While working at Amcut – traveling to the near west side of Chicago with a field support rep (darned if I can remember his name, but not Darren). We went to service one of the machines at Ryerson Steel. At lunch time went to this little hole-in-the-wall chicken place. I was really naive, having moved to the city from the UP just months before. This was 1979, and different times. We were the only two white guys in the place (and probably in a 2-mile radius).
The year was 1974. I was attending a photography camp at Michigan Tech summer camp for kids. The photographer teaching the course was a world-class photographer, and the class taught composition in outdoor photography. We were shooting at McClain State Park, on the western coast of the Keeweenaw Peninsula. The day was sunny and 70ish degrees, with a few white cumulus clouds dotting the sky. Her name was Kim. What a beautiful day.
It was winter. We were on a ski trip to the Porcupine Mountains, and the day was cold and clear. A north wind off of Lake Superior met us at the top of the hill as we came off the lift. The snow squeaked under our skis as we traversed across the hill to the top of the run. You can see the blowing snow coming in off the lake and up the hill. Adjust the goggles and zip the top of the jacket all the way up – trying to turtle your face down behind the up-turned collar. Take off and hit that mogul field! Get down that hill, and hit the lodge for some warm up, then do it – again and again. At the end of the day, the bus ride home with 30 other kids, all exhausted from a full day on the slopes.
A Higher Plane 