Tracey Nawrot Photo Blog

Goals 2011

2011-11-19T14:01:00.001-05:00

Sometime in 2011 I sat down and wrote (in a notebook the good old fashioned way) a list of "Goals 2011." Today I took that notebook and looked at what I wrote. I thought about the notebook because I was thinking about things I'd like to accomplish in 2012. Because my mind tends to wander so much lately, I can't remember the things I think about that I want to do, so I've decided I need to start writing this stuff down again. In a notebook. The old fashioned way.

On my "Goal 2011" list here are a few things I wrote down at some point this year. In retrospect, I probably need to jot down a date on these things going forward.

- Work on photo a day (yeahhhh, we'll have to keep this one going into 2012)
- Order prints for framing (done! I've managed to print off three sunset themed photos that I love from trips to Glacier National Park and San Francisco and have a ton more to edit and print. Keeping in mind for our move to the Broderick Tower in Sept 2012. We'll need art for the walls.)
- Move blog to wordpress ( I like these new themes that google's blogger came out with. I'm gonna stick it out here for awhile and see how it goes)
- Update website (I started this at some point but never got back to it)
- Shoot more weddings (I shot 6 this year as a second shooter and loved every minute of it!)
- Think about Adobe Lightroom/CS5 (check! got them both)
- New Computer (still want but this one also works just fine, too)
- Upgrade camera (YES! now a proud owner of the 5DMII - best.decision.ever!)

So out of the 8 goals listed I am now able to cross off 4 of those. That's PROGRESS! and makes me very happy that I created the list and that I was able to accomplish some of the things I set out to do.

YES!

So here I am with my notebook (and this blog) thinking forward to 2012.

Broderick Tower Preview

2011-11-06T16:39:00.000-05:00

I first learned of the Broderick Tower Preview during a party that Model D Media threw on October 22, 2011 at the David Whitney Building. I was on assignment for Metromix when I took a picture of a man who, as it turned out, was one of the owners of the Broderick Tower. He told us about the open house on November 5 and encouraged us to come and check out Detroit's next 'sophisticated living" space. I immediately added it to my calendar so as not to forget the date. Jerrid and I have been keeping tabs on the Broderick Tower via their website waiting for registration to open up so we can put ourselves in line to secure one of the top floor penthouse residents.

So, on November 5, 2011 Motown Construction Partners hosted a Broderick Tower Preview to see floor plans and tour the impressive construction site. Here are a few photos from that preview tour. I'm excited to move in September 2012!

(See complete set on my Flickr page)

Only in Detroit: Tashmoo Biergarten

2011-11-02T19:13:00.001-04:00

I think that every hipster (and non-hipster) in the D stopped by the Tashmoo Biergarten that ran throughout the month of October at least once. I went on it's inaugural weekend opening and I was impressed by the amount of people that showed up in support. There was a line to get in (and to get tickets for beer). I didn't know what to expect driving down Van Dyke in Detroit's West Village. Once there though, the overall vibe was what I will call typical Detroit, meaning friendly folks, local food and local brew. There were kids, dogs, games, bier!, brats, pierogies, even homeless men hanging out, local news camera crew and plenty of familiar faces.

It pretty much occupied an empty lot in the middle of the block on Van Dyke. An empty lot turned into an outdoor bar-like setting complete with handmade picnic tables (some even brought their own chairs) and port-a-potties (for all that beer drinking). See for yourself in the images below.

Fash Bash 2011

2011-08-30T21:14:00.002-04:00

This year's Fash Bash was held on the steps of the beautiful DIA. The runway fashion show by Neiman Marcus took place inside the DIA in the Great Hall. While the lighting wasn't the greatest because it was blaring/aimed directly into the "photog pitt, I was able to maneuver around it, but I thought the setup was pretty awesome. The crowd equally so. See more crowd/party pics here on Metromix.

Senior Prom

2011-05-22T11:44:00.001-04:00

My niece Heather went to her senior prom this past Friday. I met the group at Heritage Park in Taylor to snap some photos. Here's a few of my favorites. Isn't my niece beautiful (she's the one in the pink dress)?!

Motor City Comic Con

2011-05-15T19:41:00.003-04:00

Saturday was my first time attending the Motor City Comic Con and it was a good time. There were a ton of people dressed up in costume including my personal fav, Wonder Woman! To see the entire gallery click here.

And Captain Jack Sparrow who was really a woman named Donna. She was awesome and told me that it takes her an hour and a half to pull this costume together.

And Peter Griffin was in the house!

I also got to meet Superman!

And... I got to meet and shake hands with IAN ZIERING from 90210! I said Hi to him and then I stood there and didn't know what else to say cause I was star struck. He was handsome but I swear he has hair plugs.

Rustbelt Market

2011-05-08T19:17:00.001-04:00

So the Rustbelt Market took over what was once an Old Navy store on the corner of 9 mile and Woodward and it's pretty awesome. If you're looking handmade items that are locally made then you definitely MUST check it out. I picked up a pretty nice jeweled necklace for $20 buck from Catherine Shattuck, owner and jewelry maker of Cate's Emporium.

Here's a few photos that sort of give you a run through on what you can expect at the Rustbelt Market.

These are old light bulbs that she turned into vases. I thought these were pretty cool.

I also thought these were kinda creepy but cool.

These pieces below are made from Legos. They were pretty awesome to see in person.

Picked myself up some smoked paprika.

I'm regretting no snagging one of theses guys. One of them would look cool on my desk.

Her name is Storm.

They had three of these lamps hanging from the ceiling above the stage and they were also pretty cool.

Ok seriously, no joke, those lil lollipop looking things are made out of chocolate cake and they were the best lollipops I've ever tasted.

Detroit Wig Out 2011

2011-05-01T20:20:00.002-04:00

I shot this 2 years ago and was able to take the assignment again this year when it came up. Always a great time when you can put on a wig and pretend you're someone else for a few hours. Great event for a great cause. Get the skinny here. Look for the full gallery of photos on Detroit Metromix this week. Here are a few hairy highlights:

Change of scenary

2011-01-17T20:32:00.002-05:00

Location:Whitefish, Montana (Glacier National Park).

Most people head south to break away from the winter doldrums. Me? I'm heading West. To the mountains.

At the end of the week we're packing our bags for another Amtrak trip heading back to this amazing place for some r&r, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.

I can't wait!

Fashion in Detroit: My Favorites

2010-10-25T22:01:00.004-04:00

Those who know me know that I have been waiting for this year's Fashion in Detroit since shooting last year's amazing event that took place at the Detroit Zoo. While I preferred last years venue over this years venue (Motor City Casino's Soundboard), the event production was still amazing and I tip my hat to the Fashion in Detroit committee for doing a great job. Organizing and putting that kind of an event is not without its obstacles.

I didn't want to load this blog entry with the hundreds of images so I thought I'd share a few of my personal favorites from the designers.

Here are a few from Adrian Pavon who opened the show & who also actually took the time to friend request me on facebook & drop a comment on my wall thanking me for taking photos of her clothes for Metromix. Who does that?! So awesome and totally made my day!

From Ines Di Santo whose dresses were stunning!

I thought this was very classy & elegant. Totally something I'd consider wearing.

A few different people I talked to didn't care much for this dress but I will go all out and say this dress was by far my favorite of all. I think it's because of its uniqueness and the fact that I would totally rock this dress out (if i was more well endowed... just sayin).

The detail in this dress/veil were AMAZING!

From Peter Hildalgo, whose style was very classic.

And from the ladies at Femilia Couture...
AND... any of these styles can be dyed the color you want! AWESOME!

From Christian LaRue by Bonnie Foley:

For the complete Fashion in Detroit event coverage by yours truly, please visit here and here.

Fashion in Detroit: behind the scenes

2010-10-24T22:26:00.002-04:00

Santa Monica/Malibu, California

2010-10-22T00:07:00.000-04:00

This was the first stop on our trip to the West Coast. After arriving in LA we rented a car and headed to our hotel on the beach in Santa Monica. After checking into the hotel and ditching our bags we headed straight for the beach. The weather was crap but it didn't matter. Wind, rain or shine, the beach is the beach in my eyes. Ironically, two weeks after we left, California had record breaking temperatures of 113 degrees. Figures!

Blakes Orchard and Cider Mill

2010-10-17T20:47:00.000-04:00

Jerrid and I drove to Almont today to visit Blakes Orchard and Cider Mill.

The weather was perfect.

Here I am picking and taste-testing the apples.

Jerrid listened to the Lions game while I picked apples. This is him reacting to the Lions scoring a touchdown.

Detroit Pistons Spare Tires Dance Team

2010-10-10T20:09:00.000-04:00

These guys were a great bunch. To see more of the photos, visit Detroit Metromix.

2010 Tiffany Hairdresser of the Year Awards

2010-10-05T22:58:00.004-04:00

I have covered this event for Detroit Metromix for the past two years (2008 and 2009) and every year it gets more and more interesting. Interesting that over the course of the past few years how much styles have changed. And not so much in the hair as in the fashion. With this year's show I saw a lot of metallic and pointy shoulders. Obviously, the main focus of the show is the HAIR but I think that the stage performance that the stylists bring to present their hair designs is of HUGE importance. Stylists are judged on three categories: color, formal and editorial.

The models that won Nikki Johnson the trophy really knocked it out of the park with their presentation & style. I knew the second their presentation was over that she had all ready won the competition - it was really that obvious! Nikki did a phenomenal job on the hair and it was obvious that the confidence she had in herself won the judges over immediately. You can see Nikki Johnson and her models in the last photo.

Winner: Nikki Johnson (far right) of Shelby Township's Salon Lux. See the entire gallery of photos here!

Wine Country: Sonoma, California

2010-10-03T14:52:00.003-04:00

The blog posts over the next couple of days (possibly weeks depending on how much time I am able to dedicate to this blog over the busy week ahead) are highlights from my journey to the West Coast from September 5- September 21, 2010.

San Francisco was our second stop on the trip where we spent 4 beautiful days. The photos below are from our day trip to beautiful wine country in Sonoma, California. It took us a little over two hours to get to Sonoma where we decided to visit the Benziger Family Winery.

By the time we got there it was lunchtime and we were absolutely STARVING so we headed straight for the cafe and enjoyed a lunch of prosciutto and cheese on crackers which was light but very filling. We were poured two HUGE glasses of Merlot to enjoy with our lunch and the photo of below shows my wine buzz face but it also shows how extremely content I was in that moment.

Mary J. Blige at Chene Park

2010-07-24T15:11:00.004-04:00

This past Wednesday night I lucked up and got an assignment to shoot Dwele and Mary J. Blige at Chene Park. I was ECSTATIC! While Dwele was amazing, his energy & presence in no way compared to that of the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul! MJB rocked it out singing all the old school tunes! She evidently enjoyed the show just as much as we did cause here's what she tweeted at 10:53pm the night of the show (she must have just gotten off the stage): "The love that came from Detroit tonight was Crazy!!!! Only God can deliver that!!! Thank you so much for coming fam!!!! I luv u 2!!!"

and then again at 10:59pm: "The Crowd was off the chain!!! All MJB fans Singing every Joint!!! Still can't thank y'all enough!!!"

We love you too Mary J. Blige!

See the entire gallery of photo here on Detroit Metromix!

Miss USA 2010 Homecoming

2010-07-12T19:32:00.002-04:00

On assignment for Metromix: the homecoming party at the Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit. See the complete gallery by clicking here.

Rima Fakih and her parents.

CatWalk: Linda Dresner fashion show

2010-05-10T21:57:00.009-04:00

On assignment over the weekend for Detroit Metromix, I got the opportunity to shoot a fashion show created by world-renown fashion maven, Linda Dresner benefiting the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

Here are some highlights but you can find the rest of the photos in this gallery right here.

Motor City Vaudeville Revue

2010-05-04T20:49:00.003-04:00

MonicaBlaire

2010-01-10T18:09:00.008-05:00

I've seen MonicaBlaire around the neighborhood but Friday was the first time i heard her music (live). Already being a huge fan of the Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill and the Mary J. Blige's of the world, it's not surprising to me that i enjoyed MonicaBlaire's show.

Taking place at the Detroit Film Theatre inside the Detroit Institute of Arts, Monica Blaire brought her funk, rock and soul to the DIA delivering a heart-wrenching performance to a PACKED house. Here are a few photos from the show. Her energy was incredible:

As always more photos from her show can be found by going to : www.detroit.metromix.com

Tangerines!

2009-12-29T18:53:00.003-05:00

These were the best damn tangerines i've had in a long time. so good i decided to grab my camera and take some pictures of them!

D- sights: 83rd Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade

2009-11-27T15:27:00.003-05:00

83 years of history right here down Woodward Ave!

Hollywood in Detroit

2009-11-15T14:18:00.005-05:00

Actress Jeri Ryan made a pitt stop to the Lofts of Merchants Row in Detroit to film scenes for an upcoming Lifetime movie called 'Something in the Dark'. Here's a few shots of her on set with her script in hand and slippers on her feet, and also, a picture of her with my friend Tony.

Fashion in Detroit

2009-11-05T22:28:00.006-05:00

On assignment for Detroit Metromix. I took hundreds upon hundreds of photos at the two-day fashion show held at the Detroit Zoo. Here's some highlights.

Mee the Fashion in Detroit team:

2009 Tiffany Awards

2009-09-30T18:42:00.007-04:00

I was first introduced to this awards ceremony last year and got some great photos from it then so why not again this year. If you're not familiar, the Tiffany Awards "celebrates the artistic mastery of hairdressing by recognizing Michigan's most outstanding hairdressers and colorists." Find out more info by going here.

Like always, I was on assignment for Detroit Metromix. Please click here to view the entire gallery on Metromix. These are just a few of the hundreds (like 754 to be exact) of photos I took.

A day of Fashion at the Whitney

2009-09-14T19:07:00.006-04:00

On assignment for Metromix this past Saturday I headed over to the Whitney to an event featuring hat fashions from that of Luke Song (you know, the hat designer of the infamous "Aretha" hat from President Obama's inauguration). Here's a few snap shots from that event.

I was rather fond of the hat on the girl in the bottom picture. I'm also a fan of that dress she is wearing.

Electric Fire Babies @ A,B & E's after party- Crofoot, Pontiac

2009-09-07T12:09:00.001-04:00

My first time seeing this band perform. They totally jammed out & i'm hooked.

D-sights: Fireworks- Detroit Jazz Fest 09.05.2009

2009-09-06T16:21:00.001-04:00

View from corner of Woodward @ First National Building.

D-Sights: Detroit Yacht Club

2009-09-06T15:20:00.000-04:00

The sun setting at the Detroit Yacht Club on September 5, 2009. Magnificent!

D-sights: Campus Martius

2009-09-03T23:27:00.005-04:00

D-sights: Russell Industrial Center

2009-08-30T19:19:00.003-04:00

Photo shoot: Dayna Polehanki- Detroit Casting Company

2009-08-29T15:03:00.001-04:00

These are some shots from my first sort of
informal photo shoot with Dayna Polehanki at Detroit Casting Company. She needed photos for her new website and I was more than happy to help out. Her office was still under construction so we made do. She was preparing for casting calls the following day for voices for an upcoming animation & had some equipment, so I thought it would be fun to bring some of that into the photos.