A few weeks ago, an event that I first attended in 2012 had its final form. Back on the 20th and 21st of June, a group gathered to celebrate the life of Bill Schwab, who had passed away in 2025 while doing what he did best: leading a group of keen photographers to explore the world. Bill was the brains behind an event called Photostock. It started as a small gathering in the woods on his property in Michigan, far from the dirty industrial south, but in the far more beautiful northern parts of the state. And while I’m a fan of an event becoming bigger than the person behind it, Bill and Photostock were so intertwined that it had to end after he passed from this life. While I’m saddened I couldn’t attend, I wanted to share one final time my memories of Photostock as my own memorial to this amazing event that shaped my photography and my involvement in the wider community.
Kyocera Contax G2 – Carl Zeiss Planar 2/45 T* – Kodak E100GX @ ASA-100 – Processing By: Old School Photo Lab
Pentax 645 – SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 – Ilford Delta 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford Ilfosol 3 1+4 2:50 @ 28C
Nikon F4s – AF DC-Nikkor 105mm 1:2D – Kodak Tri-X 400 @ ASA-400 – Kodak HC-110 (Dil. B) @ 20C for 4:30
Pentax 645 – SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 – Ilford Pan F+ @ ISO-50 – Ilford Ilfosol 3 1+14 @ 21C 4:30
Kyocera Contax G2 – Carl Zeiss Planar 2/45 T* – Lomography Lady Grey @ ASA-400 – Kodak HC-110 Dil. B 5:30 @ 20C
Graflex Anniversary Speed Graphic – Schneider-Kreuznack Angulon 1:6,8/90 – Polaroid Type-55 @ ASA-50 – Polaroid Instant Process
Nikon F4s – AF DC-Nikkor 105mm 1:2D – Kodak Technical Pan 2415 @ ISO-16 – Blazinal (1+100) 4:00 @ 20C
Pentax 645 – SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 – Adox CHS 100 @ ASA-100 – Blazinal (1+25) 6:00 @ 20C
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I first learned about Photostock through the Film Photography Project (Podcast). Matt Marash started talking about this amazing event up in Michigan that he had attended and was planning on attending in 2012. That got me thinking: if I had gone to the event in 2012, I would have known at least one person (Matt) whom I had already met a few times through my involvement with the FPP. I looked at the route, booked my hotel (not the Birchwood, sadly, that first year), and got time off work. Since it was my first time going, I decided to go on the days of the event. Back in 2012, it was still a pretty low-key event, with only a handful of speakers and lots of free time. It was a long, hot drive from Milton to Harbour Springs, Michigan. I had booked a hotel on the other side of town from the Birchwood Hotel, where the event was taking place. I know I should have booked a room there, but I had no idea what I was missing out on. The first thing that I noticed when I first got to the event the next day was how friendly everyone was. It didn’t matter that I was a new face; everyone welcomed me, especially Bill. He wanted to know all about me and my photography; it didn’t matter that I wasn’t developing my own film (yet), or that I didn’t print in the darkroom or do wet plate. I was a welcome addition to the group. I shot a lot of stuff around the Birchwood. I went out and explored on my own and with others. I got the chance to visit Fort Michilimackinac, drive the Tunnel of Trees, shoot lots of film and hang out with the group. I even made some new contacts in photography. But most importantly, I gained the confidence to start developing my own black-and-white film at home. I started as soon as I got home and got to work. I was sloppy, but I ended up with real results I did myself. Probably the weirdest thing I did at the 2012 event was shoot two rolls of Super8, which I put together as a movie. And I knew I had a good time because by the time the event was over, I was already looking forward to attending it the next year. But in 2013, I was going to do things differently: I was going to spend the extra money and stay at the Birchwood. And you know that made all the difference, I was welcomed back as an old friend. It also meant that I got to enjoy the entire event, and I mean the entire event. I participated in the print exchange, stayed up late at the patio parties, or caught the stunning sunsets on the state’s western shores. Even got to celebrate the opening of the new North Light Photographic Workshop Building over at Bill’s property. Got up silly early to catch the sunrise at O’Neal Lake and even got stuck down there. Well, Matt’s car got stuck, but we got pulled out by other early birds. Saw the fog of the Straits of Mackinac. And while I didn’t shoot as much as I did in 2012, I did go back and shoot some video using my Olympus E-P1, which I also put online.
Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Kodak Tri-X 400 @ ASA-400 – Kodak Xtol (1+1) 9:00 @ 20C
Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Kodak Tri-X 400 @ ASA-400 – Kodak Xtol (1+1) 9:00 @ 20C
Nikon F4s – AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D (80b) – Eastman 5363 @ ASA-25 – PMK Pyro (1+2+100) 11:00 @ 20C
Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 – Processing By: Boréalis Laboratoire Photo
Graflex Anniversary Speed Graphic – Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 – Kodak Tri-X 320 @ ASA-200 – Kodak Xtol (1+1) 12:00 @ 20C
Nikon D300 – AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D
Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Kodak TMax 100 @ ASA-32 – Kodak Xtol (1+1) 8:00 @ 20C
Nikon D300 – AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D
I was into the game now. I wanted my Photostock 2014 trip to be bigger than ever. I didn’t just want to attend Photostock; I wanted the whole thing to be an event for me, a proper road trip! I was deep into my War of 1812 project at this point, and there were some locations related to the conflict as far north as Northern Ontario. So I planned to do a big loop around and come to Michigan from the north rather than from the south. It was going to be a six-day adventure, with three days travelling and three days at Photostock. On the first day, I drove from Milton to Sudbury, making stops along the way at Nancy Island (HMS Nancy) and Penetanguishene (Discovery Harbour). It was a long but worthwhile drive as I didn’t spend it all on highways. Plus, it was the first time bringing a digital camera along for the ride. For the previous two years, I shot exclusively on film at the event. From Sudbury, I took a very foggy drive west along Highway 17, stopping at a plaque outside a trailer park and then at Fort St. Joseph. The one thing you need to realise about Fort St. Joseph is that you have to want to get there; it’s not exactly on the way. From there, I spent the night in Sault Ste. Marie. Again, I made the mistake of staying outside the city, far from the border. But I still had the chance to check out the downtown. I had to leave early the next day as I had a ferry to catch on the UP side of the Strait. Thankfully, the border crossing was swift, and I made it with plenty of time to spare, then headed across to Mackinac Island. It was pretty amazing to check out the forts and walk; in hindsight, renting a bicycle would have been a better idea. The next day, I crossed the bridge and checked out Fort Michilimackinac before heading to the Birchwood. I made a better effort to get out, more importantly, to photograph the people at the event, and to explore a bit more. I took up the offer to try wet plate photography for the first time under Andrew’s guidance. I chatted with all the folks I knew and shared new and old works. And while I didn’t attend in 2015 (because Waterloo:200), I made the 2016 event bigger than ever, at least for me. In 2016, I took an eight-day adventure that was my biggest Photostock road trip ever. I was going to make a big loop around Lake Michigan. There were some more War of 1812 sites I wanted to visit that I didn’t get good photos of, and some new ones I needed to check out. So I was going to drive out to Indiana, check out Jas Townsend’s storefront up through Prophetstown, before staying just south of Chicago. It was another long, brutally hot drive, but I managed to survive it all intact. The next day, I didn’t read the schedules right, so I headed into Chicago to check out the Museum of Science and Industry, a museum I had never visited before. It was amazing to see and step into a WW2 U-Boat and visit an old coal mine display. Then I wanted to check out the memorial to the Battle of Fort Dearborn, so I hopped on a train and hopped off at my stop. It was then I realised that the trains weren’t normally stopping; it was a flag stop, but there was no way to flag the train on a Sunday. I had limited time because my car was still parked at the museum. It was a long walk back from the park to the museum, but I made it back with a few minutes to spare. The next day, the long drive began again. From Chicago, I headed out to Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin. It was truly in the backwater of the state, but it was well worth it to show some of the lesser-known battles during the War of 1812. After staying in Madison, I swung north. Stopping in at a Museum in Oshkosh, I crossed the state line into Michigan and stayed in Marquette. At least in Marquette, my hotel was right downtown, so I could easily stretch my legs after such a long drive. The drive to Mackinac City proved wet, but it didn’t stop me from chasing waterfalls through the UP and other small communities along the way. It pretty much rained the whole time, but sure enough, I was packing Pan F+ and got some amazing shots along the way before settling in and watching the ferries come and go from my hotel room as the rain continued to pour. I spent more time away from the Birchwood during the day at Photostock 2016 than I did at the hotel. Taking time to explore some other places in the area, including Traverse City, where I got to check out a restored Kirkbride and visit a brewery I had enjoyed in the past. And also got a solid chance to explore Petoskey better.
Sony a6000 – Sony E PZ 16-50mm 1:3.5-5.6 OSS
Hasselblad 500c – Carl Zeiss Distagon 50mm 1:4 – Rollei RPX 100 @ ASA-100 – Kodak HC-110 Dil. B 9:00 @ 20C
Hasselblad 500c – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Ilford FP4+ @ ASA-100 – Kodak D-23 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20C
Hasselblad 500c – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 – Blazinal (1+25) 5:00 @ 20C
Hasselblad 500c – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Ilford Pan F+ @ ASA-50 – Kodak D-23 (1+1) 8:30 @ 20C
Sony a6000 + Konica Hexanon 1:2.8 f=35mm
Intrepid 4×5 Mk.1 – Schneider-Kreuznach Symmar-S 1:5.6/210 – Ilford HP5+ @ ASA-200 – Pyrocat-HD (1+1+100)
Intrepid – Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 – Ilford HP5+ @ ASA-200 – Pyrocat-HD (1+1+100)
My final time at Photostock was in 2018. I brought along my lovely wife, Heather, this time around and made a vacation out of it. Of course, that made for a totally different experience. By this time, Photostock had grown big, and a lot of things focused on talks and events at the hotel. But I also wanted to show Heather this beautiful area, more than sit in talks. We took a five-day trip. It was wonderfully book-ended with lots of favourite spots revisited from past events. I was also introduced to Cracker Barrel for the first time, something special to Heather as the first stop for food after we crossed the border. We also stopped in Frankenmuth at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. The next day, we got a chance to go across to Mackinac Island and check out the town and the fort. Like in 2016, I spent more time away from the hotel than at it, making sure to spend as much time as I could with Heather, because while I was an attendee, Heather was just there with me and was wary of the rather rambunctious group. While I enjoyed the 2018 event, I was also starting to feel tired of the event as a whole. The event wasn’t bad; I’d changed as a photographer and wanted to get back that low-key look and feel. Heather and I had other plans for 2019, and I didn’t want to spend three days without Heather, and of course, we all know what happened in 2020. But even when Photostock came back, my life had radically changed, and so had the event. The Birchwood had changed hands and was undergoing renovations, so Photostock changed and became something different. And while I regret not being able to go back one last time, it just never happened.
Nikon F5 – AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D – Efke KB 100 @ ASA-100 – Blazinal (1+50) 10:00 @ 20C
Nikon F5 – AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D (Yellow-15) – Film Ferrania P30 @ ASA-50 – Kodak D-76 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20C
Nikon F5 – AF DC-Nikkor 105mm 1:2D – Fomapan 400 @ ASA-250 – Kodak D-23 (Stock) 7:30 @ 20C
Sony a6000 – Sony E PZ 16-50mm 1:3.5-5.6 OSS
Nikon F5 – AF DC-Nikkor 105mm 1:2D – Fomapan 400 @ ASA-250 – Kodak D-23 (Stock) 7:30 @ 20C
Mamiya m645 – Mamiya-Sekor C 35mm 1:3.5 N – Kodak Plus-X @ ASA-125 – Blazinal (1+25) 6:00 @ 20C
Sony a6000 – Sony E PZ 16-50mm 1:3.5-5.6 OSS
Graflex Crown Graphic – Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 – New55 Atomic-X @ ASA-100 – Kodak D-76 (Stock) 7:00 @ 20C
Despite my falling out of enjoying Photostock, I still have fond memories of every event I went to. Because, like any event, what you get out of it is often what you put into it. I always went for the photography, chatting with peers, and seeing the amazing work that other people put out. Also, to check out the recent gear and see how people use it. Photostock also got me on the path to home development and to improving my skills with my large-format gear. I also branched out and did some landscape work and event photography, and got a chance to see places I never would have thought to visit. Getting a chance to capture War of 1812 battlefields, I would never have thought to check out when I was putting that project together. I met a lot of good friends, some of whom I have visited outside of Photostock. Another big thing is that seeing how Bill brought a community together helped inspire me to start the Toronto Film Shooters Meetup. And while Photostock is done, I hope someone is inspired to start something similar and make it their own. You can check out all my photos from all the Photostock events I attended over on Flickr (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018)