Nature from my downtime during retreats

For work, I participate in retreats with the kids. When they have free time, I tend to stroll around the grounds of these wonderful Christian retreat centers and snap a few shots. Here are some from the two retreat centers I visited in 2014. 

Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo

My wife and I ventured to Detroit Zoo's "Wild Lights" last weekend, along with a family outing the size of which had never been attempted!  There were lots of kids, millions of tiny bulbs, and plenty of wonderment. 10/10, would walk around again.

I didn't think that children would really appreciate light displays at a young age. Chase, my nephew, proved me wrong. 

Ben's Encore - Chili Cook-off Benanza!

The final Ben's Encore event of the year is the Chili Cook-off Benanza. Scholarships are awarded, volunteers are thanked, taste buds are scalded and we sing happy birthday to our late friend. The event was a delicious success, held at Dragonmead for the second year in a row.

Ben's Encore - Bennyfit!

There are many excuses for why you haven't seen posts from me lately, but I won't trouble you with them. Let's just go ahead and get things started with two posts about Ben's Encore, a simply fantastic organization that provides music lesson scholarships to kids. I've spoken about them before with the Hamtramck Music Festival and I also covered their back to school event this year -- actually, in the end I covered every event this year, and ended up getting awarded for it. I'm humbled to be considered their Volunteer of the Year for 2014, and here's a display of their work to support them further.

Part I: Bennyfit. This was a huge charity concert at Small's Bar in Hamtramck. Many bands, including Ben's former outfit of Karenin's Smile, graced the stage that night, and I got some of my best concert shots since Blowout.

Ben's father rocking with his former band.

Okay, be right back with part two!