Welcome to Michael’s Blog!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and say thank you so much for all of you support. I really, truly and deeply appreciate it. WIthout the support of my students and customers I would not be living the wonderful life that I am. I feel spectacularly lucky to be able to live on Maui doing exactly what I want with my life. I feel very, very fortunate and never want to take that, giving thanks and gratitude for granted.

I usually tell all of my friends and family members to not even think about getting me anything for Christmas. I as long as I am healthy, I am happy- but I also still tend to get asked by at least 100 friends and photographers what I got this year in terms of gear. I understand this phenomena because I always love to hear when they finally get that 5DII or lens they have been wanting.

-My Brother and Nephew got me a divers knife, just in case I get tangled again in an anchor line 20 feet down. Thats a story I haven't shared yet.
-Mark Foresters parents, Pat and Ray got me an Alabama Trent Richardson #3 jersey. You can better believe I will be wearing it on the 9th of Jan!

Camera wise:
- Santa brought me a Canon 2x III Extender (I would always borrow my Dad's vII, and liked it so much I knew I wanted one). While I have always made do with the Kenko 2x extenders, Im a huge fan of the image quality I get out of Canons 2x's. Just a touch sharper and cleaner.

- Santa also brought me a Canon 14mm 2.8 II Ultra Wide Angle, a lens I have wanted and needed for my business going on 3 years now...finally! This is not a lens I would recommend to casual shooters. The 14mm 2.8 is a very, very unusual lens and I will be doing some tests and posting some reviews about it, as well as how it compares to other wide angle lenses.

What camera gear did you guys get for Christmas? I would love to hear!

Today is a FANTASTIC day for movies! Check out any of the following if you are feeling the Christmas movie itch:

- The Darkest Hour -
- The Adventures of Tin Tin -
- War Horse -
Im also hearing the "The Dependents" is pretty good too.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day with their families!