The Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus: The One Decision That Governs Everything
A 1918 big-band ballroom with a sprung maple floor and a ceiling painted as a night sky.
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Venue Guides
We are writing a photographer’s field guide to every wedding venue we would happily work in, city by city. Each guide covers the light, the timing and the frames that work – and says plainly where we are drawing on craft rather than on having shot there.
The Ohio Statehouse, Columbus: A Walk Through the Building
An 1861 Greek Revival capitol — and one of the very few American statehouses with no dome at all.
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The Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus: The Light Through the Day
An 1895 Victorian glasshouse in Columbus — a building that is nothing but a roof made of light.
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The Mission Point Resort, Mackinac Island: The Problem, and Four Ways Out of It
A resort on the exposed east end of Mackinac Island, with a great deal of open lawn facing open water.
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The Island House Hotel, Mackinac Island: The Light Through the Day
An 1852 waterfront hotel on Mackinac Island — the oldest on the island, facing open water across the harbour.
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The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island: A Walk Through the Building
An 1887 summer hotel on an island with no motor vehicles, and a porch said to be the longest in the world.
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The Goei Center, Grand Rapids: One Frame, and How It Is Made
A converted industrial building in Grand Rapids — and one frame that only a dark room can produce.
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The Cheney Place, Grand Rapids: Field Notes
A converted industrial building in the old furniture city — brick walls, timber posts and very little that reflects light.
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The Grand Rapids Public Museum: The Light Through the Day
A riverside museum in Grand Rapids with a restored 1928 carousel turning inside a glass pavilion over the Grand River.
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The Pinnacle Center, Hudsonville: What It Suits, and What It Does Not
A purpose-built event centre in west Michigan — a building designed for the job, with the advantages and limits that implies.
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