Indiana Farmhouse

I trekked down to my old stomping grounds in Indiana for a brief visit with friends this past weekend. I spent waaaay more time talking than taking pictures but I did manage a few!
I spent Saturday with my good friend and former roommate Betsy at her new farmhouse home in Pendelton, about 35 minutes south of Muncie.



I was really inspired by all the goods they canned with vegetables from their own garden!


Beware of dog and I mean it! Queen Tangerine in her blanketed castle.


Beautiful, peaceful views.

A little football fun

Football season is just around the corner! (Ask me in six weeks if I still be using !'s to describe my feelings about football ;) ) I spent last Sunday photographing the Michigan football team take interviews from the media, ham it up for the cameras and meet with their fans at the Stadium. Here are a few from my long day of shooting for AnnArbor.com See the rest here and here.

All images in this post © AnnArbor.com 2010

My basil runneth over

As we all know by now, I am a sucker for a farmers market. It's pretty clear I have some major veg love.

Last weekend I hit up the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and there was a colorful bounty of AMAZING tomatoes, peppers, corn, berries and herbs. And speaking of herbs, basil was the star of this Saturday morning. It was everywhere! Needless to say, I came home with a giant bag full, leaving me with the challenge to use it all. Can one ever use a giant bag of basil? Well I certainly tired. Here are two tasty, basily treats I came up with.

Heirloom tomato, mozzarella and basil salad and a basil infused green tea. Summer love!


And just because I can't help myself, here are some vegetable beauty shots.

Athlete Portraits

I've been working on the player of the year portraits for AnnArbor.com. Here are a few from the spring season winners:

All images in this post © AnnArbor.com 2010

ARCHIVES: Memories from Africa

It's been over a year since I returned from my adventure in Africa. While digging through my archives this week, I came across photos and some video of my teammates Steve, Gina, Nick and Dan. I thought I'd share some of our memories here and hope to add more as I can continue to dig.

Behind every great photo, there is a great story. There is certainly a great story behind this one, see below.

Dan's Clean Mouth from Melanie Maxwell on Vimeo.

We spent an afternoon at a boys school in Mozambique. As you can see, Steve, at left, got his groove on.



Here's the epic tale of our 9 hour trip to Chimoio, Mozambique

Epic trip to Chimoio from Melanie Maxwell on Vimeo.

Then of course there was our trip deep, deep below the surface. I don't think anyone had a clue what we had in store. There is something very strange about being that far underground. It sort of felt like I was at some sort of Disney attraction.

Copper Mines from Melanie Maxwell on Vimeo.

I have no idea why I am smiling in this photo, I am pretty sure I was anything but happy.



Some sunset wheelchair basketball in Lusaka, Zambia.

Wheelchair basketball Zambia from Melanie Maxwell on Vimeo.

Dinner boat cruise in Livingstone, Zambia.


Gina sending me a message!

ARCHIVES: Lost and Found

While digging around in my archives I came across an image I made while in a market in Chimoio, Mozambique in May 2009. It's strange when you find an image you forgot you had taken, it instantly brings back the memory of the moment.