Taking my daughter to Port Hurton, MI.
A Photo Essay
In 2022, my daughter was born. My wife and I made a decision early on to explore lots of places with her. In the summer of 2023, my daughter saw New England, including Boston, Maine, and the Atlantic Ocean. In the spring of 2024, she went to the panhandle of Florida and saw the sunset on the Gulf of Mexico.
Where I grew up, in East Michigan, we were a 30-minute car ride from the Canadian border in Port Huron. So on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, while visiting family for a holiday weekend, we decided to take our daughter, Ruth, to the see the Blue Water Bridge.
Photo #1: Arrival
Our adventure began at 6:25pm. After parking next to a red Jeep, and being greeted by a seagull overhead, we unloaded our stroller, did the classic “phone, wallet, keys” check and set out.
It did not take long for us to feel the lake breeze on our faces. For a summer holiday weekend, it was a breezy, cloudy 73 degrees.
That did not seem to bother Ruth one bit because as soon as we began walking, she began talking, describing her surroundings, and greeting all those she encountered.
Photo #2: Fisherman
Our first encounter was with a fisherman. He was getting his rig set up. A difference of fishing by docks or locks compared to by a fishing hole, you can set a contraption to hold you pole and jimmy rig a bell, then sit back and relax. This fisherman was working on getting his cast where he wanted it as we passed him.
Since we had parked near the undercarriage of the bridge, we decided to walk underneath, turn around and spend the rest of our stroll with the bridge to our backs. As a result of this decision, we got our bridge photo in quite early during our excursion.
Usually, I take wide shots to get the grandeur of the bridge, but since this was my daughter’s first time there, I decided to take one from her perspective in our stroller. It proved to be a unique angle. As you can see, her view was slightly obstructed by the railings above and below. Sometimes a little perspective can make all the difference.
I quite enjoyed this photo, as it has intersecting leading lines, architecture, sky, water, and horizon all in one images.
Photo #4: Thomas Edison
Photo #5: Seagull
Photo #6: An evening stroll
Photo #3: The Bridge
In case you didn’t know, Port Huron, Michigan, was Thomas Edison’s boyhood home. Therefore, there is a statue on the stateside of the Blue Water Bridge.
My parents have made this spot special for our family, as across the street, in the once-called Thomas Edison Inn, my father proposed to my mother. She, of course, said yes, and they had four children, the youngest of which is writing this photo essay.
I said “once-called Thomas Edison Inn” because it has since been bought by DoubleTree, and the restaurant has been renamed “Freighters Eatery and Taproom.” One can make the presumption that the renaming is due to the fact that people like to watch the freighters come into port while enjoying a meal. To my parents, it will always be “Thomas Edison Inn” with a restaurant.
It’s impossible, in the warm months, to go to the Blue Water Bridge and not see, hear, and attempt to dodge two creatures: seagulls and fish flies.
Seagulls play nice, generally. They like to snack on the food scraps that fishing folk leave behind when barbecuing and fishing. They also like to swoop down on the waters edge and grab food when the moment presents itself.
Fish flies, on the other hand, can be downright nasty. If you’re sweaty, it can make the situation even worse. Thankfully, we took my daughter, as I mentioned, on a breezy, cloudy, cool day. Thus, we were covered and not sweating. A few swats and the flies would dissipate, unfortunately, though, that’s not always the case.
Personally, I like movement in my photography. I find that it helps tell the story of the images. And, where you place the movement in your frame informs the viewer where to look and when.
I’m also a fan of negative space. I took this photo to attempt to capture the birds overhead. As a kid, I was always worried I would get pooped on. And on a few occasions, I did. You always have to be on the lookout, but you never want to look up and have it hit you in the face. A real conundrum - look out and don’t look up!
Also, I took this photo from behind for two reasons:
1) not have the bridge distract from the people
2) to have my subject walking away from the camera and not towards it
Photo #7: The classic bridge shot
I simply cannot go to the Blue Water Bridge without taking a wide shot, and this photo satisfied that itch and requirement. While I was taking this photo, my wife, the beautiful woman in the foreground, was talking about the different currents in the water (my wife is a science teacher). She noted that certain parts of the water were choppy waves, while others were calm and flat. To me, I’d look and go, '“huh, what’d you know?” But to my wife, she looks and sees the scientific reason for the occurrence. That was the conversation that transpired as I took this photo.
Photo #8: The three ladies
As the family photographer, I am incapable of doing such an outing with providing photo evidence to others in the future that the event did, in fact, occur. Hence, this photo. Plus, when three generations are together, you should always take a photo. You never regret the photos you take, you only regret the ones you didn’t.
Thanks for reading and viewing my photo essay!
-Dustin Hibbler