Michigan's Empty Schools

Steve Grose, School Board President of Holland Public Schools, stands inside of Lakeview Elementary School. The building, which once educated about 150 students per year, has been closed for over a year and is now used as a storage site for the district.
(Amanda Loman | Grand Rapids Press)



Paint peels off of the walls in a yet-unrenovated section of the former E.E. Fell Junior High School building in Holland.
(Amanda Loman | Grand Rapids Press)



Kel Tenbroeke, right, a plumber, and John Wycners, a plasterman, work on the second floor of the former E.E. Fell Junior High School in Holland. The building is being renovated to provide housing to senior citizens.
(Amanda Loman | Grand Rapids Press)

RV Expo

Allie Breese, 4, plays with a table setting inside of an RV while parents Jeff and Jenny look on. The family was attending the Grand Rapids RV Expo at the DeltaPlex on Friday, February 18.
(Amanda Loman | Grand Rapids Press)

Sugarbush Trail Tour

Marcy Yanos, center, receives a taste of maple syrup from outdoor educator Nicole Durso, Yanos was at the Blandford Nature Center's Sugarbush Trail Tour with daughter Meg Riter, 2, son Colin Riter, 5, and husband Web Riter, right. Tours will be held every Saturday in March, culminating in a pancake breakfast on March 26
(Amanda Loman | Grand Rapids Press)

Portraits portraits portraits

Karla Oard and Thomas Schiedel co-founded Blue Monkey Adventure, a travel agency which currently operates out of Oard's home. The agency offers trips such as mountain biking in Moab, Utah and one to London, England for the royal wedding in April.



Randy Finch, co-owner of Ice Sculptures Ltd. with Derek Maxfield, whose business is the subject of a new Food Network TV show, Ice Brigade. The show debuts at 10 p.m. on March 3.



"Michigan's where my roots are," said Mitch Ranger, a Grand Rapids-based photographer who is being included in a new book of the world's top photographers. Ranger's studio is located at 401 Hall St SW in Grand Rapids.

Winter Bridal Show of West Michigan

From January. The first of many trade shows I shot at DeVos Place.

Tina Moreno, left, and daughter Natalia, 14, stay warm by a fire pit with Tami Steagald, right, at 1 a.m. while at the Great Winter Skatefest. The three arrived at 12:30 a.m. to wait in near-zero temperatures for Natalia's favorite Griffins player, Francis Pare, who was scheduled to skate at 2 a.m.

(Amanda Loman | Grand Rapids Press)

Winter Beer Festival at Fifth Third Baseball Park

Grand Rapids Zoo

Long time no blog. I moved to Grand Rapids, MI in January to intern with the Grand Rapids Press, it's been wonderful so far. GR is a great city.

I love zoos more than most things on this planet. So when I got an assignment to go take photos of the zookeepers getting ready for Opening Day, it was like Christmas came early.