Michael Lesher 1/15/16 Michael Lesher 1/15/16

All the wild horses

I have been using this Fuji X-T1 exclusively for the past few weeks and have been experimenting with a few different lenses (35mm f/2 is really awesome!), film presets (Classic Chrome is amazing!), etc. to get a feel for the camera's limitations and sweet spots. So far, I have found very little to not love.

With that in mind, this week I decided to branch out a bit further into the Fuji world and I picked up the Fuji XF 10-24mm f/4 lens. Given that I spend most of my time shooting landscapes, architecture or events that are wide in scope, I was very excited to play around in this focal range. As with all new gear, the first thing that I did was to head out in search of something to photograph.

Having read several reviews that were glowing, I had very high hopes, but even with great expectations, I was shocked with how much I loved this lens/camera combination - it may be my go-to set up for the foreseeable future. Here are a few photographs from that day with more to come I am sure.

FUJI X-T1 w/FUJI XF 10-24MM f/4 Lens

Michael Lesher 1/8/16 Michael Lesher 1/8/16

Building Traditions

Growing older is a surreal experience. The thing that I am constantly challenged by is how unexpectedly different I feel in comparison to how I thought that I would feel at this age. I don't mean physically, but as I watch my goals become achieved or morph, relationships grow or wither, children develop, spouses change, and time passes, I find myself constantly evaluating where I have been, where I am going, and what I could be doing differently. What is most surreal is the feeling of not knowing the future while inspecting the past -- all while traveling on a ceaseless conveyor belt. This is not anything new or unique to me, of course, but it is not how I thought that I would feel at this age. I would have thought that life would have been more stable or structured as opposed to contemplative and fluid. There is no mountaintop to ascend, only a journey to experience.

What I find to be a grounding force in this fluidity is tradition. When I consider my past it is the traditions that have become beacons signifying importance, value, fun, and generally above all, community. These are things that have become part of my fabric, both as a member of a community and family, as well as an individual.

As a father, now, there is no greater embodiment of the passage of time than watching my children grow and develop. They literally are changing before my eyes. It isn’t the slow change of a 30-something adult, but an astonishingly quick ascent of marker lines shooting up the doorframe. I feel a sense of urgency to impart what little wisdom I can offer and provide traditions for my boys to use as grounding forces when they are my age.

I am likely feeling particularly sentimental about all of this due to having just celebrated the holidays with friends and family, who -- as previously noted -- are a core part of traditions. Holidays are clear-cut tradition factories that help bring people together to share not only the event occurring, but also the memories of the event from years past -- and other times spent together. They are simultaneously stabilizing factors as everyone can recall memories from before, while generating new memories with new generations.

So, while I traverse my way across this journey, I am thankful for the traditions that have been created for me, as well as the ones still being developed. They ground me. They help me feel connected and at the end of the day, there is no better experience in life than being connected with those around you.

Bemus Point, NY - FUJI X-T1

I like to consider hand-me-downs a tradition.

Michael Lesher 1/6/16 Michael Lesher 1/6/16

Winter Colors

Following the warmest, least snowy December on record here in Rochester, it is now January and we finally have snow. There are plenty of folks who were thankful for the late coming of winter to the upstate New York region, but I am not one of them. The snow is here and I am glad!

As I was preparing another blog post last evening (will be coming shortly), the sun began to set and I was redirected from the task at hand to go capture the colors of winter as I saw them. While I can see the point of those who bemoan the winter months, I say buy warmer clothes and get outside. There is so much beauty to be seen.

FAIRPORT, NY - FUJI X-T1

Michael Lesher 12/22/15 Michael Lesher 12/22/15

Doubling Down - Fuji X-T1

It has been a few years since I started playing around with Fuji X-Trans cameras. Up until I bought my X100s, I was a pretty solid "Canon Guy", but after seeing some of the images being shot with the - then new - X-Trans cameras, I had to see what all of the hype was about.

After purchasing the X100s, if you have been keeping score, I fell in love. The hype was real. It has been my daily, walking about camera for about 2 years now. Not only is it unbelievably more portable than my workhorse Canon 5D MKII, it also doesn't really sacrifice much in terms of image quality, which would have been a deal breaker. The downside is that it is a fixed 35mm equivalent, which is not a problem in-and-of itself, but there are times when you do want the flexibility to swap lenses, zoom, etc.

For the past few months, I have been keeping an eye on the X-T1 as an extension of what the X100s has provided me - portability with outstanding image quality. Where the X100s was limited by a fixed lens, however, the X-T1 can swap lenses, sacrifices nothing in terms of image quality, provides a much larger EVF and is weather resistant. What isn't to love?

Last week, I finally doubled down on Fuji and bought an X-T1. I had given some serious thought to purchasing a new Canon, but the X100s has convinced me that where Canon has been making incremental updates to their systems, Fuji is clearly future-focused and is providing new and innovative features - not to mention regular firmware updates to help get additional life out of aging hardware.

At this point, I would say that it is too soon to give a proper review, but I would argue that the X-T1 is an unbelievably nice camera that packs a serious punch in a small package. In fact, the end-to-end quality has been so good that I am considering it as a full-blown replacement for my full-frame Canon, which I would have nearly considered impossible.

I suppose that for now I would say that the X100s and the X-T1 "experiment" has been proving extremely positive. Look for more photos to come over the next few months, but for now, here are a few test shots from the past few days.

FUJI X100s & X-T1

Michael Lesher 12/10/15 Michael Lesher 12/10/15

Reset.

So, there I was a few months ago declaring that I wasn't going to be so absent on this site. It would seem as though I lied. I didn't intend to lie and I had the best intentions, but as with all good things, they are susceptible to outside forces, which can erode momentum and will. I believe that I underestimated the energy required to get through shooting the end of the racing season, as well as launching The Ascend Collective.

Here I am, however, alive and well. Regaining some speed.

In order to get back on track, the past month has been a bit of a reset for me. I have de-prioritized running considerably in order to give it (and me) some space. We are taking a separation period in hopes to rekindle a lost love. It has happened before, it will be fine.

Similarly, photography has been experiencing a bit of a burgeoning back into the creative force that it is. Peeking behind the curtain - I find shooting events to be wonderful experiences, filled with great people and fantastic stories, but they have never struck me as a way to express myself creatively. This year was no exception. By the end of a racing season, I simultaneously didn't want to touch a camera for a bit, but I also wanted to return to the roots of why I love photography in the first place: creativity. Fall can be a temporary drought.

So, as previously mentioned, here I am. Alive, well and moving forward one foot at a time - camera in hand. If you have stuck around this long, I hope and trust that you will continue coming back here because I am resetting and 2016 is looking brighter than ever.

A Few Photos from Christmas Preparations

Michael Lesher 9/22/15 Michael Lesher 9/22/15

2015 Twisted Branch Trail Race // The Ascend Collective

Earlier this year I had been approached to shoot the inaugural running of the Twisted Branch 100K - which I immediately jumped at the opportunity to do. What wasn't to love? Trails, check. Opportunity to showcase Upstate New York, check. Support friends who were running the race, check. In Spring, all of these things seemed amazing, but as the race drew closer and my ideas started to come into focus, the sheer logistics of trying to cover runners...

Earlier this year I had been approached to shoot the inaugural running of the Twisted Branch 100K, which I immediately jumped at the opportunity to do. What wasn't to love? Trails, check. Opportunity to showcase Upstate New York, check. Support friends who were running the race, check. In Spring, all of these things seemed amazing, but as the race drew closer and my ideas started to come into focus, the sheer logistics of trying to cover runners traveling on 62 miles of point-to-point trails seemed nearly as difficult an effort as running the race itself.

What immediately became clear was that I realistically needed at least one, but perhaps two other photographers to help cover that much ground. This was new territory for me as I typically work solo, and while I hold myself to a high standard that could be considered a burden to someone else. Things could get tricky...

Fortunately, I already knew two other local race photographers who I highly respect and trust since they take photography as seriously as me. Enter, Ron Heerkens Jr. and Alex Tong.

Over beers one night, Ron, Alex and I met to discuss the fact that we have been circling many of the local events and have been trying very hard to bring an authentic artistic perspective to adventure sports. We each agreed that our perspectives complimented one another and that combining them as a group could only be beneficial to our audience...you.

And thus, The Ascend Collective was born.

With finding other photographers to work with sorted out, we began discussing how we would actually organize ourselves in order to shoot Twisted Branch. As part of that strategy we decided Alex would debut The Ascend Collective a week before at the Dam Good Trail Race, which meant that it was up to Ron and me to manage Twisted Branch.

Obviously, the day would start early (2:30 a.m. in my case), but with so much ground to cover we would have to find a way to split up and cover as much ground as we could without missing too many runners. The answer? Leapfrog the whole way in approximately 8 mile increments. Seemed perfect at the outset.

Over the course of the race, Ron and I executed our strategy and were constantly chatting via text about where we were, where the runners were, and when we were moving to the next location. We relied heavily on GPS and maps (no cell service sucks) to help us cross the course as efficiently as possible. By mid-race, however, the field had fractured more than we had anticipated. The leapfrog method was still great, but approximately 30 miles in the leader (and eventual winner Daven Oskvig) had amassed a 45 minute lead and the rest of the field was split further apart than we had anticipated. We had choices to make. Continue to try to keep up with Daven and photograph others who were nearby, or let Daven go and wait for the rest of the field? Tough call.

Seeing as how our primary goal was to showcase this inaugural event in the best light that we could--so that we can hopefully promote it as much as possible--we decided that keeping up with Daven was going to be critical. We needed to capture him at the finish.

With that in mind, our focus shifted to ensuring that we could get as much of the pack as we could without missing Daven finish. I like to think that we succeeded, but there was a lot that we learned.

For example, by mile 49 I was stationed at one location for over two and a half hours and I captured 12 runners in that time frame. Because of the fragmentation of the field we weren't able to capture as many runners as I would have liked, which was unfortunate. Still, it sparked a lot of great discussion and thought about how we can better serve these types of events.

I think that we have a pretty great plan for next year.

By the time the sun went down, most of the light was gone and photographic opportunities were sparse. Ron and I met up at the finish, discussed how we thought things went (Pro Tip: we always think that we could have done better), and debriefed about how to organize the images, etc. I also got to spend time with good friends and cheer runners on. I was whipped, though.

Driving home I got to think about how fantastic the day was. How amazing the runners were. How much I appreciated the help and perspective that Ron brought to the day. I also thought about how fantastic the idea of The Ascend Collective is, to me, and how I look forward to seeing where it goes. Life is good.

TWISTED BRANCH TRAIL RACE

Full Gallery Here: http://galleries.theascendcollective.com/2015-twisted-branch-trail-race/

Michael Lesher 9/4/15 Michael Lesher 9/4/15

Inbound

The past month or so has been like a looming storm headed in my direction. Life has been hectic to say the least and my absence from posting anything here is evidence of the fact that some things have slipped out from under my eye. Sorry about that.

I am here to declare, however, that I am feeling like I am getting back on track, as my primary focus - The Ascend Collective - finally launched...

I am here to declare, however, that I am feeling like I am getting back on track, as my primary focus - The Ascend Collective - finally launched, as well as my largest (in terms of distance and time) event, The Twisted Branch 100k Trail Race is under my belt with not a single hiccup. Yay!

So, here I am...clearing out some of my backlog, since I never did stop shooting. Keep a look out for more content headed your way! I hope that you enjoy!

NIAGARA FALLS, NY

Michael Lesher 8/3/15 Michael Lesher 8/3/15

Go With the Flow

Here in Upstate New York, we are blessed beyond measure by the amount of nature preserves, state parks, etc. that we have available to us. I realize that while many other states have some pretty great things to see or do, the accessibility of forest areas or marshlands or whatever is one of the best things that New York has to offer...in my completely biased opinion of course.

Here in Upstate New York, we are blessed beyond measure by the amount of nature preserves, state parks, etc. that we have available to us. I realize that while many other states have some pretty great things to see or do, the accessibility of wild areas is one of the best things that New York has to offer...in my completely biased opinion of course.

One such gem is Stony Brook Park, located near Dansville and if you ever have the opportunity to visit, do yourself a favor and take the time.

Michael Lesher 7/27/15 Michael Lesher 7/27/15

Skate.

Skateboarding is one of those things that once it has it's hooks in you, it will never leave you.

Skateboarding is one of those things that once it has it's hooks in you, it will never leave you.

For years, I would skate daily and it was arguably one of my first passions. Over the years, I have picked up a board from time-to-time, pushed around and found myself loving it just as much as I did when I landed my first ollie or kickflip. It is strange because while it would be easy to confuse the old bike adage of "once you learn to ride a bike you never forget" here, but this is something completely different. It isn't about remembering the feeling or muscle memory, but something deeper. Those who skate(d), know what I mean. For no good reason that I can quantify, skateboarding is different. It is unique.

Of course, with any great, passionate activity comes great friends. My friend Dan is one such guy. For the past few months (years?), we have been plotting a few locations that we felt would make great locations to shoot a skate session. We would discuss tricks, angles, etc., but with our current passionate activity (running) taking up a considerable amount of time, we never seemed to be able to make the time for it. Over the past week, the stars aligned and we were able to take advantage of some free time to shoot a subject that we love and likely owe a lot of our perspective to. I brought my camera, Dan brought his board. We had fun.

Michael Lesher 7/13/15 Michael Lesher 7/13/15

Stateless

I don't particularly mind, but like everyone, I rarely have a minute to myself. What we define as "Life" has a way of consuming every last minute of the day. Whether it is work, family, or some other obligation(s), finding myself in a place of personal statelessness doesn't come around very often. Recently, I found myself on the Rochester Museum and Science Center campus with nothing pulling me in any direction. It was calming to not feel a need to be or do anything. I took the opportunity to play.

RMSC | FUJIFILM X100S

Michael Lesher 7/10/15 Michael Lesher 7/10/15

Wonderment

As a kid, I remember a time when the Fourth of July was lit up (pun somewhat intended) with excitement. Generally, the picnics and festivities before the sun went down were nice-to-haves, whereas the real experience started with the fireworks.

These days, I find myself far more interested in the time with family and friends during the day -- often considering the fireworks an afterthought a best.

In what has become a tradition, nearly every year, we find ourselves packing our bags and heading to Chautauqua Lake to spend time with family and friends. We also take some time to see the lake become wrapped in flares as fireworks fill the sky.

Naturally, the time with family and friends is great, but as this tradition continues and our boys grow, I am genuinely struck by how they take in the fireworks and late night as I once did. What I learn is that by simply watching their experience, I find the mundanity of my "adult life" wither away - being replaced by the reflection of wonderment in their eyes.

Make the time we have wonderful.

Michael Lesher 7/7/15 Michael Lesher 7/7/15

California On My Mind - Part 2

L ast week, I espoused the need to go back and review your work over time to see the progress that you have made, trends that you fell pray to, and how you can improve. This is a continuation of that assessment - focused on my time in California.

Last week, I espoused the need to go back and review your work over time to see the progress that you have made, trends that you fell pray to, and how you can improve. This is a continuation of that assessment - focused on my time in California.

With that in mind, here are a few more photos that I re-edited this week. This time, I chose to focus on San Francisco, Monterey and Highway 1. I hope you enjoy!

Michael Lesher 6/30/15 Michael Lesher 6/30/15

California On My Mind - Part 1

To me, a large component of being a photographer is simply reviewing the moments that you have captured.

Of course you can enjoy the personal meaning, beauty, and technical skill of your photos, but if you aren't inspecting critically for ways that you can improve, what's the point? Your photo catalog is an evolving time capsule that reflects the trajectory that you have taken in both your technical and artistic skill. Use it.

To me, a large component of being a photographer is simply reviewing the moments that you have captured.

In fact, every once in a while, I feel inspired to reset and re-edit some photos with the new perspectives, skills, and tools afforded to me. With non-destructive tools like Adobe Lightroom, it has never been easier to experiment. The trick is to find a catalyst for experimentation.

This past weekend I had the good fortune to spend a few hours with my good friend James from The House of Bogue who had just returned from a photographic trip to California. After hearing James' stories about shooting his way around San Francisco, I felt the need to go back to my photos from our last time in California to experiment with the images I had captured.

To start, I decided that I would look at a few of my favorite spots in the world: Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, as well as Muir Woods and Muir Beach.

I am working through a few other California locations that I love and plan on posting them as a "Part 2" soon, so stay tuned....

Michael Lesher 6/9/15 Michael Lesher 6/9/15

Dark Work

As I am sure it is the case with nearly everyone, there are times when I find myself unwittingly at a complete creative standstill. Typically it is when there are too many things going on and I find myself focused on "things that matter", which sounds ridiculous when I say it because without the ability to create, not much else really does matter. But I digress...

As I am sure it is the case with nearly everyone, there are times when I find myself unwittingly at a complete creative standstill. Typically it is when there are too many things going on and I find myself focused on "things that matter," which sounds ridiculous when I say it because without the ability to create, not much else really does matter. But I digress....

When I find myself in this state, I generally consider that turning toward the path less traveled helps bring me some focus. It doesn't always work as planned, but it often does create new and interesting ideas that I can build from.

Lately, I am finding myself lost in the woods of my mind and having a hard time navigating my way back to something resembling a spark of creativity. It's somewhat dark. In order to kindle a bit of flame I decided to play around with some images in black and white, which isn't something that I do frequently. I like the results so far, and for now, I am actually finding myself enjoying the simple process of experimentation.

Hope you enjoy!

Michael Lesher 6/1/15 Michael Lesher 6/1/15

2015 Ontario Summit Trail Races

This weekend I was able to spend a few hours out shooting the Ontario Summit Trail Races, which seemed to be both a great challenge to all participants and a landscape showcase for the upstate New York trail system. Both of these things combined, in my opinion, to be a very successful inaugural event for the boys over at Goose Adventure Racing.

One of the things I enjoy the most about shooting these types of events is the solitude that it provides. When a marathon or half marathon covers the type of terrain the Ontario County Park trail system does, the field naturally becomes fragmented. During the lulls I am able to simply remain silent within the woods and I recharge. In these times I am reminded of John Muir.

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."

Michael Lesher 5/15/15 Michael Lesher 5/15/15

A Constant Companion

A few years ago, a friend of mine described what he referred to as "The Arc of Life". Upon this Arc, half of our life was spent in receipt of wonderful things that Life had to offer before Life started to take away what was once given.

At the time, this concept resonated with me personally, as I had just lost my mother to cancer and while the pain was still fresh, I was reflecting on all that had been given prior to losing her. The core lesson, to me, was to pay attention to the details and take nothing for granted. Life has a way of becoming a noisy and distracting thing, where...

This past week was one of the hardest of my life for many reasons, but the most obvious was because we lost a spirit in our lives that was small in size, but mattered on so large a scale that I still am trying to get my head around it.

For the past 11 years, our Boston Terrier Dottie, was a core component of our family and indeed our first child. Getting her was one of the first things that Christy and I did as a couple and she was there throughout nearly our entire relationship. She was family.

Anyone who ever met Dottie would be hard pressed to say that her personality did not exceed her size ten fold, as she was loud, full of energy and boisterousness that rivaled any dog - any size. It was through her personality that people came to remember her and love her. She gave to all, until she couldn't.

The seizures were a surprise to all of us. One day, she was acting as normal as could be and the next we noticed a small seizure. Yet Dottie gave her love. The seizures increased in frequency, her medications increased, and still Dottie gave her love. In the quiet moments, she was still nothing but love and a constant companion. We did all we could, while she held on - and together we gave to one another.

After a few days, it was clear that despite our best efforts, there was no return, no recovery for Dottie. So, Christy and I gave Dottie peace, while Life took.

I can never be thankful enough for the Arc of Dottie's life. Looking back now, the pain is fresh and just writing this is difficult, but I am forever grateful for our time together. Throughout the better part of my adult life, Dottie was there. She was constant and she was a friend that has left memories and a void behind her that far exceed her small stature.

We love you Dottie and are forever thankful for our time together. Enjoy the next adventure!

Michael Lesher 4/20/15 Michael Lesher 4/20/15

2015 Muddy Sneaker Trail Race

This past Saturday marked the 16th running of the Muddy Sneaker Trail Race in Hi Tor Wildlife Management Area. Once again, the crew at Goose Adventure Racing didn't disappoint. Between the great Saucony and SmartWool sponsorship, the solid turn-out and, the perfect conditions, you couldn't ask for better -- and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to head down and shoot the event.

This past Saturday marked the 16th running of the Muddy Sneaker Trail Race at Hi Tor Wildlife Management Area. Once again, the crew at Goose Adventure Racing didn't disappoint. Between the great Saucony and SmartWool sponsorship, a solid turn-out, and perfect conditions you couldn't ask for better--and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to head down to shoot the event.

Because I know the course, being able to shoot the handful of sections that I wanted to capture was a challenge. Given that some of the spots were as far apart as possible via challenging terrain, simply running my way around the course didn't seem feasible. So, for the first time, I decided to use a mountain bike to traverse sections of the course in order to get to my locations and set up before the runners did. I am not sure why I hadn't thought of that before, but I will certainly do it again!

I consider this race the kick-off event for the season, and with how fantastic it was I am really looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store.

A few of my favorites from the day.

Michael Lesher 3/10/15 Michael Lesher 3/10/15

Frozen in Time

Despite previously lamenting the Winter's late onset and how much I missed it, when it finally did arrive, it really was excessive. The past month or so has been lost. Each day presented a stark, frozen landscape that brought life to a crawl.

Within the past few days, we have started to see the pattern shift to one of sun-filled skies, warmer temperatures and life beginning to stir. With this new air blowing, we begin to start exploring. An obvious first choice for exploration was the Letchworth State Park, where we were certain the falls would be frozen. They did not disappoint.

Michael Lesher 3/2/15 Michael Lesher 3/2/15

The Master of Arts & Science

No one would argue that Leonardo da Vinci is anything but a Master. To me, he embodied the spirit of exploration, in every sense of the word.

Much to our pleasure, the Rochester Museum and Science Center...

No one would argue that Leonardo da Vinci is anything but a Master. To me, he embodied the spirit of exploration, in every sense of the word.

Much to our pleasure, the Rochester Museum and Science Center is hosting an exhibit dedicated to his work, which features examples of his inventions, art and research. Additionally, there is a thorough study on the Mona Lisa. Naturally, we had to go.

Michael Lesher 2/16/15 Michael Lesher 2/16/15

Winter Continues

It would seem that Winter means to give us the past few years' worth of snow that we've been missing in the past few days. We have been receiving snow nearly every minute of the day. While it could be tempting to sit back and complain about the bounty of frozen flakes, it seems far more productive and adventurous to bundle up, get outside and take it

All photos are mine| All rights reserved