Alex Vinall

When we moved to Michigan back in January, everyone said that this winter was very mild. It didn't feel mild. It felt bleak and very cold: minus 14 celsius on some days! About a month ago everything suddenly changed, and now we are graced with sunny 25 degree days, with the odd thunderstorm or two. In the UK we think that our weather is very changeable. Not true when compared to Michigan!

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend, unofficially the start of the summer vacation season in the US. We drove to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, camped in Grand Marais, and hiked around Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We were lucky with the conditions: the forecast said wet and cloudy but we had two days of near constant sunshine, and it wasn't too cold overnight to camp.

The Upper Peninsula feels like a different world to the rest of Michigan. For context, it's about half the size of Iceland, and with about the same population (~320,000). The towns are very small, and sparse. Grand Marais has a population of 350 people, year-round. The driving was a pleasure compared Metro Detroit: gone were the arrow-straight roads of the grid system, instead we were treated to sweeping curves through the forest, with barely another car sharing the road the entire time.

The Pictured Rocks shoreline is beautiful, but the other highlight was Lake Superior itself. The vastness of the lake is incredible. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world, and the water is extremely still and clear. We had a great ~12 mile hike around Pictured Rocks and Lake Superior, and saw some stunning views!

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. Partly because I've been having some issues with my Canon 100D, but mostly because I've moved from London in the UK to Michigan in the US! It's been mostly grey and uninspiring weather, albeit interspersed with a few good sunsets. However, we recently went to Chicago to see friends for a weekend, and, armed with my iPhone, I did get a couple of shots I like. Bring on better weather and greener nature! I have heard very good things about Spring in Michigan, which should be just around the corner now.

If you're interested, that big glass slice of a building is The Legacy. I was surprised at just how many impressive skyscrapers there are in Chicago!

I spent three nights in Paris last weekend - my wife is working there for a couple of weeks so this was a great chance to see the sights and take some photos. We had a great dinner in a tiny restaurant and tried escargot (snails) for the first time: surprisingly nice!

I'd packed with the intention of having Friday as a photography focused day. The weather certainly made it challenging: unbroken cloud filling the sky, and heavy rain for parts of the day. However, when some light did break through the cloud it gave some nice drama to the city's sights.

I do tend to prefer wildlife and landscapes, but Paris was still a great place to shoot!

Not to spoil some exciting upcoming news, but I might be moving away from London soon. It's the people that I'll miss the most, but it's also the busy-ness, the diversity, the tolerance and the ability to buy and do anything here that have made London an amazing place to live over the last few years.

Last night I went out to take some shots along the South Bank, walking along the river from London Bridge to Waterloo. These are my two favourite shots. I'll also be making an EDC post on my blog page showing what went into my bag for this.

I haven't posted anything here for a couple of months now, as the focus has been on other things: I got married in August! Here are a few photos from our trip to Devon after the wedding by way of apology to the internet.

One of my friends had this bike for over 12 years. There are a lot of memories here.