– Worn a duller color, I had to be mindful of not having the reflection of my bright t-shirt on the black wall. Now I see why photographers often wear dark.

Overall we were very glad to get a chance to see this touching and thought provoking exhibit. I have been to the permanent one in DC, but it had been many years, and this traveling one is quite special. You can see the photos that Shutterstock accepted here.

Milestone – A thousand images on Shutterstock!

Excited that this week I hit 1,000 images on Shutterstock! I was at close to 800 at the start of the summer and set a goal to hit 1,000 by the end of the summer, did great with Detroit photo day, then things slowed down a bit and thought it wasn’t going to happen, but UM football team photo day with 79 photos put me back in the running, and now it’s happened, yey!

You can see that except for that first year, when I was uploading images I already had, most of my activity happens during the summers. This summer I decided to focus a lot on photography, what a blast! Things will slow down with the school year starting in the United States and my “day job” getting considerably busier, but I hope to continue to make progress… (Hmmm… I tell my students to substitute “hope” with “plan” and figure out a way to make it happen, I should heed my own advice…) I plan to continue to make progress… The store logo project should yield a bunch more photos, I have some upcoming events I plan to take photos at, and later indoor photos projects… Should be fun!

If you’re wondering what the dip Summer 2011 is about – I had submitted a bunch of photos from a Detroit Tigers baseball game Summer 2010 that got through, but when I submitted a similar batch Summer 2011 they had stiffened their permissions requirements so that I needed official credentials that I didn’t have. When they rejected the 2011 photos I pointed out the 2010 photos and offered to have them removed, which they did, thus the dip.

Looking forward to keeping the momentum going into the school year…

Shooting stock photos – Store logos

I had noticed that many articles on websites and newspapers about companies include shots of company logos, so I decided to hunt up some company logos for stock photo shots. I went early on a Sunday morning with no bright sun to one of our streets with lots of stores and went up and down the different strip malls and took shots of close-ups of logos:

and store fronts:

I then cropped and aligned them, and composed an editorial caption by looking up some news about them, and following Shutterstock’s captioning instructions , so for example:

ANN ARBOR, MI – AUGUST 24: Chili’s, whose east Ann Arbor store logo is shown on August 24, 2014, has announced it will create a line of frozen foods.

I also have to remember that when I submit them to iStockphoto I have to change the capital letters at the start to lower case to match their caption style…

What I did right:

– Went on a Sunday so parking lots were empty and I could move around easily and not so many folks thinking me creepy for taking photos. Some of the shots were taken from the van.
– Made sure my van was not showing in the reflection of the glass..
– No bright sunshine, so no harsh shadows
– Looked up news about each company, or if I couldn’t find any news looked up their website and wrote up how many stores they have in the US or some such.

What I would do differently:

– In some cases I got just the logo and not the store, later realized I should get one of each, so going back to reshoot some of them.
– Weather was a bit too cloudy at times, so some shots were not as good as I’d like, have to back for some of those too.

Some might think of this as too much like work, but I am a collector at heart, so this is more like a scavenger hunt for me, really enjoy it for some weird reason… To see all such photos in my Shutterstock collection click here.

Dec 6 addendum – You can see by looking at my complete Shutterstock collection by popularity just what a huge hit the logos have been – sharp increase in my Shutterstock income!

Stock photo tip – Develop your own events calendar

I realized recently that I was relying on my memory to remember when certain annual events took place. It occurred to me I should develop my own events calendar, so I thought I’d share the idea with others, as I bet I’m not the only one this happens to.

I googled a number of annual events listing websites around Ann Arbor and the Detroit area, and created my events calendar as a Googledoc text document, making a note of the actual date for those whose dates were already listed, and leaving the others to look up later. So for example for June I have:

JUNE

2015 3-7 Ann Arbor and others – Cinetopia International Film Festival
2015 5-7 Ann Arbor – Ya’ssoo Greek Festival
2015 6 Ann Arbor – African American Downtown Festival
2015 12 Ann Arbor – Green Fair
2015 12 – July 5 Ann Arbor Summer Festival

Ann Arbor – Dexter Ann Arbor Run
Ann Arbor – Juneteenth
Race for the Cure – Susan Komen foundation
Belleville – National Strawberry Festival
Detroit – Cruisin’ Gratiot
Howell – Michigan Challenge Balloonfest
Lincoln Park and others – Cruisin’ Downriver
Frankenmouth – Bavarian Festival
Detroit – River days
Sterling Heights – Stars and Stripes Festival
Detroit – Motor City Pride
Ypsilanti – Depot Town Cruise Nights, Thursday nights

I made sure I noted “2015” on those dates that I knew, so in the future I know to update it. As dates for the other events are finalized I’ll incorporate them into the chronological listing.

Now I am more confident to not miss an event, and can plan ahead to check for press pass deadlines, etc.

I didn’t want to use an actual calendar, list seemed better for me for some reason. I also decided not to worry about including related websites since I can always Google the event, but you might prefer to do so, and might decide you prefer a spreadsheet vs. a text document.

Of course this makes me wonder – how do others keep track of possible shooting opportunities? I invite you to share your ideas in the comments area, thanks!

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