A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 1

by Michael

These posts have been a long time coming. Karen and I took this trip back in May and I’m just now getting around to posting this. It has been a crazy summer with me trying to get my portrait business off the ground and at the same time forcing myself to learn new photo management/editing software. After using Adobe LightRoom for years, I finally decided to make the jump to Capture One. After trying several other competitors I found it the best at giving me everything LightRoom had, plus a little more, but without the monthly license fee. I do not mind paying for software, but to have to pay every month… forever? But, that is a story for a different post. As a side note, all photos in these posts have been processed using Capture One Pro software.

The main purpose of this trip was to visit our long-time friend Janice. We have known her for many years. We attended the same churches and were in a small Bible study group together. She moved from the Dallas area to Coeur d’Alene ID shortly after we moved from the Dallas area to Overton. Karen and I had talked about going for a visit for several years and finally decided it was time to just do it.

We knew very little about the area up there before the trip, and truthfully, due to the timing of the trip, coming right on the heels of Karen’s very busy tax season, we didn’t do a lot of research beforehand. All we knew was that our friend was there and it was supposed to be a beautiful part of the country. That was enough for us.

So, we flew into Spokane WA and met up with Janice for lunch. Our first day was spent getting settled and fed. Janice had a few places picked out to show us over the next few days so we could hardly wait.

For our first day of adventure Janice guided us up Schweitzer Mountain, a nice resort area north of where she lives. The first thing we noticed was all the beautiful mountains in the area, and yes, there was snow! (We haven’t seen much of that in our neck of the woods the last few years so yeah, we were a little excited.)

Entering the Schweizer Mountain Resort area

Taking the drive up the mountain we had to pull off on several overlooks to “look over” the beautiful country. It seemed like every turn opened up a new vista for us to enjoy!

Overlook from Schweitzer Mountain

As we continued up the mountain we wondered if we would see any wildlife. After seeing signs warning of bears we were hopeful of seeing some of those beautiful creatures. Not much farther up the road we did see some wildlife–not bears, but deer. Not as exciting as bears, but just as beautiful and we certainly stopped to enjoy them.

Deer along the road on Schweitzer Mountain

Once we made it to the top of the drive (not the mountain) there was the resort area and lots of condominiums, and a family of bears, or at least as close as we would get to bears on this trip. Of course, Karen made me stop so she could take a few photos. I’m glad she did. 🙂

Bear family hanging out at the condo

Once at the top we took the obligatory selfies and other photos and enjoyed the cooler air. It was pretty cold up there, and I did not bring “cold weather” clothing with me. I dressed more for 60 degree weather, it was closer to mid 30s and windy up there so we didn’t tarry very long. (Note, I’m still trying to figure out how to control 360 degree images in WordPress.)

After poking around up top we headed back down the mountain, only to stop at more overlooks. The scenery was truly breathtaking, from the snow-capped mountains, to the lake, to the dynamic clouds.

Coming down Schweitzer Mountain

At one point we were able to see a couple of small towns at the bottom of the mountain, which I believe are Ponderay (on right) and Kootenai (on left), along with Kootenai Bay on Lake Pend Oreille–at least if my Google Earth skills are not failing me.

Towns at the bottom of Schweitzer Mountain

A little lower down and we can enjoy the true majesty of the mountains as they reach into the sky with the boiling clouds. Very much a sight to behold!

Mountains reaching for the sky

That concluded our first adventure day, but there are several more to come!

Stay tuned!

Michael
Sharing God’s Creation, One Click at a Time

All words and photos copyright 2019 MHampton Photography
Equipment used: Canon 5DS-R, Canon 1DX II, Canon T6S, and various Canon lenses and Insta360 One X

Covey Family Photo Shoot

by Michael

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing a photo shoot for some friends of mine, the Covey family. They came out to Hampton Haven where I have close to 40 acres to move around in and set up different scenes.

We started in the wildflowers in the front yard.

Covey Girls in the Wildflowers

Next we moved up to the hill to get some good family “truck” pictures. This is Texas after all.

Covey Family

From there, we had the girls on the spiral staircase that goes up to the tree house.

On the Stairs
In the Tree house

Before heading to the back part of the property, a stop at the footbridge for a “fun” shot. Kids always like making fun of mom and dad kissing.

“Get a room!”

Out in the back, a nice wooden bench swing among the trees makes for another great setting.

And finally to the back porch for a few more intimate opportunities.

That is the Covey family and a sample of what a photo shoot at Hampton Haven can look like.

You can find more information about photo shoots at Hampton Haven at this link —> https://www.mhamptonphotography.com/portrait-sessions/

Changes Are A-Coming!

by Michael

As the saying goes, the only constant is change. That change has finally caught up with me and my photography. In fact the first change is that it has been so long since I’ve updated this website, the editor has changed and I have to learn how to use it. Shame on me!

For many years now my photography has been focused (pun intended) strictly on nature with the exception of the occasional family portrait session for my family and friends. I have resisted people photography with the excuse that it was too hard to “please everyone”. That is all about to change. No more excuses!

Now for those of you who have been following my nature/bird photography, I am not giving that up. Rather I will be adding portraits to the mix. I still love being in nature and making beautiful photographs of what I see to share. That is a big reason why Karen and I moved out here to East Texas! But the time has come to do more for others.

Thanks to an on-line satirical personality, Missy Mwac (by the way, MWAC stands for “Mom With A Camera” but Missy is MUCH more than that), I have slowly come to understand that photography is about more than just sharing a pretty picture and getting likes on social media. It is about capturing a moment that can be cherished for generations, especially if that photograph is printed! This is never more poignant than at the loss of a loved one. Many times, photos are all someone has left to remember the face that they will never see again in this life. This is brought home even more-so if you have ever seen someone suffering from dementia, clutching onto their box of photos (memories) because they physically can’t remember one day to the next. It was this thinking that made me want to get out of my comfort zone and stop being stubborn about not doing portrait work.

On top of this, I have already been doing sports work for the local paper as well, which actually came first and had a hand in planting this seed in my mind. I realized that my photography meant much more when it was preserving memories of events in the lives of people.

So, as the days proceed, look for more activity here, as well as more variety in that activity as I will be sharing more from all of these interests. Join me on this journey. If you live near me, hit me up and we’ll preserve memories for you and your family.

Michael