Every summer we spend my a few days at the beach for my birthday. It has become a family tradition that we all look forward to, and after missing last year’s trip due to the pandemic, we were all so excited to get our toes in some sand this year!
Past summers, we have gone to St. Joseph because we really love Silver Beach and how kid-friendly it is. This year, we waited a little too long to book things (Us? Wait until the last minute? Never! š) and we couldn’t get a hotel in the area, so we decided to venture someplace new: Holland, Michigan!
We stayed downtown which was adorable and we were able to walk to restaurants, shops, etc. Our favorite place to eat by far was Mizu Sushi š We initially tried out Holland State Park for our beach time but it was reeeeally crowded, so at the advice of a local friend we gave Tunnel Park a try; the boys thought it was the coolest thing ever that you got to walk under a sand dune! The beach there was much less congested and while the majority of the time we were there it was overcast, rainy and abnormally chilly for mid-July (š©), we still had an amazing time. Not to mention, this was Rowan’s first time at the beach (!!) so it was incredibly special to see her get to play in the sand and run in the waves and experience the beauty of Lake Michigan.
Although I brought both my digital camera and my Nikon F100, my digital camera remained basically untouched, excluding an hour-ish span of time that I thought I left all of my rolls of film in the hotel, only to realize they were tucked in a side pocket in my camera bag (traveling with kids turns your brain to mush š„“). I don’t know why, but thinking about shooting this vacation – Rowan’s first trip to the beach, no less! – strictly on film made me so nervous but as it turns out, I was really happy with the memories I captured when I got my scans back and it’s left me reaching for my digital camera less and less these days.
There’s magic in film – from how you shoot it to how it handles light and colors. But most of all, I love that the moments I capture with my film camera feel more genuine to me. I’m not shooting 39689813905723 frames of a scene looking for that “perfect” shot like I do with digital, because film ain’t cheap, y’all! With film, I see a moment and I take the shot and I get what I get. It’s not always pretty, but it’s definitely made me more mindful behind the lens. And when it is pretty, MAN IT’S SO PRETTY YOU GUYS. Film is magic.
Shot on Nikon F100, mix of Kodak Portra 400 and Kodak Portra 160. Developed by Photovision.
Amanda McClellan is an Ann Arbor Michigan photographer and specializes in motherhood, maternity, family and newborn photography in Ann Arbor, Dexter, Chelsea, Brighton, Novi, Plymouth and surrounding areas.
Using a combination of film and digital photography, my goal is to show you all of the beauty that makes up this season of your life through simple, timeless and heartfelt imagery that you and your family can cherish forever.
If you love are looking for an Ann Arbor photographer, I would love to begin planning your session! I have over 6 years of experience photographing families, expecting mamas and newborns and I would love the opportunity to photograph your family!
If you would like to reserve your 2021 motherhood, maternity, family or newborn session, I would love for you to contact meĀ here.
