Midland, Michigan Senior Portrait Photographer | Eve Tuft Photography

Tag: Outdoors

Golden Autumn Hues

Autumn is my absolute favorite season of the year. It’s as though everything gets painted over with an enormous, golden brush. My husband claims that fall is more of a woman’s season. It probably is. 😉 Most women I know prefer the fall. Maybe it’s the sweaters and the cute boots. Perhaps it’s the pumpkin in everything. I personally love the orchards and the cooler temperatures. But of all the things it is, it is definitely magical to me. I come from a place that is hot most of the year. We do have seasons there, but they are short-lived. Here in Michigan we have the most beautiful and drawn-out seasons, and I much prefer that.

Every year when fall comes around I get giddy with excitement over the changing leaves. My husband and I try and decide which color is our favorite, and I always come back to the golden ones. Not quite yellow. Not brown. But right in-between. Here in Midland we have some gorgeous maple trees that turn that orange-y color, and they are amazing! I hope you’re enjoying the fall as much as I am. These were all taken in my backyard.

I also love this season because this is when so many people have their senior sessions! In fact, I just took one a few days ago. I can’t wait to share them with you in the coming days. Stay tuned!

October 31, 2018
September Stroll

September is a month where I start feeling like things are changing. Maybe it’e because my kids are starting school again. Or maybe it’s because it seems the weather gets its crispness in September. Perhaps it’s when I start noticing the sky becoming bluer or the shadows getting longer. But September is a month of change. And I love it so much.

This year I feel as though we didn’t get a month of being in-between. It’s as though we went straight from a hot summer sun to a cold end-of-fall chill. Where did the 60 degree weather go? What about the low 70’s?? Perhaps we’ll still have a few of those days in the coming weeks, but it sure seems like it got cold fast.

My husband and I decided to take the kids out to the Chippewa Nature Center and have a picnic, possibly our last one until next spring. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the bug spray, so we both ate and got eaten. But it’s all good, right? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? Those darn bugs! Arg, I sure hate mosquitoes. In actuality, they were around when we went for a stroll and not as much when we started eating. Thankfully.

And since the leaves haven’t started turning much yet, I took a few liberties and changed them myself in Photoshop. 😉 Come at me, October. I’m ready for you.

October 3, 2018
Beauty in My Backyard

We recently spent a whole lot of money on our backyard. The previous owners had a huge above-ground pool in the back, but I really didn’t feel comfortable with that since my kids are still so little. So they took it out just before leaving and left a big sand pit of death behind. My kids love sand. They love it! My husband and I (and our floors) could really do without it. I really wanted a play set, so after a little begging and whining, my husband finally gave in. 😉

In June the project was finally finished, and now, instead of a sand pit and weeds and sadness, there’s a beautiful play set and wood chips and edging. It’s perfect for our kids and fits perfectly in our backyard. A few weeks ago some friends of ours gave us their trampoline for free. So now that’s in the back, and what do you think the kids prefer? The expensive play set or the free trampoline? Yes. You guessed it. But they still love the play set and play on it almost every day, so I think we’re good.

On this particular evening I was feeling yucky and had a bad headache, so while my husband played with the kids I took the camera out to capture some of the beauty at the end of the summer. And, as always, I freelensed these because I love freelensing so much.

Just when it was time to come back inside and get the kids ready for bed, I saw my husband and youngest in the most beautiful rim light. So I’ve added that one in here as well. No matter how many times I take pictures in my backyard, I’m always able to capture it just a bit differently than before. I love the inspiration I get from being outside in the sunshine.

September 26, 2018
Rainy Day Macro

Man, it’s been so rainy here lately! I haven’t checked, but I’d swear that we’ve had record-breaking amounts of rain these past two weeks. There have been so many days when our percentage for rain has been small, and then we’ll get a downpour for a solid half hour. It’s been crazy. And it’s been wonderful.

Summer rainstorms are my favorite. Ever. I love rainy days, and I love them even more when it’s warm enough outside to play in the rain with your bare feet. My husband and I lived in Iowa for five years (three of our children were born there!), and the rainstorms there were out of this world. They were phenomenal. Like, there was a flash of lightning every second for a number of hours straight. I don’t mind being away from tornadoes 😉 , but I do miss the storms there. The storms we’ve had here these past two weeks have reminded me of them, and I have loved it so much. Even if the lightning wakes my kids up from sleeping.

Another reason why I love rainy days is…wait for it…I LOVE to take pictures after the rain of the tiny beads of water clinging to our plants. I LOVE it. Cue my cheap macro extension tubes. One day I hope to get an actual macro lens, but these work great for my needs. I’m sure I look pretty ridiculous to any neighbors who may be watching. Just imagine me, crouching down, inspecting every little detail. I don’t even care though when I can get images like these.

September 5, 2018
Freelensed Rose Garden

The rose garden at Dow Gardens is one of my favorite places to take pictures in the whole city of Midland. It’s therapeutic for me to do so. The light there is the best just as the sun is setting, and there is always such an array of roses just waiting for me to capture them. On this particular day I was feeling a bit on edge and moody, so it was especially soothing for me to go there and just breathe.

The sun wasn’t out when we were there, but I think that it was better that way. Like, my mood matched up with the day’s mood, and even the way I edited the pictures were more moody than I usually do. Since the sun wasn’t out and it was overcast, I knew that I wanted to freelens. Freelensing is when you take the lens off of the camera body and shoot through it like that with the lens in your hand. You slightly tilt the lens to place the small slice of focus at different points, all while holding it as closely to the sensor as possible. Rose gardens are the perfect subject to freelens.

It’s funny because while I was there taking pictures, I remembered that I had gone there last year at almost the exact same time and did the same thing. Maybe the end of August calls for some moodiness. Maybe it’s because summer is coming to an end, and the longer days are quickly waning. Perhaps I should make this an annual tradition. 🙂 At any rate, it was good for my soul, and I’m so glad I can count on that rose garden to brighten my day, even if it’s only figuratively.

August 29, 2018