Tag Archives: Photography

Enchanting Images

25 Jan

Marla Michele Must prefers to be called a portrait artist instead of a photographer. She has credentials to back this up as she is designated by Master Photographers International.

Her portraits tell a story, but her personal journey with photography is just as fascinating. When Must decided to adopt a child from China to add to her family of two children, she knew she wanted to capture all the emotions of the newly formed relationship between the siblings. Thus began her reintroduction to photography which she always loved as child. 

As a child she was also a ballet dancer studying at Interlochen, an internationally-acclaimed art academy in Michigan. So it was natural for Must to photograph dancers as well.

Everything aligned to established a portrait studio Enchanted Photography, located in Birmingham, Michigan, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. 

During this Covid quarantine time, Must established unique photo sessions, socially-distanced, for senior high school students. “I’ve been making senior portrait sessions very special and creative with the locations,” explains Must. She often uses nature as a backdrop, but the location depends upon the student’s personality. If the student is a hockey player, the locale could be an ice arena. 

“I really love working with kids,” says Must, who is impressed by the student’s resilience and positive attitudes. She views her collection of student portraits as art. 

Enchanted Photography is indeed enchanting..

 

 

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Detroit’s Architectural Legacy

4 Apr

We, Motowners, recognize the beauty of Detroit’s architecture. Now, others are finally acknowledging. The New York Times article, “Detroit’s Looking Up” by John Dorman, highlights the grand buildings from the Fisher Building to the First National Bank Building. The article delves into the famed architect Albert Kahn. Be sure to check out the NY Times story here.

But, there is so much more. Frank Lloyd Wright, Yamaski and Saarinen have a large footprint in the city.

As a former magazine editor in Detroit, I had the opportunity to work with the late Balthazar Korab. His architectural photography is outstanding. Here is his photo of the fountains at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Michigan Modern, by Brian Conway and James Haefner is a new book eleased last month and features a Frank Lloyd home located in Detroit. On the cover is the General Motors Tech Center designed by Eero Saarinen.

 

 

ArtPrize Friends

28 Sep

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Every fall the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan transforms into an art paradise for artists and art lovers. It’s all because of ArtPrize — an open competition for artists to submit their work and have the opportunity to win more than $500,000 worth of prizes. Artists’ works are displayed throughout the city, and the venues are open to the public for free.  The artists connect through the official ArtPrize website.

Here is the mission statement: “ArtPrize is an international art competition and festival open to all and determined equally by public vote and expert jury. ArtPrize encourages critical discourse, celebrates artists, transforms urban space and promotes cultural understanding.”

This is the eighth year, and I’m proud to announce that two of my friends are part of the 2016 ArtPrize competition.

Janet Kelman’s glass sculptures are spectacular and the piece “Oracle” (above) is no exception. The aqua hues are breath taking.

Photographer Gene Meadows does not disappoint with his edgy work “de-con-struct,” which is below. Although I also like his traditional photos of home interiors along with his beautiful series of Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The Detroit Free Press included Janet and Gene in an article highlighting metro Detroit artists at ArtPrize.

 

 

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Pictures of Hope on Meredith Viera Show

13 Sep

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Photojournalist and Motowner Linda Solomon will be on Meredith Viera’s show on Monday, Sept. 15.

Linda will be with children who participated in the Pictures of Hope Project, where children use photography to express their “hopes and dreams.”  The children are from homeless shelters — many have never used a camera before. Linda guides them and teaches them.

Click on the word promo to see a preview.

In addition to being an accomplished photographer, Linda is also an author.

In her book ,The Key: Celebrated People Unlock their Secrets to LifeLinda features insights from more than 50 celebrities. I turned to the page on Meredith Viera and found this wonderful saying about the glass being half full.

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Motor City Missionary

14 Apr

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Motor City Missionary is the title of today’s lead story in the business section of the New York Times. It’s about Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans. Gilbert is investing his money and his spirit in the our city. He is buying up property and encouraging businesses to move downtown. He just purchased the Greektown Casino-Hotel. Today’s Huffington Post, Detroit also references this story.

Sure, the story mentions Detroit’s woes — our emergency city manager, Kwame, blight, etc., but the gist is a story about Gilbert and his vision.

Last month I visited Washington, D.C., and to my dismay there were two photography exhibits about Detroit featuring decaying buildings. Although the photography, by Camilio Jose Vergara and Andrew Moore, was technically superb, the exhibits were pessimistic.

Thanks to people like Dan Gilbert, our city is moving forward, and soon there will be positive photography exhibits about Detroit.

Photo credit: Fabrizo Constantini for the New York Times

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